A sustainable process for selective recovery of metals from gallium-bearing waste generated from LED industry

Yifan Yang; Xiaohong Zheng; Tianyi Tao; Fu Rao; Wenfang Gao; Zhaohui Huang; Guoqin Leng; Xin Min; Boli Chen; Zhi Sun

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2023.05.018

A sustainable process for selective recovery of metals from gallium-bearing waste generated from LED industry

Waste Manag. 2023 Jul 15:167:55-63. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2023.05.018. Epub 2023 May 26.

Authors

Yifan Yang¹, Xiaohong Zheng¹, Tianyi Tao², Fu Rao², Wenfang Gao³, Zhaohui Huang⁴, Guoqin Leng⁵, Xin Min⁶, Boli Chen⁵, Zhi Sun⁷

Affiliations

¹ Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education for Geological Carbon Storage and Low Carbon Utilization of Resources, Beijing Key Laboratory of Materials Utilization of Nonmetallic Minerals and Solid Wastes, National Laboratory of Mineral Materials, School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China; Beijing Engineering Research Center of Process Pollution Control, Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
² Beijing Engineering Research Center of Process Pollution Control, Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
³ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Clean Energy and Pollutant Control, School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300401, China.
⁴ Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education for Geological Carbon Storage and Low Carbon Utilization of Resources, Beijing Key Laboratory of Materials Utilization of Nonmetallic Minerals and Solid Wastes, National Laboratory of Mineral Materials, School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: huang118@cugb.edu.cn.
⁵ Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education for Geological Carbon Storage and Low Carbon Utilization of Resources, Beijing Key Laboratory of Materials Utilization of Nonmetallic Minerals and Solid Wastes, National Laboratory of Mineral Materials, School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China.
⁶ Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education for Geological Carbon Storage and Low Carbon Utilization of Resources, Beijing Key Laboratory of Materials Utilization of Nonmetallic Minerals and Solid Wastes, National Laboratory of Mineral Materials, School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: minx@cugb.edu.cn.
⁷ Beijing Engineering Research Center of Process Pollution Control, Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China. Electronic address: sunzhi@ipe.ac.cn.

PMID: 37245396
DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2023.05.018

Abstract

With the rapid development of the LED industry, gallium (Ga)-bearing waste generated is regarded as one of the most hazardous as it typically contains heavy metals and combustible organics. Traditional technologies are characterized by long processing routes, complex metal separation processes and significant secondary pollution emission. In this study, we proposed an innovative and green strategy to selectively recovery Ga from Ga-bearing waste by using a quantitative phase-controlling transition process. In the phase-controlling transition process, the gallium nitride (GaN) and indium (In) are converted to alkali-soluble gallium (III) oxide (Ga₂O₃) and alkali-insoluble indium oxides (In₂O₃) by oxidation calcination, while nitrogen is converted into diatomic nitrogen gas instead of ammonia/ammonium (NH₃/NH₄⁺). By selective leaching with NaOH solution, nearly 92.65% of Ga can be recycled with a leaching selectivity of 99.3%, while little emissions of NH₃/NH₄⁺. Ga₂O₃ with a purity of 99.97% was obtained from the leachate which is also economy promising by economic assessment. Therefore, the proposed methodology compared to the conventional acid and alkali leaching methods is potentially greener and more efficient process for extracting valuable metals from nitrogen-bearing solid waste.

Keywords: Alkali leaching; Environmental protection; Ga-bearing waste; Ga-recycling; Oxidation process.

MeSH terms

Alkalies
Electronic Waste* / analysis
Gallium*
Indium
Nitrogen
Recycling / methods

Substances

Indium
Gallium
Nitrogen
Alkalies