Economic and ecological recovery of indium, gallium and germanium from industrial waste

The European Green Deal aims to achieve climate-neutral Europe by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030. The success of this target requires reliance on low-carbon technologies that are depended on the availability of critical raw materials (CRM) like indium (In), gallium (Ga) and germanium (Ge). Besides the improvement of conventional mining technologies, recycling of In, Ga and Ge from solid industrial waste is one of the beneficial alternatives to ensure the availability of CRM and meeting EU targets in future. However, the low concentration of CRM and larger presence of contaminants like Fe/Al makes the recovery of CRM from secondary resource uneconomic and technically unfeasible. Eco-Metalophosphore would overcome these challenges by applying phosphonium ionic liquid (PIL) based solvent extraction (SX) and patented GaLIophore technology to recover In, Ga and Ge from industrial wastes. PIL-based is a simple and cost-effective process for removal of Fe/Al while GaLIophore technology will be able to selectively recover In/Ga/Ge from the leachate devoid of Fe/Al and up-concentrate. Prior to PIL-based SX and GaLIophore technology, soild waste will be leached through acidic leaching. Upon successful demonstration at the laboratory scale, scale-up of the Eco-Metalophosphore technology will be carried out at 500 L/d scale. To quantify the benefits of the developed technology, life cycle assessment, ecotoxicity analysis of leach residue and generated waste and cost-benefit analysis will be carried out. To ensure the cost-effectiveness of the technology, recycling of PIL, organic acids and siderophores will be attempted. Eco-Metalophosphore contributes to circular economy and innovative green technologies initiatives that enable a sustainable, environment-friendly, and economic recovery of In, Ga and Ge from waste products.