Solid Waste Recycling and Strategic Metal Extraction

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Separation Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 565

Special Issue Editors

School of Environment and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Interests: extraction of strategic metal resources; adsorption; wastewater treatment
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Guest Editor
1. Zhongyuan Critical Metals Laboratory, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
2. School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
3. The Key Lab of Critical Metals Minerals Supernormal Enrichment and Extraction, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou, China
Interests: enrichment and extraction of critical rare metals; utilization of coal-based solid waste/secondary metallurgical resources/urban mining resources; intensification of separation processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
National Engineering Research Center of Coal Preparation and Purification, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Interests: utilization of solid waste resources; wastewater treatment; separation; flotation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Resources, Environment and Materials, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
Interests: adsorbent material; enrichment and extraction of key metals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Separations delves into advanced separation technologies for the valorization of solid waste and the enrichment of rare earth elements (REEs). This Special Issue invites contributors to submit innovative research, review articles, and case studies that highlight a comprehensive array of methodologies, including, but not limited to, the value-added utilization of biomass, synthesis of adsorption materials, and efficient enrichment and extraction of REEs. The focus of this Special Issue is on developing processes that are efficient, environmentally friendly, and economically viable to achieve resource recovery from solid waste and meet the growing demand for REEs.

Dr. Lihui Gao
Dr. Daoguang Teng
Dr. Shulei Li
Dr. Chunlin He
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • solid waste
  • biomass
  • adsorption material
  • wastewater treatment
  • strategic metal resources

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

26 pages, 948 KiB  
Review
Antimony Recovery from Industrial Residues—Emphasis on Leaching: A Review
by Marinela Panayotova, Serhii Pysmennyi and Vladko Panayotov
Separations 2025, 12(6), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations12060156 - 8 Jun 2025
Viewed by 386
Abstract
Antimony (Sb) is a metalloid widely used in different areas—from the cutting-edge renewable energy technologies to “classical” lead acid batteries. Its availability in primary sources is limited, and these sources are geographically unevenly distributed worldwide. Antimony use will increase in the future. That [...] Read more.
Antimony (Sb) is a metalloid widely used in different areas—from the cutting-edge renewable energy technologies to “classical” lead acid batteries. Its availability in primary sources is limited, and these sources are geographically unevenly distributed worldwide. Antimony use will increase in the future. That is why Sb is included in the critical raw material lists of the European Union and the USA. In order to mitigate the future Sb shortage, Sb recovery from industrial residues is worth considering. This paper presents the availability of Sb in nonferrous metals extraction waste and the applicability of the hydrometallurgical route for Sb recovery from such sources. Leaching is emphasized. The use of acidic and alkaline leaching methods, their recent modifications, and the effect of different process parameters (reagents’ type, solid-to-liquid ratio, temperature, and the addition of oxidizing reagents) are highlighted. The use of new leaching systems, such as deep eutectic solvents and non-aqueous solutions, is presented. Initial attempts to apply bioleaching are described. Finally, some proposals for future investigations are given. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solid Waste Recycling and Strategic Metal Extraction)
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