METHOD OF RECYCLING USEFUL METAL

• Main Authors: HOMMA, TETSUYA, MORIKAKU, AKIHIRO, UBUSAWA, TOMOYUKI, TANAKA, KUMPEI, FURUYAMA, TOMOYUKI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 09.11.2011
• Subjects: APPARATUS THEREFOR; CHEMISTRY; DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE; ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; METALLURGY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS; PROCESSES FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC PRODUCTION, RECOVERY ORREFINING OF METALS; PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; RECLAMATION OF CONTAMINED SOIL SOIL; TRANSPORTING; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS

A method of recycling useful metals is provided. The method enables useful metals including indium, zinc, yttrium, europium, lanthanum, terbium, gadolinium, antimony, lead, copper, tin, and silver to be recovered from wastes, such as wasted flat panel displays, and recycled economical with small energy consumption. The method of recycling useful metals includes: a step in which wastes comprising various flat panel displays, e.g., liquid-crystal display panels, are crushed/powdered; a step in which the resultant particles are dissolved in an aqueous hydrofluoric acid solution; and a step in which various metal oxides and various metal fluorides which remain undissolved are filtered off and the aqueous hydrofluoric acid solution containing various metal ions is electrolyzed to deposit and recover metals for transparent-electrode oxides, such as indium and zinc, and other useful metals.