How far does the Copper/Nickle recovery from the practical application in the electroplating wastewater?

Metal recovery from electroplating wastewater presents a promising alternative approach for Cu/Ni resource procurement, alleviating traditional mineral mining shortages. This article reviews diverse metal recovery technologies, including adsorption, electrocoagulation, chemical precipitation, resin adsorption, extraction, membrane separation, and electrodeposition. Most studies successfully transfer Cu²⁺ or Ni²⁺ from electroplating wastewater to intended metal carriers in lab-scale technologies, thus purifying the wastewater and concurrently enriching desired metals. However, these studies primarily focus on lab-scale heavy metal enrichment and purification, often yielding a mixture of metals with impurities or concentrated salt solution. The importance of reutilization of the recovered metal mixture or metal salt solution, largely unexplored in existing research, is pivotal for sustainability. We propose that future works prioritize pilot-scale experiments, emphasizing reutilization strategies for recovered materials. Consequently, a comprehensive environmental impact evaluation of metal recovery from electroplating wastewater could be made via life cycle assessment, underscoring the importance of reuse in this process.