Hydrometallurgical Extraction of Rare and Critical Metals (In and Sn) from Discarded Display Devices

The growing use of electronic devices has intensified the challenge of managing electronic waste (e-waste) while depleting critical resources such as indium (In) and tin (Sn). These strategic metals, primarily used as indium tin oxide (ITO) in flat-panel displays, are scarce and essential for high-tech industries. Typical analysis indicates that liquid crystal display (LCD) panels contain 0.01–0.02% In & 0.04–0.08% Sn. Apart from In and Sn the impurities are 0.05–0.08% Al and 1.95–2.31% Fe. The methodology involves safe dismantling, mechanical shredding for size reduction, and subsequent hydrometallurgical extraction. Indium leaching was optimized using dilute H₂SO₄ at elevated temperature with a suitable pulp density, achieving ~ 98% recovery. This study presents a sustainable, scalable process for recovering In and Sn from discarded LCD panels which will reduce e-waste impact and promote circular economy by reintroducing critical metals into the production loop, thereby reducing dependency on primary resources and enhancing sustainability.