Evaluation of Gallium Recovery Potential from LED Lamps

As a relatively new product in the lighting industry, LED lamps require efficiency in resource utilization, environmental and economic improvements such as recycling and elimination of hazardous materials.  The collection and recycling of these complex wastes is a challenge. Some components of LED lamps are classified as critical and precious metals, and these metals are considered to carry a high supply risk. Elements such as gold, silver, copper, gallium, indium and rare earth metals can be found in printed circuit boards (PCBs) and LED chips. Environmental sustainability will be ensured by the recovery of economically valuable metals in the content of LED lamps, which can be considered as secondary sources.