Study on supply and demand situation and secondary recovery and utilization of germanium resources

As a strategic metal, germanium is widely used in modern communications, new energy and military industry.Representatively, germanium-containing optical fibers have low loss in transmission, high photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cell materials with germanium, and better usability of germanium lens in infrared thermal imager.Therefore, germanium has become an irreplaceable raw material in the field of high technology.Germanium has been listed as a key mineral in the western countries represented by the United States and the European Union.On this basis, this paper analyzes the global supply and demand situation and future demand trend of germanium resources.Considering the limitation of germanium primary supply in the long run and the development of circular economy in the future, the paper emphasizes the effective supply through secondary recycling and reuse, analyzes the current research status of secondary recycling and reuse of germanium metals, and looks forward to providing help for efficient recycling of germanium metal.