Studies on countermeasures for indium separation and recovery based on analyses of Chinese patents

Indium is a scattered metal with an uneven geographic distribution.China is the largest producer and consumer of raw indium in the world.Patent application in separation and recovery of the indium reflects the ability of independent innovation and the development of science and technology in the field.In this study,the patent applications in the separation and recovery of the indium in China were analyzed using the patent analysis system.The results showed that the number of patent applications was less than expected,being disproportionate to the resource reserve of the indium,the patents in the recovery of reclaimed indium were much less than those in the separation of raw indium.In responding to these issues,some countermeasures are proposed,inclued strengthen technical innovation to improve the patent output in the separation and recovery of the indium and the efficiency of indium resource utilization;establish indium industry alliances to promote the efforts in indium deep-processing and to extend the industry chain for indium materials;reinforce the research on the recovery of reclaimed indium from indium-containing electronic scraps.