Hydrometallurgy

Hydrometallurgy is a process used to extract metals from their ores using aqueous (water-based) solutions. It involves dissolving the metal from the ore into a liquid and then separating it from the solution. This method is often more environmentally friendly than traditional methods, such as smelting, because it typically requires lower temperatures and produces fewer harmful emissions. Hydrometallurgy is commonly used for valuable metals like gold, copper, and zinc, and it finds applications in recycling electronic waste and recovering metals from various sources.