Precious metal recycling technology in electronic waste: Progress, challenges, and sustainable development path

To address resource waste and environmental pollution from electronic waste (e-waste), this study summarized the recycling technology for precious metals from e-waste based on bibliometrics and knowledge graph methods. The relevant literature from 2014 to 2024 was analyzed, and technological development trends and international cooperation characteristics were outlined. The results indicate that the recycling technology for precious metals from e-waste has evolved from traditional hydrometallurgy to green separation technology, and research on integrated circulation systems has gradually taken shape. China dominates the research in this field, with high-yield authors and institutions primarily situated in the country. International cooperation has continued to strengthen over time. However, technological bottlenecks remain in industrial applications. Future research should focus on biomaterial coupling technology and full lifecycle system optimization to promote the in-depth integration of resource recycling theory and sustainable development goals.