Hydrodynamic Cavitation in Circular Hydrometallurgical Flowsheets: Function-Specific Evidence and Process Integration for Secondary-Resource Recovery

Abstract

Metal-bearing tailings, slimes, metallurgical residues, spent catalysts, ashes, sludges, batteries, and electronic wastes are increasingly important secondary resources, but recovery is constrained by low and variable grades, fine particles, complex phase associations, passivation, and impurity-sensitive downstream processing. Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) can modify selected flowsheet functions through interfacial renewal, localized mechanical action, gas–liquid transfer, fine-bubble generation, particle conditioning, and phase dispersion. The evidence was critically appraised across three independent dimensions: system relevance, causal attribution, and endpoint completeness. Application-level evidence is most developed for transport intensification in selected scheelite, uranium-bearing, and refractory-gold systems; particle conditioning and washing; spent-catalyst coating liberation; metal-bearing sludge treatment; copper cementation; and preparation of liquid emulsion membranes. Representative secondary-feed studies report conditioning, preconcentration, mobilization, and downstream separation responses, but complete feed-to-product recovery with controlled liquid and solid loops remains uncommon. Evidence is especially limited for battery black mass, electronic wastes, rare-earth-bearing residues, complex slags, metallurgical dusts, and multi-metal streams. HC is therefore most credible as a targeted module applied to a verified process limitation. A flowsheet advantage is established only when local gains persist through product recovery without offsetting increases in chemical use, water demand, energy consumption, equipment wear, or residual-stream burden.