Recovery processes of secondary resources usually encounter problems because of the diverse com- positions of wastes. To enhance the applicability of tradi- tional hydrometallurgical process toward secondary resources, the adjustment of components is necessary. In traditional hydrometallurgical separation, precipitation and complexation are extensively used. However, their com- bination as a specific metal separation method has not yet been studied in detail. This approach is very promising for solving problems caused by changeable components during recycling processes of secondary resources. This paper reviews the effects of precipitation and complexation in metal separation processes, and a metal separation method system of ＂complexation-precipitation＂ developed to adjust the components of secondary resources is introduced.
