Abstract
The rapid rise of industrialization prompts an increase in wastewater discharge, which worsens water pollution conditions worldwide. Although a naturally occurring metal in water, magnesium can cause environmental problems when discharged with concentrated amounts in exhaust brine and wastewater. Aside from its environmental impact, the recovery of magnesium also presents excellent economic value since it is considered one of the 30 Critical Raw Materials cited by the European Union. The demand for magnesium is also continuously rising in the automobile, fertilizer production, paper and pulp, and wastewater treatment industries. With the environmental and economic favor of extracting magnesium, this review seeks to explore and discuss separation techniques developed and studied throughout the years. For magnesium extraction, separation techniques vary from conventional precipitation-crystallization methods to alternative and integrated methods such as adsorption, solvent extraction, and membrane separation. With this, the advantages and disadvantages of each method will be analyzed through their metal removal efficiency, optimal extraction parameters utilized, and other external conditions presented.
