Mercury is one of the most toxic heavy metals to human beings. Meanwhile, mercury pollution which is triggered by waste fluorescent lamps widely used in our daily life is becoming a more and more serious problem. In recent years, landfill and incineration have been the main disposal methods for waste fluorescent lamps at home and abroad, posing a huge potential threat to the surrounding environment and human health. On the other hand, fluorescent lamps contain large amounts of reusable secondary resources, such as rare earth elements, copper and lead. Therefore, this review summarizes the major disposal technologies of waste fluorescent lamps at home and abroad, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, focusing on the recycling of waste fluorescent lamps, harmless disposal of mercury, and recovery methods of rare earth metals from waste fluorescent lamps. Finally, the article indicates that the recycling method, new type of nanomaterials (such as nano-selenium, etc.) for harmless treatment of mercury, and environment friendly recovery methods of rare earth all have good prospects in the future.

spent fluorescent lamps  /  phosphor recovery  /  harmless treatment for mercury  /  rare earth metals