There have been several recent studies that have demonstrated the feasibility of extracting metal ions from environment matrices by in situ chelation using a SCCO2 mobile phase that had been saturated with a nonpolar complexing agent. Development about the recovery of metal ions by SCCO2 extraction is reviewed, including the basic principles, experimental system and methods, application and factors affecting the extraction. The paper finally point out that the success of researching more perfect ligand and ...