Tetronics Plasma Arc System for Precious Metal & PGM Recycling Online in Taiwan

Swindon, UK based Tetronics International, a developer of plasma arc technology for metal recycling and hazardous waste treatment applications, has completed work on a plasma recovery plant for precious material refiner and product processor, Solar Applied Materials Technology in Taiwan. According to the company, the facility is now fully operational and is capable of recovering >98% of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) from spent catalysts. The new plant will be used to recover both precious metals such as gold and silver, as well as PGMs from both spent catalysts and electronic waste. Tetronics said that the Solar plasma plant has now achieved full licensed operational status following the successful completion of the Final Acceptance Test (FAT). The plasma plant is expected to process up to 1850 tonnes per year of spent catalysts, producing 120,000 troy oz (3732kg) of PGM based on typical automotive catalysts profiles. To put this in context, Tetronics said that this represents 6% of the global supply of recovered Platinum based on the ‘Johnson Matthey Platinum 2013 Interim Review’. Valuable ‘waste’ Catalyst wastes, including both auto catalytic converters and industrial catalysts, contain PGMs that are valuable due to their low natural abundance, unique properties and the complex processes that are required for their extraction and refining from primary sources. However, according to Tetronics, when recycled, these waste streams are typically three orders of magnitude richer in PGMs than their naturally occurring ore equivalents, enabling the conservation of finite natural resources and balancing supply and demand. Tetronics went on to explain that the process chemistry in its plasma technology is designed to smelt and preferentially separate the PMs from less valuable material, which is vitrified into an inert, safe usable product called Plasmarok®, in a single processing step. The process will also destroy any hazardous organics contained within the material. Read More Plasma Arc Recycling of Precious Metals With one in four of all products manufactured requiring platinum group metals in some regard, it's unsurprising that demand for these costly yet highly useful metals has surged. Primary sources have struggled to keep pace and recycling is on the rise. WMW investigates how plasma arc technology is helping recyclers to bridge the gap between supply and demand. By Ben Messenger Tetronics DC Plasma Technology Recycling Ruthenium from Catalysts in Japan Japanese industrial precious metal product manufacturer, Furuya Metal Co. has opened a new plasma pyrometallurgical facility to recycle Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) from spent catalysts at its Japanese Tsuchiura plant. Plasma Arc FCC Catalyst Recycling to Benefit from Asian Boom Dr. Tim Johnson explains why plasma arc recovery technology could be set to benefit from Asia's growing appetite for materials and chemicals.