Another Tetronics Plasma Refining Plant Successfully Achieves Full Operational Status

The System, Supplied to Solar Industries, will Recover Precious Metal (PMs) & Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) from Spent Catalyst and Electronic Waste Streams. Working together, Solar and Tetronics have demonstrated industry leading levels of technical recovery of PGM from spent industrial catalysts. The plasma plant has achieved full operational status following the successful completion of an extensive Final Acceptance Test. London, 4th March 2014 – Tetronics International, a global leader in plasma arc technology for metal recovery and hazardous waste treatment applications, is pleased to announce that its customer and partner, Solar Applied Materials Technology Corp., has confirmed full operational status of its plasma plant where the Tetronics technology, capable of recovering >98% of (PGMs) from spent catalysts, will be used to process and recover PMs and PGMs from spent catalysts and electronic waste. This brings Tetronics’ plasma technology global installed base to 86, for applications including resource recovery and hazardous waste treatment, thereby reinforcing Tetronics’ position as a global market leader of plasma arc technology. The Solar plasma plant achieved full licensed operational status following the successful completion of the Final Acceptance Test (FAT). The plasma plant, based in Taiwan, will process up to 1,850 tonnes per year of spent catalysts, producing 120,000 troy oz of PGM based on typical automotive catalysts profiles. In context, this represents 6% of the global supply of recovered Platinum based on ‘Johnson Matthey Platinum 2013 Interim Review’. Dr Ma, Chief Operating Officer for Solar explains; “We are exceptionally pleased that our plasma plant delivered by Tetronics is now fully operational. Tetronics have maintained a high‐level of professionalism and support throughout the project to ensure we reached our targeted recovery rate.” Graeme Rumbol, CEO for Tetronics International comments; “We are delighted to have reached this milestone with Solar and to see them experiencing the rewards of their investment. We look forward to expanding our partnership with Solar over the coming years and supporting them as they roll out their plans for rapid growth.” 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. 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. Therefore, it is both financially beneficial and environmentally responsible to recover PMs and PGMs from spent catalysts and e‐waste as part of new circular economy business models. The main advantages of Tetronics’ patented plasma technology are that it couples the highest technical recovery rates and operational flexibility, with the lowest environmental impacts and cost base. The process chemistry in the 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.