Recovering Precious Metals From SpentCatalysts — Are You Getting the Best Return?
Recovering Precious Metals From SpentBy Kevin Beirne
Sabin Metal Corp.
Precious metal-bearing catalysts are used widely for pollution abatement by many industries, including chemical, petrochemical, plastics, painting/coating, and pharmaceutical, among others.
Many organizations use catalytic reaction technology to prevent emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). Catalysts used in these reactors contain precious metals that include palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, gold and silver — individually or in combination.
Depending upon equipment and/or process used, these precious metals are configured with carriers in various forms, such as pellets, beads, and monolithic structures (substrates). While in use, catalysts eventually lose their effectiveness, and their remaining precious metals must be recovered.
As a user of precious metal bearing catalysts, it is obviously in your best interest to obtain the highest possible dollar return from reclaiming spent catalysts; to shorten return times, thus minimizing metal financing costs; and to work with a refiner that is in full compliance with local, state and federal environmental laws. We’ll discuss each of these issues, providing you with the general guidelines on how to achieve these objectives.
As this issue goes to press, the market price for one ounce of palladium is $527. While this is not a record high price (palladium soared to nearly $1100 earlier this year), palladium pricing is largely a function of market manipulation. Russia supplies about two-thirds of the world’s palladium and, according to industry sources, the government for many months has been hoarding about 240 tons of this material.
At $527 per troy ounce, you must obtain the highest possible return for the palladium contained in your spent catalyst, with the objective of acquiring that return as quickly as possible since refinery processing turnaround time can have a significant impact on your precious metal financing costs.
How do you go about selecting a precious metals refiner that will provide “highest and fastest” returns? There are questions to ask and procedures to follow that should help, combined with a little due diligence and some common sense. For starters, here are a few key questions to ask.
These are probably the most fundamental areas to help start the decision making process. If you have received satisfactory answers to these questions, you want to go further since the ultimate goal is to work with a refiner on a mutually beneficial basis. You should seek a relationship with a refiner based upon trust and fair treatment. These characteristics - while somewhat abstruse - can also be determined by talking to the refiner’s customers. They can help you with information on the refiner’s performance history, industry reputation, and perhaps even its financial resources necessary to pay you in a timely manner.
You should also carefully evaluate the processing methods the refiner uses for reclaiming precious metals. To ensure maximum “yield,” look for a refiner that maintains a modern, well equipped analytical laboratory. The ideal facility would utilize classic volumetric, gravimetric, and fire assay techniques, advanced x-ray fluorescence equipment, atomic absorption, and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) emission spectroscopy. These techniques are considered state-of-the-art industry standards. When used together, or in combination, they provide the most exacting methods for determining precious metal content in spent materials, thus assuring you the highest possible returns.
It’s best to work with a refiner that has significant in-house capability and does not rely on subcontractors. The more it costs your refiner to process your materials, the less your overall return will be. Depending upon the specific precious metal (and content) of your spent catalyst to be reclaimed, refiners generally use a combination of pyro-metallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes to achieve the highest possible metal recovery at the lowest possible cost.
Most refiners use a wide variety of equipment and procedures to process spent catalysts. These include rotary, crucible, and electric arc furnaces, kilns, roasters, thermal processors, pulverizers, granulators, screens, blenders, auto samplers, reactors, dissolvers, precipitators, electrolytic cells, and filter presses. In many cases, how this equipment is used may have a bearing on the percentage of precious metals recovered from spent catalysts and also on the refiner’s policies relating to effluent and atmospheric discharges, important issues that will de discussed shortly. Don’t hesitate to ask questions.
To cultivate trust, the refiner that you select should be willing to provide you with detailed weight and analysis reports on your shipments. The most advanced laboratories typically assay sample materials in triplicate to assure precise precious metal measurements. A reputable organization will allow you to be present during the sampling of your materials and will also permit you to conduct your own independent analysis if desired.
The precious metals refining industry does not enjoy an especially sterling reputation with regard to environmental responsibility. When selecting a refiner, you must be aware not only of how your materials will be processed, but those of the refiner’s other customers as well. This is a critical area that must be evaluated carefully, since failure to do so could have serious negative consequences. For example, you should determine now solids, liquids or gaseous by-products are handled at the refiner’s facility.
Requesting documentation may also help you determine that the refiner you select does not violate any applicable environmental law or regulation. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund Act, addresses the joint customer/refiner responsibility. This law mandates that the company which is the source of the material for precious metal recovery and the precious metal refiner share in the “cradle to grave” responsibility as well as the future liability for the proper treatment of the material. Essentially, the environment must be protected to avoid serious financial and legal consequences. Your refiner’s violation of these laws or regulations could result in heavy fines and legal costs to you.
CERCLA is merely one of a number of environmental regulations affecting precious metals refiners (and in many cases their customers). For example, the EPA under its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is concerned with generation, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal of solid and hazardous waste associated with precious metals refining. Other laws mandated by the Clean Air Act concern toxic, noxious or otherwise harmful atmospheric discharges; the Clean Water Act concerns hazardous wastewater discharges; and even the Dept. of Transportation is involved with regard to interstate transportation of spent catalysts by any conveyance. It is critical that your refiner be aware of all of the laws that may ultimately impact you negatively.
An excellent way to determine if a precious metals refiner meets these criteria, is to look for utilization of sophisticated pollution abatement technology, such as afterburners, baghouses, wet scrubbers and liquid effluent neutralizing equipment. Also, evaluate the refiner’s approval status with local, state and federal agencies. These include permits under the Clean Air and Clean Water acts and proof of whether the company qualifies as a bonafide precious metals refiner as specified in the preamble to the Boiler and Industrial Furnace (BIF) rule and its amendments. Ideally, your goal is to select a “zero discharge” refiner; one that does not produce any effluent or hazardous waste by-products.
Each of these subjects discussed in this article should be evaluated carefully. The facts will speak for themselves, allowing you to make a prudent determination that will serve your best interests. Keep in mind that the stakes can be high with regard to the financial implications of precious metals recovery (maximizing your returns and obtaining them faster while eliminating the negative implications associated with environment regulations). Do your homework carefully and you will make the right decision. Remember, all that glitters is not gold, and that is equally true when selecting the right precious metals refiner.
For additional information, contact the sales department at Sabin Metal Corp., 1647 Wheatland Center Rd., Scottsville, NY 14546; Telephone: 716/538-2194; Website: www.sabinmetal.com
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