TOP1 Three Way Catalyst Recovery Equipment For Precious Metals

TOP1 three-way catalyst recovery equipment for precious metals

Application of equipment:

  This equipment is used to receive TBRC slag, waste catalyst, flux, FeSi alloy, etc. from the upper section, and reprocess the slag products from the primary smelting step to achieve the best recovery rate.

Product overview and structural features:

1) Select a fixed furnace body, semi-closed combined furnace cover;
2) Adopt fully water-cooled copper-steel composite conductive transverse arm;
3) The short-net design uses the three-phase electrode triangle connection method, which has good short-net compensation, low impedance, low three-phase unbalance coefficient, high power factor and significant power-saving effect;
4) The use of new water-cooled cable technology and forged copper shingles, water-cooled cable and copper pipe connection selection of button-type connection, which can reduce the contact resistance;
5) Adopt full hydraulic lock, the electrode lifting adopts hydraulic proportional valve control lifting, combined with PLC control, improve the operation rate of the electrode system;
6) Multi-point feeding in the furnace, to achieve continuous uniform distribution, automatic control of the amount of material;
7) Magnesia-chrome bricks/aluminum-chrome bricks are used in the furnace inner lining, the bricks at the bottom of the furnace, the bricks at the bottom of the arch and the slag line, and the copper water jacket is used for strong water cooling at the slag line. The double water jacket design is used in the slag line to effectively guarantee the service life of the refractory materials in the furnace (2 years warranty for the side wall in contact with the molten liquid, 6 years warranty for the side wall in non-contact with the molten liquid, and 6 years warranty for the bottom of the furnace);

Equipment composition:

  The mechanical system is mainly composed of furnace body and copper water jacket, furnace bottom air cooling system, semi-enclosed furnace cover, electrode lifting system, smoke collecting system, short mesh system, hydraulic system, cooling water system, blanking system, mixing station, iron and slag extraction system, operating steel platform, mixing and blanking steel platform, furnace lining, etc. Electrical equipment is mainly composed of electric furnace transformer, high voltage switchgear, low voltage control equipment and automatic control system of electric furnace.

1. Core Equipment Types and Their Roles

Pyrometallurgical Process Equipment (High Efficiency for Large-Scale Operations)

• Crushing & Grinding Equipment: First, the spent catalyst carrier (ceramic or metal) is crushed into small particles (1-5mm) by a jaw crusher, then ground into fine powder by a ball mill. This maximizes the exposure of precious metal particles, laying the foundation for subsequent reactions.
• Smelting Furnace: The core equipment of the process. It usually uses a medium-frequency induction furnace or oxygen-enriched side-blown furnace. By adding flux (like silica, limestone) and a collector (like copper matte or iron), it heats the catalyst powder to 1500-1600°C. Precious metals dissolve into the collector to form "precious metal matte," while the carrier forms slag (which is discharged as waste after treatment).
• Matte Refining Equipment: The precious metal matte is further treated in a converter or anode furnace to remove impurities (like sulfur, iron). Finally, through electrolysis or chemical precipitation, pure platinum, palladium, and rhodium are obtained.

Hydrometallurgical Process Equipment (High Purity, Low Energy Consumption)

• Leaching Reactor: A sealed, corrosion-resistant tank (usually made of titanium or FRP). It mixes catalyst powder with leaching agents (like aqua regia, chlorine gas, or cyanide-free reagents) and controls temperature (60-90°C) and stirring speed. Precious metals are dissolved into the solution, forming a "pregnant leach solution."
• Separation & Purification Equipment: Includes ion exchange columns, solvent extraction tanks, and precipitation tanks. It removes impurities (like aluminum, silicon) from the pregnant leach solution first, then uses ion exchange resins or extraction agents to separate platinum, palladium, and rhodium one by one. Finally, through precipitation and calcination, high-purity precious metal powders are obtained.
• Wastewater Treatment Equipment: Since hydrometallurgy uses chemical reagents, it must be equipped with neutralization tanks, sedimentation tanks, and activated carbon filters. This ensures that the discharged wastewater meets environmental standards, avoiding chemical pollution.

2. Key Performance Indicators

1. Precious Metal Recovery Rate: The higher the better. Mature equipment can achieve a recovery rate of over 98% for platinum, palladium, and rhodium.
2. Environmental Friendliness: Pyrometallurgical equipment needs to be matched with dust collectors and desulfurization towers to control smoke emissions. Hydrometallurgical equipment must have a complete wastewater treatment system to avoid reagent leakage.
3. Automation Level: High-automation equipment (with PLC control systems) can reduce manual operations, improve production stability, and avoid human errors that affect recovery efficiency.

3. Typical Application Scenarios

• Automotive Aftermarket: Used by recycling enterprises to process spent TWCs replaced from cars, buses, or trucks.
• Catalyst Manufacturing Plants: Used to recover precious metals from defective catalysts or production waste, reducing raw material losses.
• Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Recycling: Some hybrid vehicle batteries or industrial catalysts also contain precious metals, and this equipment can be used for extended recovery.