Project Synopsis
Develop a preliminary process design for a commercial sized process by scaling up a pilot data for the recovery of precious metals from recycled automobile catalytic converters.
Project Summary
Process Engineering International, LLC (PROCESS) was contracted by the client to develop a preliminary FEL-1 level process design of a commercial sized process scaled from an operating pilot system. This batch process uses an aqueous solution to leach precious metals (platinum and palladium) from crushed automobile catalytic converter material which are then recovered using an electro-chemical process (electrowinning). The new system was designed to accommodate future refinements which might include variations in temperature, pH, additive concentration, etc.
The following tasks were completed for this design:
- Process design basis preparation
- Development of material & energy balances using both CHEMCAD and OLI Flowsheet simulation software
- Process flow diagram preparation
- Preliminary layout drawing preparation
- Alternative evaluations of key unit operations
- Utility and emission summaries
- Preliminary sized equipment list development
- Preliminary cost estimate preparation.
The client is currently moving to further plans for construction of the new process.
Industry Type
Metals Recycling and Precious Metals Recovery
Utilized Skills
- Process scale up design
- Preliminary process design.