Palladium Waste
London Chemicals & Resources Limited (LCR) is proud to represent RS Bruce in relation to the recovery of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) from Nitric Acid plants and palladium waste.
RS Bruce is the world’s leading specialist in recovering PGMs from Nitric Acid and other chemical plants. With over 35 years of experience and more than 700 successful clean downs completed, RS Bruce has to date recovered over USD2 bn worth of Palladium, Platinum and Rhodium from clients’ plants.
What is Palladium Waste?
Palladium waste refers to any material that contains palladium and is discarded after its useful life. It can come from various sources, such as electronic devices, automotive catalysts, and jewellery manufacturing. Palladium waste can be in different forms, such as dust, sludge, or scrap metal.
Uses of Palladium
Palladium has many desirable properties that make it a popular choice for manufacturing various products. Some of its uses include:
- Automotive catalytic converters: Palladium is used in catalytic converters to reduce harmful emissions from vehicles.
- Electronics: Palladium is used in electronics, such as smartphones, laptops, and TVs, due to its high conductivity and resistance to corrosion.
- Jewellery: Palladium is a popular metal for making jewellery, especially wedding rings, due to its durability and hypoallergenic properties.
Proper Disposal of Palladium Waste
Palladium waste should be disposed of properly to avoid causing harm to the environment and human health. Here are some methods for the proper disposal of palladium waste:
- Recycling: Palladium waste can be recycled and reused in manufacturing new products, reducing the need for mining new palladium and conserving natural resources.
- Landfill: If recycling is not possible, palladium waste can be disposed of in a landfill that meets the regulatory requirements for handling hazardous waste.
- Incineration: Palladium waste can be incinerated at a facility that meets the regulatory requirements for air emissions and ash disposal.
Importance of Responsible Use and Disposal of Palladium Waste
Responsible use and disposal of palladium waste is crucial to reduce its environmental impact and conserve natural resources. By recycling and reusing palladium waste, we can reduce the need for mining new palladium, which can cause soil and water pollution, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity. Proper disposal of palladium waste can also prevent the release of toxic substances into the environment, such as heavy metals and chemicals, which can harm human health and wildlife.
RS Bruce offers both non-destructive and destructive clean downs of Nitric Acid plants. Non-destructive clean downs of operational plants use mild chemicals and non-aggressive techniques, specially developed by RS Bruce and extensively tested to ensure safe yet optimal recovery of lost PGMs. Non-destructive clean downs usually take place during scheduled maintenance shutdowns in order to avoid disruption to clients’ production schedules. Clients benefit from an RS Bruce clean down not only by recovering lost PGMs but also through improved heat exchange efficiency.
Destructive cleaning of decommissioned plant components
Destructive cleaning of decommissioned plant components is also offered. This can recover 100% of PGMs retained within those components.
RS Bruce uses a wide range of technologies and equipment to recover metals including Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Iridium, Ruthenium, Gold, Silver, Molybdenum, Cobalt, Titanium, Nickel and Copper from a variety of industrial residues such as Process Residues, Sludges, Filter Cakes, Filter Media, Activated Carbon, Diatomaceous Earth & Ion Exchange Resins, Filter Cartridges and Papers, Cathode Plates, Gauzes, PGM Coated Mesh, Shot Blast Wastes and Overspray from PGM Coating, Turbine Blades and Vanes, PPE & Workwear, Lab Smalls, Samples, Filter Papers, Filter Media, Plant and Equipment, Sweepings and Residues from Process Labs, Buildings, Concrete Floors, Wall Coverings and Roof Spaces, Furnace Slag, Refinery Slag, Flue Dust and Sweepings, Dentistry and Medical Wastes, Jewellery Scrap, Floor Sweeps, Electronic Equipment and Specialist Components and Connectors, Raschig rings and Support Structures from Nitric Acid Plants.
Please contact LCR to discuss how we can help you to recover your lost PGMs.
LCR was founded in 2005 with an office near London Bridge. The founding partners had extensive experience dating back to the early 1980s in the global distribution and trading of chemicals, base and minor metals as well as ferroalloys. Already holding significant industry-relevant knowledge of base metals and the London Metal Exchange, the company joined the Minor Metal Trade Association in 2006 to support involvement in this area of metals and related chemicals.
In 2009, the company began a strategic move upstream, employing specialised staff and expanding to deal more with metal-containing secondaries, particularly spent catalysts. We joined the Chemical Business Association in 2011 and committed ourselves to the Responsible Care program in 2012. In 2015 with our continuing development into the field of secondaries, we obtained UK registration as a waste broker and dealer.
Development and Growth
In the following years, LCR continued to develop and grow – further increasing staffing levels and turnover – and in 2016 was officially recognised by the London Stock Exchange as a “Company to Inspire Britain”. We branched out more into non-ferrous secondaries, dealing with ashes, drosses, sludges, tailings and others as well as continuing with our spent catalysts. In 2018 we became members of the Bureau of International Recycling to complement our involvement in the field of secondaries and pave the way for future progress and growth. In 2019 we made it to the FT/Statista top 1000 list, recognising LCR as one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe. In the same year, we were accredited with ISO 9001.
Following several years of joint cooperation and work, AGR Catalyst Recovery (AGR CR) based in Spain was finally commissioned in 2020. LCR works exclusively with this J/V operation, collecting and processing thousands of tons of spent catalysts coming from European refineries every year.
In 2020 we opened our own office in Mumbai and reached an agreement for an exclusive agency in South-East Asia. We commenced involvement with the UK company R. S. Bruce in 2021 and work with them in the SEA markets arranging clean-downs of nitric acid plants for recovery of precious metals.
Today, our business encompasses a range of metallurgical and chemical raw materials, by-products, residues and spent catalysts for downstream use, reclamation and recycling. LCR creates elegant recycling loops – buying back fully processed chemicals and metals from companies we have supplied with secondaries. These are resold to industry worldwide to restart the loop.
How Did We Do?
It is our constant goal to offer the best possible service to our clients at all times. If we have worked with you at any point in the past, please take a moment to visit the Google Maps listing below and share your experience with us.
Contact Us
If you would like to speak to someone directly about our Palladium Waste services, please call us on +44 (0)20 7183 0651 or visit our contact page, or contact us via LinkedIn and we will be happy to answer any of your questions.
