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March, 2018 Clean and Efficient Recycling for SMT/PCB Metals Waste Continued from page 69
RACS Technology Conecsus has patented its
RACS technology that converts organic materials contained in cer- tain solder wastes into a replacement for coke breeze (a source of carbon) that is used in the company’s rotary smelting furnace. Solder-contaminated trash,
such as wipes, rags, etc., collectively known as “P&W” (paste and wipes) are significantly more problematic to recycle than solder dross. While dross is a byproduct, and therefore exempt from hazardous waste regu- lations in most sates, P&W is classi- fied by the EPA as characteristic spent material, which, in all but two states, must be transported and stored as hazardous waste. In the typical recycling process
for P&W, the organic materials that make up most of the weight are incin- erated in a furnace to concentrate the solder metals and allow them to be recovered in the smelting process.
Conecsus has redefined the recycling of P&W by truly recycling 100 percent of its customers’ solder-related materials.
a potent greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere during recy- cling. In the past, the only compo- nents of P&W that have ever been truly recycled are the metallic ele- ments (tin, lead and silver) contained in the material. Conecsus has developed and
This combustion generates CO2,
implemented a process that recycles not only the recoverable metallic components, but the organic material as well, by using them in a propri- etary process to produce a substitute for coke. Coke is a petroleum or coal derivative used as a necessary reduc- ing agent to convert metal oxides into metals in a smelting furnace. The company has
redefined the recycling of P&W by truly recycling 100 percent of its cus- tomers’ solder-related mat - erials.
In the RACS process,
P&W is first shredded to thoroughly mix the mate- rials, completing the first stage of the size reduction process on the way to achieving 100 percent minus 1/4 in. (0.6 cm). The 1/4 in. P&W is com- bined with smelting process “fume.” This fume contains very fine tin and lead-oxide particles. The purpose of adding the fume is to densify the RACS material so that it will more efficiently mix with the molten oxides in the rotary furnace. It is also an efficient way to convert the fume into usable metal. The resulting mix of finely
likelihood is due to its very low sur- face-to-air ratio, as well as its higher density, allowing it to fall more rap- idly into the molten oxides. Conecsus conducted a crucible
furnace test in which RACS material was shown to be 10.3% more effective as a reducing agent than coke alone. This is primarily because the P&W is
Vacuum Distillation Furnaces Besides having one of the
largest rotary furnaces for recycling tin/lead residues in North America, Conecsus also has vacuum distilla- tion furnaces (VDUs) capable of sep- arating tin, lead, antimony, bismuth, silver, and indium from complex alloys into usable forms and purities for resale into the metals market- place. Vacuum distillation is a clean and safe technology. The units are fully enclosed and have no measura- ble emissions of metal vapors, fumes or dust. Only electricity is used to power the VDUs, so there are no local combustion gas emissions, from burners, for example. Conecsus has three continuous
Paste and wipes waste before shredding (left) and after (right).
shredded P&W and fume is fed into a specially designed heated extruder. During this process, approximately 50 to 60 percent of the organic mate- rials are “coked,” meaning that the volatile hydrocarbons are removed and the material is densified. The RACS material is much
coarser than coke breeze, making it less likely to burn when it is added to the rotary furnace. This lower burn
purposely not fully coked, leaving some volatile hydrocarbons in the RACS product, which are a more effective reducing agent than carbon alone. This static test where the reductants were pre-mixed with oxides before smelting does not include the fact that more RACS will reach the molten bath than coke breeze, as mentioned above, making it even more efficient. This process delivers a net bene-
fit to both the environment and to the customer. RACS results in a reduction
of CO2 emissions. Using RACS can replace over 10 percent of the natural gas used, or over 5 percent of the com- bined natural gas and coke used in Conecsus’ normal smelting process.
VDUs and one batch VDU. By control- ling temperature, vacuum, feed rate, the number of processing cycles, and by using various combinations of VDUs, the company’s engineers are able to produce usable metals and alloys, in addition to tin and lead, for sale worldwide. These include tin-sil- ver, lead-antimony, lead-silver, lead- silver-antimony, lead-bismuth, and lead-antimony-indium. Vacuum distil- lation is a clean technology available for separation of metals from complex alloys at high temperature, with no emissions and no combustion gases. By using these innovative recy-
cling processes, Conecsus reduces worker exposure to lead, minimizes lead releases to the environment, shrinks carbon footprints, and increases efficiency. Contact: Conecsus LLC, 106
Tejas Drive, Terrell, TX 75160 % 855-846-5323 fax: 972-551-5901 E-mail:
info@conecsusllc.com Web: http:
www.conecsusllc.com r
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