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Why let valuable dissolved metals go to waste? On this page, you’ll see examples of how the industry economically recovers metals, even at low concentrations of dissolved base metals.
Growing interest in metal recovery
Many industry-leading plant managers and facility managers are preparing for the circular economy. Not only because of stricter laws and guidelines, but also because of resource scarcity. That’s why they look for cost-effective, sustainable methods for metal recovery, even if other people tell them concentrations are too low. Pacques’ biotechnology helps them revitalize their resources and sustainably create revenue streams from waste streams.
Profitable metal recovery
There are numerous wastewater streams with relatively low concentrations of metals (10 ~ 1000 mg/l) of base metals like copper, zinc or nickel. But, although base metals are valuable, metal recovery via metal hydroxide precipitation is seldom economically attractive. That’s why Paques has developed superior methods. Paques THIOTEQ™Metal and SULFATEQ™ technologies offer the alternative for economically attractive metal recovery. These processes produce sulfide from elemental sulfur or sulfate under ambient conditions. Our high-rate systems have proven to be reliable and efficient in metal recovery.
Fast ROI with THIOTEQ
The metal sulfide precipitation process of THIOTEQ™Metal even offers an attractive ROI at metal concentrations lower than 0.1g/l. Within three years, it made metal recovery at the Pueblo Viejo Mine profitable.
The Pueblo Viejo Mine processes 24,000 tons per day of polymetal ores containing gold, silver, copper and zinc.Since 2014, they have recovered up to 12,000 tons of high-grade copper per year and recycle up to 6,500 m3/h of process water after the neutralization plant with THIOTEQ™Metal.
Read more about metal recovery at the Pueblo Viejo Mine
Simultaneous sulfate removal and metal recovery
SULFATEQ™ converts pollutants into valuable products. The installation removes sulfate to less than 300 mg/l and transforms it into hydrophilic (non-clogging) elemental sulfur. In addition, it recovers metals such as copper, nickel and zinc as marketable metal sulfides. SULFATEQ™ is a flexible, robust and odor-free process, used in full-scale installations for over 15 years.
The Nyrstar Zinc refinery produces 260,000 tonnes of zinc per year. Because a custom SULFATEQ system treats wastewater from the geohydrological containment system, it is the first solid-waste-free zinc refinery.
Discover if SULFATEQ™ is feasible for your facility
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At Paques, we believe in a cleaner, more sustainable world where innovation in biotechnology plays a crucial role in managing our planet's resources wisely.
If you have any questions or wish to explore what Paques technologies can do for your operations, we encourage you to connect with our team of experts. Our knowledgeable professionals are ready to assist you, offering insights and guidance tailored to your specific needs.
Leading the biotech revolution in wastewater and biogas
Your inquiry is important to us, and we are eager to assist you in exploring our innovative solutions for biological wastewater and gas treatment.
A member of our expert team will be in touch shortly to discuss your specific needs and how Paques can help you achieve your environmental and operational goals.
We look forward to collaborating with you and hope to build a cleaner, more sustainable world together.
Warm regards,
The Paques Team
