Technical Data Gathered from PGM Recoveries

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Technical Data Gathered from PGM Recoveries

• Heraeus Technical Conference
• April 2005
• David Kelley
• PGM Recovery, LLC

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Background Info

• Industry experience
• Partnership with BDB Dismantling, Ltd (PGM
  Recovery, LLC)
• Various recovery options - destructive,
  non-destructive, on-site, etc.
• PGM estimating, metal tracking pool account
  optimization
• Metal balance program available via the Internet

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Background Info

• Expected between limits recovery estimate
• No damage guarantee/no loss guarantee
• Job specific method statement covering all
  process steps and safety

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General Comments/Rules of Thumb for PGM Recovery

• Non-destructive recovery
• hydroblasting - 25-35 potential recovery
• mechanical cleaning plus hydro - 40-50 potential
  recovery
• chemical cleaning - 55-70 potential recovery,
  more risk involved
• Destructive recovery
• Take samples and have them analyzed independently
• Know how your material will be sampled at the
  refiner
• Always have the customer sample analyzed
• Have your lot (i.e. tubes) held until settlement
  is reached
• Take samples of the cleaned items and have them
  analyzed
• Two most critical steps - cleaning sampling

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General Comments/Rules of Thumb

• For destructive recovery performed on-site
• Know your environmental rules regulations and
  how waste generated will be disposed
• Clean periodically versus waiting for equipment
  to fail - let economics dictate this decision
• Dont accept that recoveries cant be estimated
  and dont accept that there is no possible way to
  obtain a representative sample from equipment
• Keep records of metal use

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General Comments/Rules of Thumb

• Should be able to account for 88-95 of your
  gross metal losses
• Heat train catch is improved by
• location of the vessel in the heat train
• vessel life
• temperature differential across the vessel
• surface area of the vessel
• capture efficiency declines with time

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General Comments/Rules of Thumb

• Absorbers typically catch 1-5 of the gross metal
  losses
• Storage tanks typically catch 3-6 of the gross
  metal losses
• Individual exchangers typically catch 20-30 of
  the gross metal losses that they see depending
  on location in the heat train and surface area
• No heat exchange no pgm captured

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Rules of Thumb ND Cleaning

• As a minimum, at least 10 of the catalyst gross
  burn losses can be recovered by chemical
  treatment 5 by mechanical and 3 by
  hydroblasting
• A max of 30-35 of the gross burn losses can be
  recovered when an entire plant is chemically
  cleaned versus about 10-20 for both mechanical
  and hydroblasting
• Periodic cleaning is justified
• Dont try to time the market

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Historical Pricing - Pt
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Historical Pricing - Pt
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Rules of Thumb Destructive Cleaning (end of
service life)

• For high pressure plants, the quantity of pgm
  recovered varies between 0.32 0.69 toz/sq. ft.
  of exposed surface area average is around 0.5
  toz/sq. ft.
• For medium pressure plants, the quantity of pgm
  recovered varies between 0.08-0.15 toz/sq. ft. of
  exposed surface area
• For low pressure (atm) plants - ?

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Experience in HCN

• Work performed at Lucite International, Wilton
  (former ICI site)
• Work was undertaken as a development exercise
• Work was completed in only 24 hours
• Amount of pgm recovered wasnt that great and
  didnt cover charges
• However, prior to cleaning the plant was
  operating at very low efficiency

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Experience in HCN plants

• Many tubes in the boiler were coated with a glass
  like deposit that reduced gas flow
• After cleaning the plant returned to the
  manufacturers original design parameters
• Moneys gained from this improvement far
  outweighed the cost of the cleaning
• Lucite are very pleased, visiting for a 2nd plant
  clean in July/August 2005
• Have contact info for anyone interested

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Experience in Caprolactam Production

• Work undertaken at BASF in Freeport, TX
• Low pressure process, Oschatz boiler
• Prior to cleaning, fouling caused flowrate to be
  reduced to about 70 of design
• Steam production was also greatly reduced
• Recovered pgm value in excess of job costs
• Plant now operating at close to design

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Plants and PGM Content of Recovered Material

• Atmospheric
• pgm content of recovered material varies between
  0.02 up to 6
• plant normally has to be greater than 15 years
  old to warrant any form of recovery
• Medium Pressure
• pgm content of recovered material can vary
  between 2 and 40
• recovery is economic after 5 to 8 years,
  depending on plant production capacity
• High Pressure
• recovered material is very high in pgm content
  figures between 6 and 75 are not unusual
• recovery of pgm can be justified every 3 to 6
  years

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Tube Sampling Results
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Cost of Sample Error

• With a 100 toz return
• 2.9 error equates to roughly 2,360
• 5.2 error equates to roughly 4,375
• With a 1,000 toz return, these values approach
  24,000 and 44,000 respectively
• Why would you not sample?
• Why would you not have customer representation
  and have your customer sample analyzed?

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Typical Pt content after Incineration
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PGMR versus Competition
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PGM Recovery, LLCThank you!Please visit our
websites at www.pgmtechnologies.com
www.bdbdismantling.co.uk