Recycling

Biography

Biography: Jonathan S Cramer

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: Recycling processes are now widely recognized as one of the solutions against the primary mineral resources supply risk. The most developed countries are aware of this issue and aim to find innovative processes to recycle strategical metallic elements. The existing processes are pyro and/or hydrometallurgical processes, however they may face significant drawbacks. Within the framework of alternative new recycling processes, we use the thermal plasma media to perform extractive metallurgy. Indeed, the so-called 4th state of matter combines the properties of hydro and pyro-metallurgical processes in addition to its particular properties. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: The selective extraction and recovery of desired metal in binary samples alloys (FeCu, CuSn) has been carried out by a 15kW enhanced plasma process. The enhancement lies in the modification (additives) and the control of the hot plasma chemical reactivity and temperature. The liquid alloy mass transport is also studied and controlled (by a DC bias) in order to understand the plasma-alloy interface and optimize the extraction. The extracted elements are transported by the plasma flow and recovered by condensation on a capture plate. Findings: The understanding and the control of the plasma-alloy interface led to the selective extraction of the desired elements with a high purity. Some plasma thermodynamic tools have been conceived to improve the selectivity and extraction rate. Multiple diagnosis tools (OES, LIBS, DRX, ICP…) are employed in-situ and ex-situ so that an extraction mechanism can be proposed. Conclusion & Significance: The thermal plasma is a suitable media for metallurgical processes. In this project we used a customizable and controllable thermal plasma process to selectively extract and recover metal from binary alloy (Cu,Sn…), with the further objective to recycle strategic metals from more diverse and complex matrices.