Platirus Project - General presentation

Transcription

1 Reducing the European deficit of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs), by upscaling to industrial relevant levels a novel cost-efficient and miniaturised PGMs recovery and raw material production process Platirus Project - General presentation Dr Emma Goosey Env-Aqua Solutions Ltd METS 2018, Madrid

2 Outline o The Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) o Supply, demand and use of Platinum-Foresight for the coming years o Importance of platinum for the EU economy o The Platirus project: Its aim, activities and expected benefits Image: Rob Lavinsky

3 The Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) Least abundant of the Earth's elements and classified by the EC as critical raw materials (CRMs); PGMs comprise 6 chemically very similar elements: 1. ruthenium (Ru), 2. iridium (Ir), 3. rhodium (Rh), 4. osmium (Os) 5. palladium (Pd), 6. platinum (Pt)

4 Supply, Demand and Use of Platinum Platinum is the most commercially important, having the largest range of applications PGM usages per industry in 2010 Source: IPA

5 Supply, Demand and Use of Platinum Platinum Supply & Demand (tonnes) S U P P L Y D E M A N D South Africa Russia Others Total Supply Autocatalyst Jewellery Industrial Investment Total Gross Demand Recycling Total Net Demand Movements in Stocks Platinum market remained in deficit in 2017 o In 2018 demand from platinum purchase by Chinese jewellery fabricators to rise. Zimbabwe, Colombia, North America Rest of the world (Source: Framepool) Source: JM s report November 2016

6 PLATINUM (Tonnes) Supply, Demand and Use of Platinum f Primary Supply Recycling Demand Source: WPIC 2017

7 Forecast Platinum Supply and Demand Source: Johnson Matthey, Glaux Metal, January Primary Pt Supply (tonnes) % Recycled Pt Supply Primary supply is not forecasted to increase % % % 0 % Pt Demand (tonnes) Demand is increasing Pt market balance (tonnes) Deficit is forecasted for the coming years

8 PALLADIUM (Tonnes) Supply, Demand and Use of Palladium Platinum Supply & Demand (tonnes) S U P P L Y D E M A N D South Africa Russia Others Total Supply Autocatalyst Jewellery Industrial Investment Total Gross Demand Recycling Total Net Demand Movements in Stocks Similarly, palladium market remained in deficit in Primary Supply Recycling Demand Source: JM s report November 2016

9 Tonnes Tonnes Importance of PGMs for the EU economy Source: JM report November o 2013: >21% of platinum global demand related to European market (50 tonnes, worth > 1 Bn). EU is 1 st consumer of platinum in industrial products. o Autocatalyst used ca. 41% of EU PGMs in EU is highest consumer of platinum and an important consumer of Pd & Rh for autocatalysts.

10 Importance of PGM recovery for the EU economy o Europe already has a very strong position in recycling and refining of PGMs with major industrial players: o Important to keep a lead time in innovation compared to the rest of the world o The Platirus project was designed to strengthen the European position in the production of PGMs

11 Importance of Platinum recovery for the EU economy Typical ores for PGMs contain 10 g PGM/ton ore (10 ppm) Typically, 2 g to 5 g of platinum per catalyst unit concentration is more than 1000 ppm Source: Monolithos ~ 100 times higher than natural ores

12 Smelting of concentrates from Ni-Cu mining can also be a moderate source of pgms The main primary raw material for copper smelting is CuFeS 2 -FeS 2 concentrate that usually includes: Ag, Au, PGMs, As, Sb, Bi, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, and Te. Printed Circuit Board Metal Content Copper 11-40% Lead 0.3 3% Tin % Zinc % Nickel % Silver ppm Gold ppm PGMs 3 50 ppm

13 Mining Waste o Using tailings and slags from nickel and copper smelters o Opening-up an important range of alternative sources o Offering the potential to substitute a large amount of primary raw materials

14 Refining By-Products o Tailings, sludges and slags have been formed during the years of operation of copper and nickel smelter and refinery. o Tailings are fayalite based slags after slag cleaning o Sludges are leaching residues. o Slag is soda-borax based oxide slag from smelting step before feeding back to process.

15 Alternative Low Grade Supply Source: British Geological Survey 2009

16 Opportunities for Untapped Deposits Conventional Sources Deposit PGM Concentration Merensky 5-7 g/ton Chromitite 4 8 g/ton Contact Type 1 4 g/ton Dunite 3 g/ton Unconventional Sources o Hospital Waste (Pt used in cancer treatments) o Sewers & Waste Water Treatment Plants (sludge) Meteorite Impact Basalts 1-10 g/ton 1 7 g/ton o Urban Mining Komatiite 200 ppm Source: British Geological Survey 2009 o Municipal Waste

17 The Platirus project PLATInum group metals Recovery Using Secondary raw materials Aim Reducing the European deficit of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs), by upscaling to industrial relevant levels a novel cost-efficient and miniaturised PGMs recovery and raw material production process Targeted Secondary raw materials including autocatalysts, electronic waste (WEEE), and nickel and copper Feedstocks smelter tailings and slags Funding The PLATIRUS project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and innovation program under Grant Agreement n Duration to PLATIRUS Consortium

18 The PLATIRUS project Main Activities: o Upscaling to industrially relevant levels, novel cost-efficient and miniaturised PGMs recovery and raw material production process. o Decentralised for localised use o Minimise impact of transport (triple bottom line) o Selecting best (combination of) recovery technologies and developing a Platirus recovery process and Blueprint Process Design for the final upscaling step, before market introduction. o Preparing and stimulating market introduction.

19 The Platirus project WEEE

20 The PLATIRUS project benefits Main benefits: o Fill the supply-demand gap of PGMs o Secure the supply of PGM materials and reduce dependency from global supply chains o Lower energy costs and environmental impacts o Providing solutions with low capital investment costs compared to centralized refineries to maximize the exploitation of the local wastes

21 Main Project Contact TECNALIA Dr. Amal Siriwardana (Project Coordinator)