Envirogen Technologies Awarded Contract For Industrial Metals Recovery System
Unique, patented technology will help Polish PTA manufacturing facility achieve regulatory compliance while offsetting manufacturing costs through cobalt recovery
Kingwood, TX — Envirogen Technologies Inc. (Envirogen) announced the finalization of an agreement to provide process design and materials for a metals recovery system at a purified terephthalic acid (PTA) manufacturing site in the Republic of Poland. The system, which will be installed for the Polski Koncern Naftowy Group (PKN) by Earnest Chemical (a joint venture between Chemtex International Inc. and Yu King Technology Co., LTD.), is based on an Envirogen Technologies design and will recover cobalt from a waste stream resulting from the manufacture of PTA. The recovery system will feature ion exchange technology that is patented by Envirogen and will allow PKN to meet its wastewater treatment goals of less than 1 ppm cobalt in the finished effluent. The recovered metals will be recycled for use as a catalyst in the PTA manufacturing process. This installation is Envirogen?s fourth metals recovery project globally and its first in Europe. The company is currently launching this treatment/process option to firms employing a broad range of precious and semi-precious metals in manufacturing in the United States.
According to Robert Stark, Director of Industrial Business Development, the PKN installation is made possible by Envirogen?s ability to recover precious and semi-precious metals with great efficiency at a manageable cost. "At Envirogen, we have some extraordinarily efficient technology for recycling metals from industrial processes and waste streams," Stark said. "In this installation for PKN, we are focusing on helping them meet their environmental goals for cobalt in their waste stream. But the efficiency of our metals recycling helps them significantly lower their costs for this treatment as well," he added. The system is designed to achieve greater than 95% cobalt recovery, which will deliver upwards of $1,600,000 per year in cost savings for the facility based on $20/lb cobalt prices.
Envirogen's metals recovery system for PKN utilizes ion exchange technology in a two-step process and is capable of treating 200 m3/hr streams with a 10-25 ppm range of cobalt concentrations while operating around the clock. Proprietary media captures the metals in a run cycle typically lasting 7-10 days (dependent on feed conditions), prior to regeneration with a mineral acid, and transfers the metal from the media bed to a recovered catalyst tank where it is prepared for reuse. The system has also been designed to optimize regenerative agent recovery in this step, further reducing operating costs and the need for service and resupply of media. Envirogen will be involved with the start-up of this installation and then will hand off day-to-day operations to PKN. Typically, Envirogen offers a technology+services approach to metals recovery that offers guaranteed performance and low lifecycle costs.
According to Stark, Envirogen?s successful ion-exchange-based metals recovery installations in a range of industrial manufacturing environments provide a good foundation for the company?s launch of this technology in U.S. markets. "For any manufacturing facility considering metals recovery - whether for improving environmental performance, as a cost reduction measure or as part of process improvement - Envirogen can tailor ion exchange solutions that address a number of precious and semi-precious metals in a broad range of process environments," he said. "The flexibility and efficiency of this technology is such that we are willing to look at virtually any type of metals recovery application with confidence that we can offer significant benefits. And we have the ability to work with companies in a variety of ways – from process design to fully-built and operated installations for which we can provide cost and performance guarantees," he added. For more information, visit www.envirogen.com.
About Envirogen Technologies, Inc.
Headquartered in the Houston suburb of Kingwood, Texas, Envirogen is a technology+services solutions provider that designs, builds and implements systems for business in municipal and industrial water and environmental treatment applications. A primary focus for Envirogen is the concept of „lifecycle performance,? in which the company provides guaranteed, pay-for-performance, long-term contracts at predictable costs that offer customers the lowest total cost over the lifetime of an equipment installation. Primary applications for Envirogen?s systems include treatment of groundwater for the delivery of high-quality potable water, groundwater remediation, wastewater treatment, water re-use, nutrient removal, and odor and VOC control for municipal and industrial markets. In industrial markets such as mining, hydrocarbon processing and chemical processing, Envirogen also specializes in process water treatment, byproduct recovery and chemical purification. The company conducts business throughout the United States, with regional offices in Southern California, Illinois, New Jersey and Tennessee. For more information on the company, visit www.envirogen.com.
SOURCE: Envirogen Technologies, Inc.