Metal recovery and recycling

Swerim is working continuously to promote metal recovery in industry and thereby ensure the availability of raw materials. By combining expertise spanning several industrial sectors, we can create innovative and holistic solutions for greater resource efficiency. This includes all handling from the time the waste and residues arise until the material is recovered or recycled.

The advantages of metal recycling

We can help you:

• find the tools you need to quickly meet future environmental requirements.
• increase your use of economical and environmentally advantageous raw materials.

The main thrust of research in metals recovery is in several areas: methods of sorting, energy-efficient conversion from oxide to metal and chemical separation of metals.

Sorting and conversion

In principle, metals can be recycled indefinitely, but it must be possible to separate them from each other and from other materials. By separating metals, they can also be decontaminated, thereby increasing the degree of recovery and recycling even further. Separation can be done either mechanically or chemically. Swerim has developed several different innovative methods and processes for separating metals.

Metal oxides in dust form are a secondary raw material from industrial processes. Swerim is conducting research in several areas to develop methods for energy-efficient conversion of metals from oxide to metallic form.

Examples of projects

• Vanadium is separated from LD slag
• Brass recovery
• Zinc recovery in fluidized bed roasting, a new life for a residual product.
• Methods for recovering metals from both alkaline and lithium-ion batteries
• LIBS: Optical sorting prior to mechanical separation
• Injecting off-gas dust into the blast furnace
• Rimfoam (EAF technology)