Location
The Netherlands
Industry
Recycling
Enhanced metal recovery
Kinarox hydrocyclones ensure precise metal separation, significantly reducing heavy metal waste by 85%.
Sustainable process improvement
Reduces waste and enhances overall plant sustainability and profitability.
Seamless integration
Our team ensured the smooth incorporation of existing equipment into the new setup.
Challenge
A client specializing in wet-processing coal and coke by-products from the steel industry faced a major issue: their thickener tank was accumulating valuable heavy metals, which were being lost as waste instead of being reclaimed. The primary culprit was an inefficient sand-screw system that couldn't achieve a precise cut-point. Additionally, the pump feeding the sand screw suffered from frequent dry running, causing operational setbacks.
The client approached Vaikon to engineer a solution that would reduce heavy metal waste and improve the separation process. The goal was to boost the recycling installation's efficiency and recover heavy metals that were previously lost in the thickener tank.
Solution
Vaikon started by drafting a new P&ID with a Kinarox hydrocyclone for precise separation. Our in-house team designed and built the setup to meet the client's requirements. The installation involved constructing a 10-meter-high steel structure to house the hydrocyclone and integrating the client's refurbished dewatering screen into the setup. Our service engineers also installed all necessary HDPE piping to ensure seamless integration with the existing system.
Result
Once commissioned, the new setup delivered impressive results. Sieve testing and material analysis showed an 85% reduction in the fraction of metals present in the thickener, significantly reducing heavy metal waste.
