Following a multi-month commissioning phase, SMS group has handed over a greenfield recycling plant for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to Aurus in Mtsensk, Russia, a company of Ecopolis Corporation.

Using a combination of pyro- and hydrometallurgical processes, the facility is the first of its kind in the world. It recovers high-purity copper, nickel, gold, silver and platinum at very high rates and is designed for an annual recycling capacity of 6,000 tons of WEEE and 10,000 tons of copper scrap. The facility represents an important milestone both in terms of recycling technology and for the global recycling industry.

In 2017, SMS had received the order for the development of this plant. Maxim Lobanov, CEO of Aurus, states: “With SMS, we have found a reliable partner for our company. We have implemented and started up the facility successfully, despite the constraints in connection with the coronavirus pandemic.”

The supply scope included the top blown rotary converter (TBRC), an anode refining furnace, the casting wheel, the refining electrolyzer, the precious metals plant and a dedusting system. In addition to the supply of all core components, long-term service agreements were concluded aimed at optimizing the plant availability.

Even today, more than 45 million tons of electronic scrap have accumulated worldwide. The recycling market in this field is growing continuously. As part of a global innovation initiative, SMS has expanded its group activities to provide holistic solutions for the recycling of non-ferrous metals.

Under its “BlueMetals” banner, SMS designs and manufactures recyling facilities for the processing of between 1,000 and 120,000 tons per year of waste electrical and electronic equipment of different qualities, making an important contribution to a sustainable circular economy.

Ecopolis Corporation is the only operator of WEEE recycling plants in Russia.

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