Rockwell Automation, Inc. a world leader in industrial automation and digital transformation solutions, is working with the Royal Mint, the UK's mint, to design, build and commission a plant to safely recover precious metals from electronic products. Earlier this year, the Royal Mint announced its decision to build this new plant, the first of its kind in the world. Once operational, the 3,500m2 located in South Wales, will be able to process up to 90 tons of printed circuit boards per week from the UK.
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the UK and worldwide, yet less than 20 % of it is currently recycled worldwide. In the UK, more than 300,000 tonnes of electrical and electronic products are discarded every year, for some 527 million electronic items in use in the country. Over 95 tonnes of precious metals - including gold, silver and palladium - worth £857 million could be recycled each year from end-of-life electrical and electronic products.
The Royal Mint uses patented chemicals to recover more than 99 % of the gold and other materials contained in printed circuit boards from discarded computers and cell phones.
Capitalizing on a 15-year relationship with the Royal Mint, Rockwell Automation's Lifecycle Management team has designed a multi-million pound turnkey process and PlantPAx distributed control system. These will help to reduce the environmental impact of WEEE management in the UK, supporting the Royal Mint in its far-reaching sustainability initiatives. The process feeds printed circuit boards into a reactor on a conveyor belt. The resulting sludge is then subjected to separation, sorting and filtering operations to recover reusable metals.
" Rockwell Automation's extensive knowledge and capabilities enable us to make these installations as efficient, durable and user-friendly as possible. "Phil Hadfield, Managing Director of Rockwell Automation, was delighted. " We are proud to strengthen our ties with the Royal Mint, generating a new source of high-quality precious metals and helping to meet the challenges of managing electrical and electronic waste on a global scale. "
At full capacity, the new dedicated facilities will manage all WEEE processed on site in a controlled manner, in compliance with current regulations. In line with the principles of the circular economy, the planned recovery of precious metals and other materials will help to protect natural resources, reduce the environmental impact of WEEE smelting in the UK, and create new skills and jobs in South Wales.
" This technology gives us the opportunity to take concrete action on one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time, while securing our future as a leader in the production of high-quality, responsible precious metals. "added Sean Millard, Chief Growth Officer at Royal Mint. " It's a technology with great potential, whether it's minimizing the impact of e-waste, protecting precious resources or creating new skills for the circular economy. "