The efficient recovery and refining of precious metal resources has always been the core link
in the utilization of mineral resources and the construction of circular economy. Driven by
the dual-carbon strategy and environmental protection policy, modern smelting equipment
is undergoing a comprehensive transformation from traditional fire method to green intelligence.
In this paper, we will systematically analyze the technical characteristics and development trend
of precious metal smelting equipment from the three dimensions of technical principle, equipment
system and process innovation.
Precious metal smelting equipment technology mapping
Precious metal smelting equipment can be divided into four major systems according to the process route:
1.1 High-temperature metallurgy equipment group
Precious metal arc furnace: the use of graphite electrodes to generate 3000 ℃ plasma arc, processing complex
ore containing platinum group metals
Rotary roasting kiln: innovative internal spiral infusion structure, so that the material residence time is extended by
30%, metal recovery rate increased to 98.5%
Precious metal induction furnace: equipped with variable frequency power supply (1-10kHz), realizing precise
temperature-controlled melting of palladium, rhodium and other metals.
1.2 Wet metallurgy equipment group
High-pressure reactor: the working pressure reaches 5MPa, and the cyanide leaching cycle is shortened to
1/3 of the traditional process.
Dynamic extraction tower: multi-stage counter-current design, platinum-iridium separation efficiency exceeds 99.9%.
Electrolytic deposition system: modular electrolyzer with pulse power supply, cathode deposition layer
thickness deviation ≤5%.
1.3 Physical separation equipment chain
Laser sorting machine: 1064nm laser recognizes the characteristic spectrum of metal, sorting precision
reaches 0.1mm³.
Superconducting magnetic separator: 9 Tesla magnetic field strength, extracting trace precious metals
from electronic waste materials.
Centrifugal atomizer: Preparation of precious metal powder (particle size D50=15μm), sphericity>92%
1.4 Environmental protection treatment equipment
Acid gas scrubber: three-stage lye spraying system, NOx removal rate >99%.
Precious metal trap: honeycomb ceramic carrier loaded adsorbent, tail gas metal recovery rate of ≥95
Electrolyte regenerator: ion exchange membrane technology, to achieve 85% cyanide recycling rate
Analysis of core equipment technical parameters
2.1 High-efficiency melting system
Melting pool temperature uniformity: ±10℃ (traditional equipment ±25℃)
Flue gas waste heat recovery: through the heat pipe heat exchanger, steam output up to 0.8t/h
Precious metal direct yield: platinum group metals ≥ 99.2%, gold ≥ 99.99%
2.2 Intelligent control unit
Material tracking system: RFID tags realize full traceability of raw material batches.
Self-optimization of process parameters: real-time adjustment of oxygen concentration and feed
rate based on digital twin model.
Failure prediction system: vibration sensor + thermal imaging early warning of key component loss
2.3 Application of special materials
Corundum mullite composite lining: thermal shock resistance >50 times (traditional refractory bricks <20 times)
Zirconium alloy stirring paddle: corrosion-resistant life extended to 12,000 hours
Silicon carbide heat exchanger element: thermal conductivity of 120W/(m-K), 3 times higher than metal materials
Process Upgrade Path
3.1 Short process smelting technology
Direct smelting of electronic waste: development of microwave-assisted melting process, reducing processing time by 40%.
Alloy anode electrolysis: direct electrolysis of gold-silver-copper multi-alloys, eliminating the need for a silver-splitting furnace.
Bio-oxidation pretreatment: utilizing acidophilic bacteria to decompose inclusions, increasing the gold leaching rate to 96%.
3.2 Energy system optimization
Oxygen-enriched combustion technology: Oxygen concentration of 28%-35%, reducing fuel consumption by 25%.
Waste heat gradient utilization: high temperature flue gas → waste heat boiler → organic Rankine cycle power generation
Equipment thermal coupling design: melting furnace and refining furnace heat joint supply, comprehensive energy efficiency by 18%.
3.3 Digital Factory Practice
Distributed Control System (DCS): Integration of 3000+ monitoring point data.
Augmented Reality (AR) Operation and Maintenance: 3D visualization and positioning of faulty parts of equipment
Energy consumption digital twin: predicting the comprehensive energy consumption deviation of different production programs by ≤3%.
Breakthroughs in environmental management technology
4.1 Exhaust gas management module
Dioxin prevention and control: rapid cooling tower (200 ℃ → 60 ℃ / s) combined with activated carbon spraying
Mercury recovery system: sulfur-impregnated activated carbon adsorption + condensation capture, recovery rate of >99.5%
Carbon dioxide capture: amine-liquid absorption method annual sequestration of up to 10,000 tons
4.2 Zero wastewater discharge system
Membrane separation technology: nanofiltration + reverse osmosis combination process, water reuse rate >95%.
Electrochemical cyanide removal: Ti/RuO₂ anodic oxidation decomposition of cyanide to CN- <0.2mg/L.
Sludge resource utilization: microwave drying to prepare ceramic granules, heavy metal curing rate >99.9%.
4.3 Noise control program
Low-frequency noise management: installation of Helmholtz resonator, 125Hz band noise reduction 15dB
Equipment vibration damping design: three-dimensional elastic support system, vibration transmission loss>30dB
Plant acoustic optimization: porous aluminum fiber acoustic panels, reverberation time control in 1.2 seconds
Industry Application Scenario Expansion
5.1 Direct smelting in mines
Mobile smelting truck: integrated crushing-leaching-electrolysis module, with a processing capacity of 50t/d.
Underground in-situ smelting: adopting miniature smelting furnace (Φ1.2m), reducing transportation cost by 40%.
5.2 Urban mine development
Electronic waste treatment line: annual treatment of 20,000 tons of waste circuit boards, extraction of gold 300kg
Automobile catalyst recovery: plasma smelting to extract platinum, palladium and rhodium, with a recovery rate of over 98%.
5.3 High-end material preparation
Sputtering target production: ultra-high purity gold (7N) vacuum fusion casting equipment
Medical precious metals: special refining system for preparing iridium-192 radioactive sources.
Research and judgment of technology development trend
6.1 Low-carbon smelting technology
Hydrogen-based direct reduction: replacing coke with green hydrogen, reducing carbon emissions by 80%.
Microwave smelting: selective heating of metal components, reducing energy consumption by 35%.
6.2 Intelligent Equipment Upgrade
Unmanned smelting workshop: automatic slag picking by robotic arm, operation efficiency increased by 50%.
Equipment health management: remaining life prediction error based on deep learning is <5%.
6.3 Micro-reactor technology
Continuous flow metallurgical system: reactor volume reduced to 1/10 of traditional equipment.
Nano-catalyst application: gold leaching rate increased by 2 orders of magnitude
The technological iteration of precious metal smelting equipment is reshaping the pattern of the global
precious metal industry. From high-temperature smelting to biometallurgy, from stand-alone equipment
to intelligent factories, technological innovation continues to drive the industry to evolve in the direction
of high efficiency, cleanliness and intelligence. For practitioners, grasping the window period of equipment
upgrading and building a full-process technology system will become the key to establishing core
competitiveness in the precious metals field.