Incineration Processing
The Incinerator process is based on burning the carbon to reduce the volume for precious metal recovery. Precious metals remain with the ash and the burner exhaust is processed to prevent mercury emissions to the environment. The oxidation system has multiple stages of scrubbing for mercury removal from the exhaust gas.
Feed
Feed to the carbon burner arrives in bulk bags. The bags are hoisted by a crane and trolley to a bag dump station. The feeder is kept full at all times.
Carbon Burner
The carbon burner is a fluidized bed reactor, the heart of the process. The carbon burns as it enters the burner leaving the non-combustible ash behind. The heavier fraction of the ash stays in the bed to serve as a heat sink and temperature moderator. Lighter ash is carried out with the exhaust gas.
Gas Cooling
The cyclone overflow contains most of the mercury and a minimal amount of the precious metals. The off gases are cooled to less than 250 F with a water-cooled heat exchanger.
