Top Entry Mixers and Plate Heat Exchangers for a Global Biorefinery
When a leading global clean-tech company recently expanded their operations to build the world’s first commercial-scale biorefinery in Australia, they sought effective mixing and cooling solutions from FluidPro for their new plant.
The customer provides a low-carbon means of extracting and repurposing precious metals from electronic waste. As consumers continually upgrade their technology, electronics manufacturers must utilise large quantities of materials such as gold, copper, silver and zinc to keep up with market demand. To reduce the need for mining and consumption of virgin minerals, the customer extracts, recycles and repurposes existing precious metals from old devices, providing a more sustainable solution and contributing to the circular economy.
With the initial success of their demonstration-scale operation in New Zealand, the customer has sought to expand, bringing their renewable processes to the rest of the world. Their new Australian biorefinery, based in Sydney, NSW, will process at least 10 tonnes of raw printed circuit boards from electronic waste daily.
Top Entry Mixers
The team at FluidPro worked closely with the customer to help them scale up their operations, and provide a customised mixing solution tailored to the biorefinery’s unique setup and very specific requirements. FluidPro’s LT-10 Top Entry Agitators provided the ideal solution for the reactor tanks, effectively mixing slurries with a heavy solid content, keeping solids in suspension and preventing sediment from collecting at the bottom of the reactor. With an aggressive chemical solution being used, FluidPro created a customised solution to add corrosion resistance to its shaft and impellers, sourcing a rare CPSE coating and HDPE lining to prevent chemical reactions and degradation of the machinery. To accommodate the low roof and tight tolerances between the reactors and the ceiling, the FluidPro team further customised the mixer design, including a detachable shaft coupling to allow the mixers to attach without impeding operations.
Plate Heat Exchangers
As well as an efficient mixing operation, the customer required careful temperature control for its processes. With its reactors made of HDPE, it was crucial that the temperature of the water and chemicals be controlled at every stage of the process to prevent overheating and degradation of the tanks. Three of FluidPro’s UltraTherm Plate Heat Exchangers were installed to control the water temperature before and during reaction.
The FluidPro team provided the customer with a seamless operation and consistent support throughout the process, going above and beyond to ensure the customer’s needs were met. As well as finding customised solutions to the customer’s needs, FluidPro also provided outstanding customer service, support and transparency throughout every stage of the process to ensure a successful operation.
Here at FluidPro, we are more than just a manufacturer – we provide a complete process solution with support from start to finish.
If you are seeking mixing or heat exchange solutions for your project, we can work with you to meet your unique process needs.
