The Chinese government has recently announced plans to invest over one hundred billion Chinese yuan into zinc dross reduction technology, technology which promises to revolutionize the metal smelting industry. This technology converts zinc dross, an industrial by-product, into high-grade zinc with minimal effort. The initiative is expected to create major economic gains for Chinese metallurgical plants and miners, who are currently facing a shortage of raw materials.
At the heart of this project lies the fact that zinc dross is highly recyclable. Typically only 35-45% of the original zinc is recovered from dross, the rest being lost to the environment. Through the utilization of the reduction process, this amount can be drastically increased - upwards of 80% being recoverable. Ultimately, this process reduces waste, increases efficiencies and ultimately benefits the environment.
The funds allocated to this development will come from a variety of sources, but mainly from the government. This is partly due to the fact that there is already significant private industry involvement in the development and commercialization of the reduction process. Several start-ups, such as Dross Solutions, are working hard to bring their technologies to the market.
Triple-Type Technology, a producer of smelting equipment, has also been involved in the development process. The company has been in contact with numerous miners and smelting plants in order to develop and implement the reduction process. For example, Triple-Type recently provided funds to Na Jiagang Mining Company in order to purchase a piece of equipment that would enable them to reduce their zinc dross.
The funds allocated to the project will be used to further research into the reduction process and to improve existing equipment. Additionally, these funds will be invested into government initiatives which are related to zinc dross. In particular, the funds will be targeted at promoting the utilization of zinc dross as a raw material in the manufacturing of zinc products, in order to gain a better understanding of the technology.
Even with the investment from the Chinese government, the total capital needed to implement the zinc dross process on a large scale is estimated to come in at around two billion Chinese yuan. Nevertheless, the projects ultimate purpose is to improve Chinese metallurgical plants, and to reduce their reliance on raw materials. With government investment, the zinc dross reduction process can be commercialized and help to revolutionize a major industrial sector.
