De-zincing operation starts up. (Scrap Industry News).After a prolonged research and start-up phase, a galvanized gal·va·nize tr.v. gal·va·nized, gal·va·niz·ing, gal·va·niz·es 1. To stimulate or shock with an electric current. 2. scrap "de-zincing" operation is ready to start a steady production schedule. Generators and consumers of ferrous scrap will be watching the progress of Meretec, East Chicago East Chicago, city (1990 pop. 33,892), Lake co., extreme NW Ind., on Lake Michigan, in the industrialized Calumet region, adjoining Gary, Hammond, and Whiting; inc. 1889. , Ind. The current owners of the company, which previously operated under the name Metals Recycling Technologies Inc. (MRTI MRTI Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee MRTI Moscow Radio-Technical Institute MRTI Motorola Radio-Telephone Interconnect ), are ramping up production of their process, which yields the de-zinced "black scrap" preferred by iron foundries and a zinc flake product. The company accepts shipments of galvanized scrap trimmings from regional stamping plants and removes the zinc coating to produce a foundry-quality grade of steel scrap. "Our initial target market is the automotive industry The automotive industry is the industry involved in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of motor vehicles. In 2006, more than 69 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide. , where up to 30 percent of the galvanized steel supplied to stamping plants immediately becomes scrap in the form of off-cuts," says Gunnar Skoog, president of Meretec. "Our goal is to process the scrap galvanized steel from the stamping plants and to supply foundries with the resulting high-grade melt stock," says Skoog. "The zinc that we recover is our very own product--highly reactive Meretec zinc, a premium product with a premium price." Skoog estimates that the de-zinced steel scrap could fetch up to $30 or $40 per ton more than it would as galvanized scrap. The Meretec zinc, "should sell at the LME See London Metal Exchange. LME See London Metal Exchange (LME). price plus something, but we don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. plus-what yet," says Skoog. At the Meretec facility, scrap is conveyed to a rotary reactor containing a caustic solution that strips the galvanized coating off of the scrap. The resulting "clean scrap" is conveyed from the reactor in a dry, clean state ready for shipment. The solution, which contains the zinc coating, goes through several steps, including an electrowinning process and a centrifugal centrifugal /cen·trif·u·gal/ (sen-trif´ah-gal) efferent (1). cen·trif·u·gal adj. 1. Moving or directed away from a center or axis. 2. spinner, that eventually produces the dry, zinc flakes that are shipped to end users. Meretec estimates the average ton of galvanized scrap yields about 40 pounds of zinc flake product. The plant has the capacity to process up to 115,000 metric tons of scrap yearly, and Meretec has the ability to expand the plant if necessary. |
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