Our Process Hydrometallurgical recycling of grinding sludge and swarf for a circular iron chloride production.
What is Grinding sludge?
When steel is shaped or polished using cutting fluids, grinding sludge is generated. This waste is difficult to recycle into new steel due to the fine-grained structure, which is why it’s often landfilled.
Our process:
Anferra’s process offers a cost-efficient and circular alternative by converting the iron content into high-purity iron chloride for water treatment.
Process Highlights:
Input:
Hazardous grinding sludge
Core Process: Hydrometallurgical leaching, purification, and filtration
Outputs:
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High-purity iron chloride → Used in drinking water purification or wastewater treatment.
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Hydrogen gas → Can be applied on-site for energy needs or shared through industrial symbiosis.
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Recyclable filter cake → Contains a higher concentration of valuable alloys suitable for recycling into stainless steel.
Benefits:
By substituting virgin magnetite with grinding sludge, chemical producers can lower raw material costs while producing ferric chloride for water treatment applications.
Hydrogen offers a clean energy source either for internal processes or collaboration with nearby industries, enhancing overall resource efficiency.
Residual metals can be extracted and reused in the production of stainless steel, supporting circular material flows.
Ferric Chloride
Our Ferric Chloride is of high commercial quality and purity (CEN). By collaborating with established producers and resellers of Iron based coagulants, we are increasing the availability of high quality water purification chemicals made from recycled iron, reducing the dependence of virgin iron ore.
H2
Green hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in the future energy system and in decarbonizing heavy industries. Utilization of the hydrogen gas generated in our process can be adapted to fulfill the needs of the surrounding industrial system – in other chemical or mettalurgical processes, as electricity or fuel for transportation.
Alloys
The solid output contains higher concentrations of alloying elements such as Molybdenum and Chromium, valuable in the production of stainless steel. By making the solid byproducts available for reuse, Anferra aims to facilitate 100% recycling of the grinding swarf.
