Performance Metrics of the Newly Introduced Britannia Silver Process: Significant Reductions in Operating Costs, Energy Usage, and Scope 1 Carbon Emissions in the Industrial-Scale Refining of Silver

Abstract

The current pyrometallurgical silver refining process involves high energy consumption and a proportional carbon footprint. Developmental work conducted by Glencore at Britannia Refined Metals, UK, has achieved a fundamental redesign of the silver refining process. The new process, tested at the pilot plant scale, has removed the liquation stage in the original process and introduced a vacuum dezincing unit with significantly superior energy efficiency to the original vacuum induction dezincing operation. The redesigned dezincing unit demonstrates dezincing kinetics 44% greater than the original unit, as well as a higher purity and recovery efficiency of zinc. Utilizing a pilot plant at nominally ¼ scale of the full-scale process, the new Britannia Silver Process has been operated as an experimental facility to examine all aspects of the new operation and its integration into larger full-scale plant. The extended operation demonstrated a 37% reduction in energy usage and a 31% reduction in carbon footprint, as assessed at Scope 1 resolution, compared to the original process, per unit of produced silver, at equal or better purity. The favorable results have secured the approval of construction of a demonstration plant.

Graphical Abstract