The bath smelting furnace (BSF), the main melting furnace of Weser-Metall GmbH, produces lead and lead-containing by-products. The lead of the BSF is then further processed in the connected refinery to lead ingots of different qualities. The lead-containing by-products were sold prior to the commissioning of the Reduction Furnace (RF). The strategic objective of the Recylex Group was and is to secure the Lead segment at the Nordenham site with the processing of lead content materials for the production of lead ingots in the long term. In this objective, the newly designed RF reduces the lead contained in the by-products of the BSF by separating and recovery of the lead of the processed materials, which significantly increased the progressed materials. The complete plant, which consists of BSF and RF, thus also makes it possible to use lead contained residues that have significantly lower lead content than primary and secondary materials (tertiary materials). This includes, in particular, production residues from other smelting plants which previously had to dispose of such materials at the expense of the environment. With the addition of the RF, the possibilities for processing more different and difficult materials are broadened in the aim to increase profitability.
Due to the size of the large project “RF”, which was important for the group, and the enormous performance requirements associated with it, important milestones were mastered before the project began. In addition to various approval procedures, detailed execution planning of a system that is still unique in Europe and the selection of suitable suppliers and service providers, as well as construction company, the project financing was one of the most important stages before the realization of the project began in February 2017.
Even after successful commissioning during 2018, the key challenge is to achieve the costs, production and quality goals on a permanent basis. As with any new industrial asset construction, the potential difficulties linked to the development of such a project cannot be fully anticipated with accuracy. The technical fine-tuning between BSF and RF therefore takes much longer than originally planned. Therefore, Weser-Metall GmbH reinforced its teams and made use of external support from experts who, like the Recylex Group, the financing partners and shareholders also see the great potential of this forward-looking project.