Division BAT 133
United Kingdom
In order to reduce the quantities of waste sent for disposal from hydrometallurgical cadmium production, BAT is to organise operations on site so as to facilitate process residues reuse or, failing that, process residues recycling, including by using one of the techniques given below.
| Technique | Applicability | |
|---|---|---|
| a | Extract the cadmium from the zinc process as a cadmium-rich cementate in the purification section, further concentrate and refine it (by electrolysis or a pyrometallurgical process) and finally transform it into marketable cadmium metal or cadmium compounds | Only applicable if an economically viable demand exists |
| b | Extract the cadmium from the zinc process as a cadmium-rich cementate in the purification section, and then apply a set of hydrometallurgical operations in order to obtain a cadmium-rich precipitate (e.g. cement (Cd metal), Cd(OH)2) that is landfilled, while all other process flows are recycled in the cadmium plant or in the zinc plant flow | Only applicable if suitable landfill is available |