Clean technology solutions
At emew, we’re on a mission to deliver clean technology solutions for metal recovery. In order to achieve this mission, we have developed a suite of proprietary technologies to recover high-purity metals from a wide range of streams and byproducts, including e-waste, lithium ion batteries, copper-rich feeds, precious metals refinery bleed, wastewater and more.
emew technologies
Different from traditional electrowinning, emew vortex electrowinning circulates the electrolyte rapidly around the anode and cathode, creating a high-flow environment that dramatically enhances mass transfer. This improvement allows for more efficient metal recovery, particularly from low-concentration and mixed-metal solutions.
Unlike conventional systems that rely on slow diffusion of ions, emew’s tubular cell design employs swirl flow, which reduces the thickness of the diffusion layer. This innovation leads to higher production rates, improved selectivity, and a smaller operational footprint—ideal for challenging applications where traditional electrowinning struggles to perform efficiently.
Unlike conventional systems that rely on slow diffusion of ions, emew’s tubular cell design employs swirl flow, which reduces the thickness of the diffusion layer. This innovation leads to higher production rates, improved selectivity, and a smaller operational footprint—ideal for challenging applications where traditional electrowinning struggles to perform efficiently.
Advantages of emew technologies
The emew system offers a range of advantages over traditional electrowinning processes, delivering increased efficiency, higher recovery rates, and greater flexibility.
High purity
Produces ultra-high purity metals, suitable for sale or direct use in various applications without further refinement
Closed system
Designed as a closed system, minimizing exposure to hazardous gases and eliminating acid mist production
Quick stripping
Allows easy stripping of metal cathodes, significantly improving operational times compared to traditional electrowinning
Modular assembly
Features modular assembly, enabling scalable and flexible installation tailored to specific production needs and capacities
Efficient at low concentrations
Efficiently recovers metals at low concentrations, even in the presence of impurities
Closed loop
Regenerates reagents, significantly reducing fresh chemical consumption and enhancing environmental stewardship
Our solutions
emew’s technology is available in number of designs to fit the specific requirements of the application
The emew Plate cell is used for more concentrated electrolytes generally when the target metal concentration is greater than 10g/L. It is often used for recovering copper, nickel and tin cathode in a variety of applications including mining, refining, and recycling and can also be paired with solvent extraction (SX) and ion exchange (IX) when pre-concentration of the target metal is necessary.
The fully automated emew Powder cells use the same basic philosophy as emew Plate cells, however, they are designed to produce a metal powder. The emew Powder cells generally operate at lower target metal concentrations (<5 g/L), higher current density and lower flow rate than their plating cell counterparts. The metal powder formed on the cathode surface is automatically harvested using a flush-through methodology.
The closed nature of these cells coupled with automated flushing makes them ideally suited for precious metals applications such as silver, silver-gold and palladium. Having a single collection point for the precious metal enhances security, reduces losses and facilitates metallurgical accounting. In addition to precious metals, emew Powder systems are also used to produce specialty powders such as electrolytic copper and nickel powders, as well as bismuth and copper arsenide.
The closed nature of these cells coupled with automated flushing makes them ideally suited for precious metals applications such as silver, silver-gold and palladium. Having a single collection point for the precious metal enhances security, reduces losses and facilitates metallurgical accounting. In addition to precious metals, emew Powder systems are also used to produce specialty powders such as electrolytic copper and nickel powders, as well as bismuth and copper arsenide.
Direct electrowinning is pushed to the extreme with emew Polish. Using the same concept of high-efficiency emew electrowinning equipped with a sophisticated, proprietary high surface area cathode, this type of emew cell can recover metals down to less than 5ppm which is not possible with conventional electrowinning technology, the emew Polish cell is ideal for recovering metals from dilute concentration bleed streams, wastewater or any industrial process stream with low metals concentration.
Applications for emew Polish include:
Applications for emew Polish include:
- Silver refineries looking for a simpler and more effective alternative to AgCl to treat bleed streams and spent electrolyte
- Zinc refineries looking to minimize zinc dust usage to remove copper, cadmium, and other impurities during zinc electrolyte purification
- Any industrial wastewater that is too dilute to be treated by conventional means
Access over 30 years of metal recovery knowledge
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