News | November 15, 2023
As the most recycled consumer product in the U.S., lead batteries are a sustainability success story. On this America Recycles Day we’re proud to share that the lead battery industry is perhaps the most successful example of a closed-loop, circular economy.
We also recognize that getting to this point wasn’t easy. It took time, dedication and the action of both government and industry partners to increase the lead battery recycling rate from 60-80% early on to an astounding 99% today.
It’s conceivable that our industry could be the first to achieve 100% circularity. As we continue to seek new ways to take sustainability to the next level, open innovation will be key to our success.
ABR member company, Gopher Resource is leading the charge with a collaborative approach to innovation that leverages partnerships beyond our industry to develop shared solutions to common challenges.
Like many companies in our industry, Gopher Resource is creating an innovation ecosystem aimed at solving environmental, social and governance (ESG) and productivity-related problems. At October’s ABR meeting, Dan Graf, Principal Engineer, presented on how Gopher Resource is creating an innovation ecosystem aimed at solving environmental, social and governance (ESG) and productivity-related problems. To date, these partnerships include more than 20 companies, 10 universities/research institutes and three government agencies.
Despite investing heavily in in their own research and development, Gopher Resource understands they may not have the resources or expertise to solve every problem. They are also aware that many challenges are not unique to their operation.
In the spirit of collaboration, the company recently presented some of the solutions they are working on at our fall meeting.
Gopher Resource is committed to protecting the environment and contributing to a circular economy by creating innovative solutions that further the battery recycling industry’s goals of waste minimization, water reuse and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission mitigation.
To that end, the company has joined several consortiums working to advance sustainability. The Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling (CR3) is focused on the sustainable stewardship of resources. The Materials Recovery Technologies for Defense Supply Resiliency (MRT-DSR) run through Army Research Labs (ARL) is focused on developing all facets of domestic critical metals production capabilities.
Multiple projects are already underway through these partnerships that aim to reduce Gopher Resource’s carbon neutrality and environmental footprint.
The first uses advanced heat transfer technology from the solar energy industry to recover waste heat during the recycling process, making it more energy efficient. This is an industry first for the novel technique and Gopher Resource is working with partners to commercialize this technology.
For the second project, Gopher Resource is working with the University of Minnesota Natural Resource Research Institute in Duluth, and a group of local partners to study the use of charcoal from biomass as an alternative to fossil fuels. The goal of this project is to create a sustainable supply chain that would reduce Gopher Resource’s Scope 1 CO2 net impact by up to 30%, and eventually scale to allow other recyclers to reduce their GHG impact.
Gopher Resource is particularly focused on becoming a zero-waste operation — working to get as much out of recycling byproducts as possible, then finding new ways to get value out of those materials.
One significant step in this direction is Gopher Resource’s patent-pending SCRUM process, or Slag Cleaning and Recovery of Useful Metals process. The SCRUM process uses furnace fuming technology to separate the tin and lead into a concentrated fume form with very high selectivity and efficiency, leaving behind a “cleaned” bulk iron sodium-silicate “SCRUM Slag.”
The SCRUM process was developed using the company’s philosophy of using existing technology that is commercially available in a different way, rather than creating entirely new technology. This approach mitigates risk and helps bring solutions to market faster.
The innovative process separates 99% of useful metals from lead blast furnace slags, producing LME-grade tin and lead bullion that can be refined and used in new batteries. The remaining SCRUM Slag is an environmentally friendly byproduct that can be repurposed and shows promising potential for commercialization.
The ability to recover these metals from lead battery recycling slag in a safe, economically feasible way is an industry first. Learn more about Gopher Resource’s SCRUM process here.
By providing a platform for companies like Gopher Resource to share best practices and innovations with peers, ABR hopes to foster collaboration to solve some of our industry’s toughest challenges. Together, we can make lead battery recycling the most circular industry in the world.
