Securing the supply for tomorrow:: Precious metals recycling from automotive catalysts

Catalytic converters for the purification of automotive exhaust emissions carry the precious metals platinum, rhodium, and palladium. Due to the value of these metals recycling is economically viable and material cycling is already practised successfully. The recovered precious metals are re-used in the production of new catalysts without any decrease in quality. Considering the recent price development for platinum group metals, the presentation analyses the implication of auto catalysts on the precious metals markets and elaborates the importance of catalyst recycling. Focus is laid on the European situation. The development of recycling volume, the collection logistics established, the technical treatment for recovery, and recycling-economics are described, as well as the environmental impact.