ACE Green technology: Sustainable lead recycling into the future

We sometimes joke that a metallurgist from ancient Rome teleported into a lead smelter today would still find the processes used quite familiar to them. That’s not because the lead industry is not modern, but more because little has fundamentally changed for many decades. Also, many observers are – incorrectly – forecasting the industry’s demise, believing that electrified transport sounds the death knell for lead. In truth, demand will sustain modest long-term growth. So, lead is not going away and, therefore, nor is the need to recycle it well into the future. However, regulatory headwinds and tougher legislation makes recycling lead ever more demanding and expensive – a trend that shows no signs of abating. To have a truly sustainable secondary lead industry, new technology needs to be deployed that significantly reduces emissions and costs whilst also enabling easier permitting. The technology developed by ACE Green Recycling achieves this with a ground-breaking hydrometallurgical process with no Scope 1 emissions from a room temperature process. This transformative modular technology tackles the issues around smelting, elevated blood lead levels, soil contamination and greenhouse gas emissions related to lead recycling, whilst still providing a commercially viable solution. The technology is already gaining traction from new deployments, including ACE’s own flagship facility being built in Texas. Whether an enhancement or replacement for traditional smelting, the ACE Green technology offers a brighter future for lead.