World class waste recovery plant helps manufacturer save costs

Challenge

Our customer had previously been disposing the copper etching waste generated from their production line to an off-site treatment facility. Despite having taken various steps to reduce in-house waste, the company felt that it still needed a much better method to recover copper from their existing waste etching process.

Approach

DKSH’s Business Line Specialized Industrial Applications conducted a feasibility study and a series of laboratory trials for the customer to better understand the waste characteristics and to identify potential solutions on how best to turn waste into a value-added product for the business.

To achieve this, we set up a fully automated copper oxide recovery plant to help our customer reduce the copper etching waste generated from their production line. The next phase included to recycle the wastewater generated from the process, which would further cement the company’s image as an environmentally-conscious manufacturer.

Result

The combination of industry-specific expertise, automation, process engineering and project management, enabled us to design and implement a customized solution exceeding the expectations of the customer.

Thanks to the new copper oxide recovery plant, it achieved a return-on-investment target within two years of the plant’s operations. On top of improved cost savings, the customer has also become the benchmark for other global manufacturing sites looking for better ways to help reduce waste and improve resource recovery.