The EARS Section of
the Demonstration Plant

The EARS section of the Newcastle Demonstration Plant has the capacity to process 13,000 tonnes per year of spent chloride liquors, which is sufficient to process the wastes from a medium-sized steel pickling plant. During 2008, Austpac proved the EARS process at the Demonstration Plant, and is planning to operate the EARS section in 2009 on a commercial scale to treat waste from the steel industry.

When steel is made using an electric arc furnace, up to 3% of the iron is lost as dust, called EAF dust and in steel rolling up to 5% of the iron is lost as mill scale. These iron oxides present a disposal problem for steel mills.

In order to coat or paint steel sheet and so make “Colourbond” or similar products, any iron scale or oxide must first be removed. This surface preparation is called “pickling”, and involves running the steel sheet through a bath of hydrochloric acid. The scale and oxide is thereby removed and ultimately the acid is depleted and the spent liquor is predominantly iron chloride. However because steel mills generally don’t recycle, these spent liquors are neutralised and disposed of in landfills. The composition of spent pickle liquor (SPL) is essentially the same as spent leach liquor from an ERMS SR synrutile plant; both are rich in iron chlorides.

In pilot scale test work, Austpac was able to easily process pickle liquor to regenerate hydrochloric acid, and also found that mill scale or EAF dust could be added to the iron chloride solution and so increase the yield of iron from the process. The pilot work indicated that two tonnes of waste iron oxide could be added to every tonne of pickle liquor, to produce one tonne of hydrochloric acid and recover 1.6 tonnes of iron pellets.

In September 2008, Austpac proved EARS process regenerating fresh hydrochloric acid from SPL supplied by a major steel manufacturer. The acid was used in the leaching section of Austpac’s ERMS SR process.

To commence operations at a commercial scale, a refurbishment plan has been developed for the EARS Project. This mainly involves replacing some of the high temperature stainless steel roasters and duct work with mild steel, refractory lined equipment able to withstand the operational stresses of the process. The refurbishment program will take three months, and allowing one month for commissioning and a further six weeks for ramp-up, the plant will be fully operational and generating a cash flow within six months of project start-up. The refurbishment budget is modest as the program takes advantage of all the existing equipment and facilities funded largely during 2007 and 2008 through BHP Billiton’s investment in Austpac.

During 2009, Austpac aims to secure the supply of SPL and mill scale from steel mills and other industries which produce or handle chloride solutions or mill scale wastes. The EARS plant can process environmentally difficult materials such as oil-contaminated mill scale fines and oil sludge wastes, which broadens the potential feedstock sources and fuels that the plant can recycle or use in the most environmentally acceptable process available.

Austpac is also confident of obtaining contracts for the sale of the regenerated acid and Austpac DRI products during 2009. The refurbished EARS plant will include the ability to briquette the iron pellets to make a premium feed for electric arc furnaces. This will expand the potential market for the iron. The plant will also be capable of feeding coarse mill scale directly into the iron reduction circuit and thus increase production to at least three tonnes of iron for each tonne of regenerated acid.

The steel mill waste products (SPL and mill scale) are chemically derived materials and therefore do not contain the deleterious elements which would be carried though in the reduction of iron ore. They have been effectively upgraded during the steel-making steps. This means that the Austpac DRI product is unusually pure compared to other DRI materials.

At full production, the plant will be capable of producing over 7,000 tpa of 25% HCl and over 18,000 tpa of the Company’s DRI product, which Austpac estimates would generate a net profit of $7 million per year.

The Newcastle EARS Project has clear environmental benefits by turning waste products into saleable products without the undesirable emissions created by other process, thus solving a significant waste problem for the steel and related industries and creating near-term value for Austpac shareholders.