P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis on DROSRITE™, the salt-free, cost-effective system for aluminium recovery from dross

PyroGenesis Canada Inc. is a Company that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch products. PyroGenesis' DROSRITE™ system is a salt-free, cost-effective process for maximizing aluminium recovery from dross, a waste generated in the smelting, processing and recycling process. Mr. P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis, provides a general update on its DROSRITE™ business line in the below interview:  

AlCircle: Please describe to us in brief what DROSRITE™ is, and some of its benefits?

Mr. Pascali:  Let’s take an aluminium smelter as an example. As the hot aluminium is formed, it comes in contact with oxygen, and a dross is formed on the surface. This dross acts like a sponge and it effectively absorbs valuable metal. The smelter skims the dross and puts it aside to cool down. Although dross is considered a waste generated by the metallurgical industry, it contains valuable metal that the smelter would like to reclaim. Typically, the dross is sent off site to be processed by a third party who usually uses a salt based recovery system. Salt, if it comes in contact with aluminium, could contaminate the batch and, as such, salt is usually prohibited from being on site and, ergo, the need to ship dross off-site to be processed. These third parties, who use salt, generate salt cakes, which are a hazardous by-product of their dross processing technique.