Zinc Recovery

Zinc is one of the quiet value chains inside shredder residue. As the mixed material is gasified, zinc — which vaporises at the process temperatures — collects in the filter and fly-ash streams, where it concentrates into a form that can be recycled back to the zinc industry.

This is not a trace recovery; it is a steady, managed separation of a metal that would otherwise be dispersed into landfill-bound ash. The key is capturing the zinc-rich fraction deliberately rather than letting it dissipate.

Filter Ash Becomes a Feedstock

At Klean’s automotive-shredder-residue reference plant, the zinc-rich filter ash is recycled in the zinc industry, returning a metal that vehicles themselves consume in their galvanised steel back into the production loop.

The pattern is the same as the other metal fractions: a material that looks like an ash stream is actually a concentrated, saleable feed once the right process and downstream partnership are in place.

The Long Tail of Value

Zinc recovery illustrates the depth of shredder-residue value. Beyond the headline metals, beyond the energy, there is a tail of specialty recoveries — zinc among them — that accumulate into a complete material balance. The operators who pursue them capture value their competitors leave in the ash.

Learn More About Full Recovery From Residue

• Automotive Shredder Residue Gasification Plant
• Solid Waste Recycling
• What Is Gasification?
• Feasibility Studies

Partner With The KleanTeam to Recover the Whole Value Tail

Safe. Clean. Profitable. One Proven Partner.

Klean Industries recovers the full value tail of shredder residue — including the zinc-rich filter ash recycled to the zinc industry — as part of a reference facility that leaves no fraction unclaimed.

Klean’s Key Advantages:

• ✅ An operating ASR reference plant recycling zinc-rich filter ash to the zinc industry.
• ✅ Thirty-plus years engineering commercial gasification and waste-to-energy plants.
• ✅ 3 recovered carbon black (rCB) plants built in India over the past 2 years.
• ✅ KleanLoop blockchain provides end-to-end feedstock traceability.

Ready to recover zinc and the full material balance?

Speak with a Solid Waste Expert at Klean Industries » GO.