PROJECT INFORMATION AT A GLANCE:
Waste to energy precious metial (gold, silve, copper, etc) ash recovery and technology acquisition assessment
Location:
Canada; project location and counterparties confidential
Project Status:
Technical and commercial assessment for a possible technology acquisition
Technology Basis:
Demonstrated bottom-ash core system and development of a combined bottom-ash and fly-ash recovery process
Klean’s Role:
Due diligence concerning the underlying technology, know-how and commercial opportunity
Services / Equipment:
Due Diligence, Feasibility Studies, Design & Engineering
Klean undertook a technical and commercial assessment of waste to energy ash recovery technology as part of due diligence for a possible acquisition of the underlying technology and know-how. The opportunity was to recover metals and useful mineral products from material that remained after energy generation, combining product sales with a paid service for managing the ash.
The development record contained a substantial starting point: 4,900 tonnes of bottom ash processed, continuous operation at 16 tonnes per hour, all recovered metal products sold, and an aggregate product that passed leach tests and secured a contract for use. Those results gave the acquisition assessment tangible operating and market evidence to examine.
The wider opportunity extended into fine metals and fly ash. Developing those streams could increase recovery beyond the larger metal pieces already captured by conventional systems. For Klean, the commercial question concerned the value of the complete recovery process, including the know-how needed to turn each separated material into an accepted product.
The Challenge
Recover the value left after energy generation
The technology proposition treated waste-to-energy ash as a secondary mineral resource. Iron, aluminum and copper were part of the opportunity, alongside precious-metal values and a much larger mineral fraction that could potentially serve construction-material markets.
Recovering those materials required different treatment routes. Larger metals could be separated mechanically, while fine particles and metal-bearing residues required additional processing. The remaining mineral material also needed suitable quality and a defined use. A process that recovered valuable metals but left most of its feed requiring disposal would capture only part of the commercial opportunity.
The acquisition assessment also had to account for different levels of development. The bottom-ash core system had demonstration-scale operating experience. Fine-recovery additions and the fly-ash route required further scale-up and product optimization. The proposed combined process targeted complete resource recovery, with commercial development still needed to establish that result across the full system.
The Solution
Connect operating evidence with the technology investment
Klean’s assessment concerned the underlying technology and know-how. The relevant evidence therefore extended from equipment throughput to the products recovered, their buyers and the work needed to develop the broader process.
The developer’s historical record distinguished design objectives from demonstrated results:
| CORE SYSTEM MEASURE | HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT RECORD |
|---|---|
| Bottom ash processed | 4,900 tonnes |
| Continuous operating rate | 16 tonnes per hour |
| Design feed rate | Up to 25 tonnes per hour |
| Bottom-ash recycling design objective | 90% |
| Recovered metal products | All metal products sold |
| Aggregate outlet | Passed leach tests; contract obtained for unrestricted use of the demonstrated aggregate |
The sales and aggregate outlet mattered as much as the throughput. They showed that the demonstration had progressed beyond separating materials to finding commercial destinations for its outputs. For a potential technology acquisition, that experience was part of the know-how to be assessed alongside the process itself.
Apply mineral processing to a difficult residual stream
The broader process combined washing and size separation with mechanical metal recovery, gravity separation and flotation. The purpose was to address a wider range of particle sizes and recover metal values remaining after conventional separation.
The proposed output routes included coarse metal products for scrap markets, fine metal concentrates for smelters or refineries, and cleaned mineral fractions for aggregate or cementitious applications. Each route depended on the quality and quantity of material produced and the requirements of its intended customer.
This connection between separation and product acceptance was central to the commercial case. A higher metal concentration could improve the value of a smaller product stream, while a usable mineral fraction could reduce the volume requiring disposal. The investment opportunity depended on making both parts work together.
Make fine-metal recovery visible in the economics
The developer’s historical combined-ash valuation estimated $55.19 of gross product value per tonne of ash, after assumed conventional recovery of larger metals. Within that estimate, gold contributed $16.18 per tonne and copper $15.93 per tonne, together accounting for approximately 58% of the modeled product value.
Those figures explain the interest in extending recovery into smaller particles. The largest material stream was not necessarily the most valuable one. Recovering the metal values that remained in the ash could materially change the economics even after an existing separation system had removed the easier fractions.
The Outcome
A demonstrated core and a defined commercialization requirement
The core demonstration supplied operating evidence, metal sales and an aggregate outlet. The combined-ash proposition built on that foundation by adding recovery routes for finer material and fly ash. The fly-ash process had reached laboratory proof of concept in the supplied development record.
The proposed next stage was a 5-tonne-per-hour, semi-portable pilot, intended to produce enough material for buyer evaluation, optimize the product streams and establish the data needed for a feasibility study and full-scale plant design. That program was a development proposal; the 4,900-tonne operating record belonged to the earlier bottom-ash core system.
For the possible acquisition, the distinction mattered commercially. The operating history supported the core process, while the broader opportunity still required investment in scale-up, product qualification and the complete commercial configuration.
The processing agreement was as important as the recovered products
The earlier demonstration had operated without a tipping or processing fee, relying on recovered-product value. Although its metals were sold, the facility stopped operating to negotiate a fee. That experience exposed a practical condition for commercial success: an ash-recovery business must be paid appropriately for the residue-management service it provides.
The later economic scenarios incorporated a processing fee set at 80% of the existing disposal charge. This structure sought to give the ash producer a lower direct charge while creating a second revenue stream for the recovery operation.
| HISTORICAL MODEL INPUT OR RESULT | SOURCE SCENARIOS |
|---|---|
| Plant capital assumptions | $4 million to $10 million, depending on configuration |
| Operating cost assumptions | $20 to $30 per tonne in the development assumptions |
| Processing fee assumption | 80% of the existing disposal charge |
| Simple plant-capital payback | 1.4 to 3.7 years across seven scenarios |
The scenarios used different feed rates, prior recovery arrangements and disposal charges. The figures reproduce historical development assumptions using the source’s dollar notation. The payback values were simple plant-capital calculations based on modeled operating surplus, rather than realized investment returns.
The commercial lesson is directly relevant to technology investors and waste-asset owners. Product recovery, accepted mineral outlets and the processing agreement determine how much of the opportunity can become operating income. Klean’s technical and commercial due-diligence role brought the possible acquisition of the technology and know-how into that whole-process context.
1. The core process had operating and sales evidence. The historical demonstration processed 4,900 tonnes, operated continuously at 16 tonnes per hour, sold its metal products and secured an aggregate-use contract.
2. Fine-metal recovery could change the value of the ash. Gold and copper represented approximately 58% of the historical combined-ash product valuation, supporting the commercial interest in recovery beyond the larger metal fractions.
3. The business model depended on both products and service revenue. The no-fee demonstration and later processing-fee scenarios show why an acquisition assessment must connect technical performance with the terms under which the plant earns revenue.
These are selected achievements and lessons. Further technical and commercial insights are available through an engagement with Klean.
WHAT DO THESE LESSONS MEAN FOR YOUR PROJECT?
If you are evaluating a resource-recovery technology, considering an acquisition or seeking more value from an existing waste-treatment asset, engage Klean to connect the operating evidence with the commercial case. The relevant questions include what the process has demonstrated, which outputs have accepted markets and what development remains before capital is committed.
Technology acquisition and advisory work can be scoped to the specific assignment under appropriate confidentiality arrangements. For a new equipment development, the paid Detailed Equipment Quotation (DEQ) establishes the preliminary configuration and investment basis, followed by a Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS) and then Front-End Engineering Design (FEED).
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ABOUT THE INFORMATION PRESENTED
This case describes Klean’s technical and commercial assessment for a possible technology and know-how acquisition. Counterparty and site identities are withheld. Demonstration results and economic projections are attributed to the technology developer’s historical records; Klean’s role was the acquisition assessment. Further process and transaction information is addressed through an agreed engagement and appropriate confidentiality arrangements.
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