University success shows the roads are paved with platinum » Education » 24dash.com

A Birmingham student has been shortlisted for honours in this year’s prestigious Lord Stafford Awards after developing a process for recovering valuable waste metal deposits from ordinary road dust.
Angela Murray developed the idea while completing her PhD studies at the University of Birmingham. Out of this, she has started her own business – Roads to Riches – and is causing quite a stir in the waste recovery industry with her pioneering concepts.
The technology allows for the economic recovery of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) - platinum, palladium and rhodium - from the dust collected from roads. The metals are deposited in the dust from catalytic converters in car exhausts. Although these cats are recycled, typical recovery is only 20–30%, meaning up to 70% of the PGMs are being allowed to escape into the environment.
Road dust contains on average one part per million of precious metal, comparable to the quantity in South African mineral mines where the content averages from two to ten parts per million.
Rhodium is worth about £90 per gram, meaning the process could bring in a considerable amount of money to local authorities even in smaller amounts.
Selected as a finalist in the LSA’s Entrepreneurial Spirit category, Angela has recently secured £30,000 from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to enable her to complete a 12-month Fellowship at the university.
She is currently perfecting a process to allow for the commercial recovery of the PGMs from the road dust and her aim is that by the end of the Fellowship next October she will have a working prototype ready and in place at a waste treatment firm to prove the technology is practical and worth investing in.
Catalytic converters reduce the emission of harmful pollutants from vehicles by passing exhaust gases through a matrix coated with PGMs. During combustion autocatalysts are physically stressed by high temperatures and mechanical abrasion, releasing PGMs onto the road side. Roads to Riches aims to recover these metals, via a vehicle-mounted processor, and produce a metal rich concentrate that can be smelted to recover the PGMs.
Financial projections within the company’s business plan show that £150,000 will be required to develop a fully operational mobile plant. Discussions are currently underway with several companies interested in investing in the technology as an alternative to licensing.
“However, it is important we negotiate the best deal possible in order to secure the long term future of the venture. Other PGM containing waste sources are also being researched at the university in order to expand the waste sources we can process,” said Angela.
In addition to holding talks with investors, Angela is also trying to attract interest from waste treatment companies and local authorities.
“There have been tentative inquiries but it’s early days as yet. At the moment I’m pressing ahead with developing the process and then in 12-months’ time I should be in position to take the technology forward.
“I’m especially hopeful for local authorities. At present local authority road sweepers collect then store the dust before sending it for expensive landfill disposal. Therefore millions of pounds of valuable PGMs are literally being thrown away,” said Angela.
The university has offered its support throughout the development process, even providing the services of a patent manager.
With PGMs commanding high prices on the global metal markets – and expected to remain so, commercial recycling of them makes sound financial – as well as environmental - sense.
“Our technology is innovative as it extracts value from a global waste source, conserves finite natural resources and reduces environmental damage associated with primary mining.
“Winning the LSA would be an acknowledgement of everything that the university has done, while peer acknowledgement would go a long way to building relationships and have a positive impact on the business,” she added.
Lord Stafford, Patron of the Awards, said: “This project shows the roads could well be paved with gold as the potential for local authorities to recycle their road dust rather than send it to landfill could reap significant rewards for them.
“Although the proportions of precious metals are tiny, this process could harness them, changing forever the way waste is handled and the way these metals are sourced.”