Our Story

The steel with a story from PMC starts in 2011 with the initiators Nathalie van de Poel, Jan Henk Wijma and Bert Bult. They all have a background in the steel industry. Scrap was used to produce steel. The scrap that was offered still contained a small amount of asbestos and could not be cleaned sufficiently. The alternative was to dispose of the trains at the designated disposal sites. Thus, the idea arose to destroy the asbestos and recycle the steel by melting it in a steel bath at 1550 degrees. Various scientific literature shows that all types of asbestos are destroyed within seconds and are converted into components that are already in the steel bath, namely silicon oxide, magnesium oxide and water.

The initiators have adapted the process so that not only asbestos-contaminated steel can be recycled, but also other contaminants in combination with steel. In 2014, Jansen Recycling Groep from Dordrecht joined the 3 initiators and Purified Metal Company BV was founded.

The years that follow resemble a very extensive voyage of discovery. To prove the concept, economic, technical and legal feasibility studies are carried out. To this end, various leading partners are being sought who have united over time to form a very strong consortium. The idea has been successfully demonstrated in all areas and estimated to be economically feasible, so that financing will start in early 2017. In July 2018, the financing will be completed and the realization phase of PMC will start.

The processing process

Purified Metal Company's processing process is 100% safe by applying the combination of various existing techniques. The process is completely closed and automated.

A. Material receipt and processing

The contaminated steel scrap is loaded in standard drop-off containers. The containers are then placed on the transport vehicle and brought in through a lock. The container is transported to the storage bunker in the factory via two sluices that are under negative pressure. An overhead crane transports the scrap into scrap shears where it is cut and pressed. The material is then loaded into a loading vehicle.

B. The Smelter

The loading vehicle transports the steel scrap to two electric furnaces. The material is then slowly introduced into a melt bath of more than 1500 degrees Celsius. During the melting process, contaminants are separated from the steel in a 100 percent safe way. The asbestos fiber structure is completely destroyed and converted into the harmless components H2O, SiO2 and MgO. This harmless material floats on the melt like slag and is later removed. Other hazardous substances are captured or neutralized by the very special flue gas cleaning system.

When the steel is completely melted, it is transported to the casting machine through special channels.

To determine the chemical composition of the melt, chemical analyzes are made of the liquid melt bath.

C. The foundry

In the casting machine, a batch of 20 tons of liquid steel is transformed into Purified Metal Blocks. The PMBs are stored outside for sale to steel mills or foundries.

D. Flue gas cleaning During melting, the flue gases are continuously extracted via the flue gas channel and discharged to the flue gas cleaning . This system consists of a number of steps;

Post-combustion, where flammable components are burned at 1200 degrees Celsius. Any residual asbestos particles are then completely destroyed.

Capture of NOx components with a so-called DeNoX installation.

Very fast cooling of the flue gases to be able to carry out the rest of the flue gas cleaning.

Adding various additives in two steps to remove and capture (heavy) metals and other contaminants. The cloth filter ensures that the dust particles are captured.

This highly advanced flue gas cleaning system allows clean air to leave the chimney.

International ambition

Purified Metal Company BV is a Dutch company with an international working area. Material from, for example, Belgium and Germany will also be processed by this factory.

The founders' international ambition is to prevent contaminated steel from ending up in landfills worldwide and to be processed into a clean premium raw material. They want to achieve this by establishing multiple factories worldwide.