Doe Run Introduces New Lead Processing Technology

The Doe Run Co. is unveiling a new technology for producing lead that company officials say will reduce all air, land and water releases by nearly 99 percent.

“Having a secure domestic supply for lead better ensures that our U.S.-based manufacturing facilities are cost competitive and support new and existing jobs in the United States”

The new process replaces high-temperature lead smelting with a wet chemical process that the company says is safer, cleaner and more efficient.

“This new proprietary technology is a game changer for our industry,” says Bruce Neil, Doe Run’s president and CEO. “This new technology delivers on shared goals for cleaner communities, energy independence and lead products that will power our world into the future.”

Working with the Italy-based company Engitec, Doe Run’s new technology uses a wet chemical process to selectively dissolve lead concentrates into solution, then extracts lead from the solution using an electric current. The “electrowinning” process is similar to the technology used to extract zinc from concentrates, but has never been used in primary lead production. As a self-contained process, the activating solution is recycled back into the process indefinitely.

“We are committed to operating a sustainable business that meets the needs of our customers and is responsible to our communities,” Neil adds. “We’ve been looking for a breakthrough technology for decades and have invested more than 200,000 man hours to get us this far. By year’s end, we will have invested more than $30 million in research and development.”

 “When Doe Run began testing the new technology, we recognized its huge potential,” says Bob Flicker, COO and executive vice president of East Penn Manufacturing, a battery manufacturing company.

Doe Run is currently running a demonstration plant in southeast Missouri, completing a detailed feasibility study on the new technology and evaluating possible locations for a commercial-scale plant.

The company is pursuing funding and loan guarantees to help the new technology move from test phase to commercial-sized operation. Doe Run estimates that the investment will cost more than $150 million.