THROUGH SEGREGATION AND SALE OF HIGH-VALUE METALS AND ALLOYS
SURUS’ own VRC methodology enables companies to maximize financial return on dismantling processes.
At SURUS we have developed our own methodology that allows companies to obtain a higher financial return from the resulting assets in dismantling processes: the selective identification of assets, the use of Value Recovery Centers (VRCs) for special alloys, and the subsequent sale in national and international markets through digital auctions.
Based on SURUS’ experience in dismantling projects, we know how to proactively identify which assets are susceptible to be assessed and valorized for their potential content of valuable metals as raw materials. To this end, our experts perform a detailed assessment of the client’s total assets to be replaced, in order to identify those that should be subjected to the next stage of the process.
In the case of being identified, our own methodology based on the implementation of VRCs (Value Recovery Centers) is applied: these are centers that are located in the client’s own facilities and are operated by SURUS personnel, in cooperation with the client’s personnel, in which the processes of verification, segregation, filtering, measurement and weighing of the resulting assets are carried out.
MAIN ASSETS TO BE RECOVERED IN VRCs
Transformers
Engines
Cable and Reels
Condensers and Exchangers
SURUS has wide experience in the management and valorization of transformer centers from industrial facilities, generation plants and substations. This process consists of the sale for reuse and subsequent removal of the equipment, as well as the segregation of materials on the field and the maximization of the return value for the byproducts that cannot be reused.
- Unused small/medium size and power transformers that are sold as serviceable: they are documented and sold at auction like any other asset.
- Installed small/medium power and size transformers that are sold as scrap: they are documented and sold at auction like any other asset, including a dismantling cost.
- Large transformers: due to their age and costs associated with transportation and recertification, it is unlikely that they will be sold for reemployment. However, all transformer elements have value as waste, such as copper and electrical steel, which are then extracted and segregated for their sale. Other elements, such as terminals, radiators, expansion tanks, tanks, etc. are processed and sold according to their condition.
Electric engines are the most common equipment found in industrial facilities, which is why they are in demand on the secondary market. Their final value depends on the condition and existing documentation of the equipment, as well as the manufacturer and versatility. In our valorization approach, we select the following typologies:
- Installed engines of small and medium power, which are disassembled and grouped by typology by the SURUS team, which subsequently proceeds to their auction in lots.
- Large installed electric engines: the sale is made without disassembly, charging a handling cost for the disassembly to the buyer. Disassembly is only carried out once the lot has been awarded.
- Large engines in the field: they are generally sold as waste due to their age and condition. The batching and loading work is carried out. The international market reached by SURUS allows for much higher returns than those obtained by national recovery companies.
- Unused engines of small and medium power, which are usually surplus equipment or spare parts that are not in use. If documentation is available, the sale value increases significantly, being auctioned in lots according to their type and value.
Cable is one of the assets with the highest economic return and yet in traditional valorization processes, estimations and economic return depend on providers and the request for bids or the assimilation of the sale to existing contracts. SURUS is an expert in maximizing the value of electrical cabling in all circumstances that may occur in an industrial facility, with the focus on knowing exactly what is being sold, segregating it in the most efficient way and even processing it to obtain the metals contained in it.
- Installed cable: we manage the removal of the cable by segregated extraction of its components in the facility itself. Once an exhaustive verification of the cable distribution, areas affected, safety requirements and necessary materials has been carried out, and the estimated and required documentation is prepared, the areas of action are proposed and economic returns are estimated.
- Cable reels: the value of cable is related to its composition, the yield in valuable metals (copper and aluminum) as well as how easy it is to treat it during granulation. SURUS has designed a process that identifies the different types of cable and the available quantity of each type, and carries out the final extraction of the metals included in the reels with our own process -so that the metal content can be auctioned by weight.
Some of the most valuable elements in industrial facilities are exchangers and condensers (mainly in power generation plants) due to the composition of the alloys contained in the parts and equipment inside them. SURUS’ process manages both installed equipment and equipment used for spare parts, from which the valuable alloys are obtained for their subsequent sale.
- Plate heat exchangers, concentric tube heat exchangers and shell-and-tube heat exchanger: The assets are assessed and grouped, identifying the size, alloys (using a spectrometer), weight estimates and condition of the assets to document the sale. As there is a high international demand for this type of alloys, SURUS advises and coordinates with foreign interested parties in the whole sales process.
- Condensers: SURUS has implemented a process for the extraction of condenser tubes. The dismantling process allows the sale of the tubes for their reuse as raw material of high value, generating a high return in relation to equipment and labor costs. The tubes are recovered, in its practical totality, with minimum length losses in the cutting process.