Process & Technology Innovation (PTI)

In 2014, the Process & Technology Innovation Department (PTI) elaborated on several research and development (R&D;) projects that could be applied to any supply chain level, specifically the recycling of waste materials that could support any or all of PDI business lines: PDI materials, PDI eco, and PDI energy.

Several R&D projects to support the material business were deployed in order to enable the retrieval of materials from recyclable (industrial) waste for production of new or existing commodities or products. One such project involved a process to enhance the electroextraction that produced more zinc metal directly from crude zinc oxide. Crude zinc oxide is the material from electric arc furnace (EAF) dust recycling, a process used to produce zinc compounds from EAF dust recycled zinc. Also a process to produce copper metal from copper bearing waste materials, was elaborated.

A number of R&D projects have been started to support the transformation processes of (industrial) waste or biomass to energy.

The development of zinc products that respond to the dynamics of the Thai market is another target of the PTI department. The Thai zinc galvanizing market and associated technologies are moving in a new direction, away from the traditional galvanizing process as in the rest of the Southeast Asia region. PTI worked on some similar zinc product developments, such as a high aluminum-contained-zinc alloys, which can potentially support and participate in the evolution of Thai zinc galvanizing industry.