The Electrolyte is collected and treated in a reactor where the neutralization takes place by means of milk of lime. After the neutralization, the solution is pumped to a filter press to obtain gypsum as solid effluent.

The batteries delivered in the collection bunker are loaded into the feeding and metering system of the battery breaking and separation Plant. The battery scrap is processed through a crushing mill and then separated in two streams, one for paste and one for the coarse part, in order to obtain the following products: Lead Paste: The paste slurry collected in a tank can be delivered either to the desulphurization process or pumped to a filter-press for dewatering from where the paste cake is discharged in a dedicated area ready for smelting. Polypropylene, discharged in a dedicated area Metallic fraction (grids and posts), which can additionally pass through a washing-desulphurization system and is finally divided in fine-sized fraction (mainly Grids and Pb-Ca part), and in coarse fraction (mainly posts and Pb-Sb part) which are discharged in dedicated boxes Heavy Plastics, discharged in a dedicated area

The benefit of the desulphurization of paste is the extreme diminution of SO2 emission and the production of slag reduced down to less than 10% of produced lead. The productivity of the smelting furnace is increased due to a lower quantity of reagents and fluxes to be added to the process. The paste slurry is pumped into a reaction tank and it is mixed with the waste acid collected in the battery storage area. The desulphurization reaction can be carried out through addition of the Sodium Carbonate, or Sodium Hydroxide or Ammonium Bicarbonate. The reacted paste slurry is pumped to the filter-press for dewatering then the paste cake is discharged in a dedicated area ready for smelting, while the filtrated sulphate solution is conveyed to the subsequent treatment for removal of heavy metals. The purified sodium sulphate solution, separated by a further polishing filter press, is sent to sulphate salt production unit.

This step allows the amount of slag produced in smelting phase to be reduced to less than 5% of Pb produced. After the first desulphurization phase the paste is re-pulped and additionally carbonated before undergoing a second filter press de-watering.

The sodium sulfate solution is processed through a crystallization system from where the final brine is extracted and centrifuged. The mother liquor is returned to the process while the crystals are pneumatically conveyed into a storage silo.

Polluted air, containing acidic mist, is collected from different points of the plant and treated in a wet scrubber which releases the purified air to the atmosphere.

The coarse fraction of the metallic lead, separated from the whole metallic fraction is fed to the rotary melting furnace;
The negative pressure inside the kiln is maintained on the pre-set value by a special regulating dumper placed at the process gas refractory lined outlet duct. After the dumper the process gas are blended with the sanitary air captured by the relevant hoods, to be sent to the dedusting bag house filter.
The grids melter is enclosed by an hoods system, and the captured exhausts gas and sanitary air are sent to bag house filtration system for dedusting; the entrained flue dust is collected into a dedicate sealed box and sent to the main rotary furnaces for recovering of the metal contained.

The adopted technology is the smelting of lead-based materials in fixed-axis or in tilting rotary furnaces, equipped either with air-fuel burner or with oxygen-fuel burner. The unit includes the charging system through a dedicated machine or through an automated materials metering and feeding group as well as a furnace-dedicated bag-house filter . The product from the foundry is raw lead.

The raw lead produced out of rotary furnaces is processed in kettles under different procedures and temperatures. The scope is the removal of many of the foreign metals and of impurities in order to produce either soft lead and all the alloys required by the market. All the ancillary equipment like pumps, agitators, dross removers, oxy injectors etc are used for such operations. The final products are cast in ingots in a dedicated line which provides to final robotized stacking and strapping in automatic way. The process fumes from kettle hoods and the hygiene air from refinery area are processed in a dedicated bag-house.