AlphaSelect® Functionalized Silicas
Over a number of decades Ecovyst’s Advanced materials & Catalysts group has earned a world leading position in the development of custom functionalized silicas. Through extensive R&D — coupled with customerfocused collaboration — Ecovyst tailors its functionalized silica to provide unique adsorption and desorption characteristics, enabling this cutting edge technology to be successfully commercialized.
Our extensive range of functionalized silicas, branded AlphaSelect®, add value in the following applications:
- Value recovery from waste streams
- Product purification
- Carbon capture and recovery
- Catalyst recycling and recovery
Value Recovery from Waste Streams
Unlike standard polymer Ion Exchange materials, Ecovyst has successfully developed a portfolio of silica-based Advanced Ion Exchange (AIX) materials that can operate in extremely harsh process conditions (low pH; high temperatures). This advancement enables our customers to recover valuable metals, such as copper, cobalt and nickel, from waste streams that historically could not be treated.
The AlphaSelect® range of AIX materials selectively recovers specific metal ions from mixed metal ionstreams at very low concentrations (ppm levels). The resulting metal solution stream is of high purity (>98%) and high concentration (30g/l), allowing it to be reprocessed and the value recovered.
In addition to value recovery, AlphaSelect® AIX materials also increase the sustainability footprint of the process by reducing the amount waste discharged.
AlphaSelect® Advanced Ion Exchange Materials
Ecovyst has developed the AlphaSelect® suite of products to provide unique adsorption and desorption characteristics in the most challenging of environments.
The result is an unparalleled range of Advanced Ion Exchanged (AIX) materials, based on a silica platform, that enables mining operations, metal processors and waste treatment companies to significantly improve their sustainability footprints, increase value recovery and enhance product purity.
AlphaSelect® Cu
The patented AlphaSelect® Cu functionalized silica economically recovers copper ions from low quality (low ppm), mixed metal ion streams and produces a high purity (>98%), high concentration stream (>30g/l) for recovery and reprocessing. AlphaSelect® Cu functionalized silicas are suitable throughout the whole of copper processing flowsheet.
AlphaSelect® As
Ecovyst’s AlphaSelect® As enables customers to selectively recover arsenic from waste and process streams—improving product purity and ensuring environmental compliance in discharge streams.
AlphaSelect® Hg
AlphaSelect® Hg enables customers to selectively recover mercury from waste and process streams—improving product purity and ensuring environmental compliance in discharge streams.
AlphaSelect® Cd
Silica based AlphaSelect® Cd enables customers to selectively recover cadmium from waste and process streams—improving both product purity and ensuring environmental compliance in discharge streams.
Product Purification
The AlphaSelect® range of AIX materials is suitable for use in the purification process of valuable product streams containing low levels of contaminants—allowing those streams to be economically upgraded while minimising losses.
AlphaSelect® Adsorbent Materials
AlphaSelect® Fe
AlphaSelect® Fe has successfully and economically been shown to remove Iron (Fe) from product streams such as copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc and uranium. This is increasingly important as the levels of “Electrification” intensify and the need for high purity product streams increase to meet this demand.
Carbon Capture and Recovery
The demand for Carbon Capture from both point sources, such as power stations, and direct air is anticipated to increase significantly over the next decade as the global economy works towards “Net Zero”.
In collaboration with our customers, who are developing technology and licenses in carbon capture, AlphaSelect®materials offer unique properties including particle size, porosity, pore size, purity and roundness—all critical parameters in the capture and recovery of carbon.
Our ability to custom develop and manufacture these functionalized silicas at scale for carbon capture and recovery positions Ecovyst as a leader in the development of 2nd Generation Carbon Capture materials.
Catalyst Recovery
Ecovyt’s AlphaSelect® materials are capable of recovering specific homogenous catalysts from product streams post conversion. This process allows expensive catalysts to be economically recovered, recycled and reused numerous times, rather than on a single pass. The result is a significantly improved process from both a technical and economic standpoint.
Characteristics of AlphaSelect® Materials
Robustness
The backbone of the AlphaSelect® product suite is a robust functionalized silica. Developed to not swell or shrink under varying pH conditions, AlphaSelect® materials provide increased mechanical strength over standard polymer resins.
High Selectivity
The AlphaSelect® materials provide a high selectivity of specific metal ions that minimizes losses and allows high purity (>95%), high concentration (>30g/l) eluted streams to be recovered.
Small Footprint
A major benefit of the silica based AlphaSelect® product suite is the rapid kinetics during its loading and elution phases. This allows for smaller bed sizes when compared to similar, alternate polymer resins.
Easy Onward Processing
The AlphaSelect® product suite of custom silicas produces a high purity, high concentration stream that can be simply re-introduced into the process.
Extended Resin Lifespan
AlphaSelect® functionalized silicas are highly resistant to contaminants. Coupled with its increased mechanical strength, AlphaSelect® offers extended lifespan when compared against standard polymer resins.
Get in touch with our customer service team to learn more about how AlphaSelect® functionalized silicas can work for you.