Investigation of the influence of supply parameters on the velocity of molten metal in a metallurgical reactor used for platinum recovery

Exhaust gases which are introduced into the atmosphere contain impurities such as carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide. Auto catalysts enable air pollution from these exhaust gases to be reduced considerably. Typical auto catalytic converters consist of the carrier (ceramic or metallic) and the catalytic system. Platinum group metals (PGM) are responsible for the catalytic function. All spent auto catalysts should be purchased and processed in order to recover the precious metals from them. This article presents the results of coupled analyses of electromagnetic and flow field calculations. The aim of this research was to design a device for extracting precious metals from used auto catalytic converters. Calculations were made to determine the velocity field distribution of a liquid metal, the movement of which was forced by the electromagnetic field. Computational experiments were conducted to obtain the relationships between the metal velocity distribution, the inductor supply and geometrical parameters in order to improve the construction of the presented device. The calculation shows that viscosity and friction has a greater influence on velocity distribution than forces distribution.