PGMs - environmental research

SFA (Oxford)’s independently derived intelligence could be used by governments and energy industries to help realise their environmental objectives.

With over 80 years experience, SFA (Oxford) is committed to strategic research on the long-term industry costs and availability of PGMs. This is essential to establish whether PGM resources and mining practices will meet current and future global environmental requirements, as well as enabling our clients to formulate a more effective strategy to alleviate their impact on the environment.

PGMs are used extensively in technologies that reduce environmental impact, most notably in autocatalysis to reduce emissions from car exhausts. PGMs are also recyclable, providing an ongoing source of supply. Equally significant is the use of PGMs in fuel cell technology, where platinum is critical to performance. Fuel cells have the potential to dramatically increase the efficiency of cars and generators, whilst reducing air pollution. This new technology could eventually replace conventional combustion engines and stationary power systems.

PGMs (platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium) have extraordinary physical and chemical properties that make them highly resistant to oxidation and corrosion, and therefore indispensable to modern technology and industry. Specifically, the metals have high melting points, are chemically inert to a wide variety of elements and compounds at elevated temperatures and thus resist corrosion. These excellent catalytic properties enable car exhausts to produce much cleaner, safer emissions and also make vehicle fuel cell technology feasible.

Autocatalysis:

Car exhaust catalysts account for some 48% of global PGM use
The USA and Japan were the first countries to establish standards that require the fitting of catalysts to cars
Legislation came into force in Europe, Australia and parts of Asia in the 1980s, followed in the 1990s by the developing economies of Brazil, Mexico and India
Over half of the world's 500 million cars are now fitted with a catalyst, and more than 80% of new cars sold worldwide have a catalytic converter as standard equipment

Recycling:

PGM recycling is a significant source of supply
In some industrial uses, such as gauzes and petroleum catalysts, PGMs are recycled as part of the industrial process
PGMs can be recovered using most waste management systems and the recovery rate can be as high as 96%
The autocatalysis sector is the main source of secondary PGM supply

Fuel cell vehicles:

Fuel cells can produce electricity with negligible pollution through converting the energy of a chemical reaction
A catalyst is required to accelerate the chemical reactions, and platinum is one of the most effective materials for this process
Even if fuel cells were to replace the internal combustion engine, platinum will continue to be vital for reliable, pollution-free transport

Medical and domestic uses:

PGMs are used in pharmaceuticals and medicine, for example, cisplatinum and carboplatin in chemotherapy
Neural implants, such as those designed to relieve the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, rely upon the unique qualities of PGMs
PGMs are an important component of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors