NSSC will introduce equipment at the Hikari Works to make possible the retrieval of rare metals, like chrome and nickel from ‘dust’ during the melting process and from ‘sludge’ and ‘scale’ during further processing. The dust is recycled by gathering it, processing it through the existing RHF equipment and then returning it to the electric furnace as raw material, contributing to resource conservation. ‘Sludge’ and ‘scale’ however, contain fluorine [F], which degrades the manufacturing equipment when it is mixed into the raw materials. The volume that can be recycled is restricted as a result of the limited capability of the RHF, etc. NSSC has received a subsidy being implemented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry which will enable the company to expand the amount of rare metals recycled each year by more than 1000 tons. With the installation of a new melting furnace and capacity increase in the existing Rotary Hearth Furnace, the amount of chrome, nickel etc., can be recycled by over 1000 tons/year. The investment amount is estimated at approximately YEN 5 billion and completion is scheduled for September 2012.
