Refining and Recovery Services

Refining and recovery services include the purification and treatment of oils, fuels, metals and other materials. Refining and recovery encompasses a broad range or processing services such as recovering precious metals from physical vapor deposition (PVD) chambers, reconditioning fuels in storage tanks, cracking crude oils and purifying metals extracted from mineral ores. Some refining and recovery services specialize in refining gold or refining silver. Others provide refining and recovery services for petroleum or crude oil. The refining process that companies select is typically a function of the material to refine and the industry or application. The gross refining margin that a business retains includes the cost of operating the refinery as well as the profits for the refining service. 

Important specifications for refining and recovery services include volume-based capacity, mass-based capacity, and run and batch size. Companies with laboratory or benchtop-scale capacities can process material quantities that do not exceed a few pounds or a few gallons. Pilot scale facilities perform small-scale production processes that are larger than laboratory scale and used to develop a subsequent full-scale process. Typically, pilot-scale quantities range from several drums to hundreds of pounds or gallons; however, quantities vary with the density and type of processed material. Pilot scale refining and recovery services are better than laboratory scale facilities at simulating production processes and can be used for troubleshooting, improving and optimizing processes. Some refining and recovery services offer commercial, production or industrial scale processing facilities. Typically, production lots are in the range of thousands of gallons or pounds.

Refining and recovery services differ in terms of certifications and approvals. For example, AS 9001 is a set of quality guidelines and requirements published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in cooperation with major aerospace manufacturers. ISO 9001:2000 establishes requirements for company quality management systems.  ISO certifications such as ISO 14001 are also available for refining and recovery services. QS 9000 is a quality standard for suppliers of DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors Corporation. Some refining and recovery services comply with current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) or are registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Others meet U.S. military specifications (MIL-SPEC). 

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