The fashion and luxury industries are increasingly focused on more efficient and sustainable ways to manage production waste, especially when it comes to metallic accessories, galvanic components and materials containing precious metals.

In this context, IKOI’s ALS technology offers an innovative solution for the treatment and recovery of complex metal scraps, such as buckles, fashion accessories and galvanic waste, allowing base metals to be separated and precious metals to be concentrated for the following refining stages.

Through vacuum distillation, ALS replaces traditional chemical and electrochemical processes with a physical separation process. This makes it possible to treat materials that are often difficult to process through conventional galvanic recovery methods, while helping to reduce the environmental impact of the overall recovery cycle.

A typical application is the selective removal of zinc from Zamak alloys, widely used in the fashion accessories sector. By removing zinc before the following recovery steps, ALS helps prevent this metal from contaminating the electrolytic baths normally used in traditional processes.

This is a key advantage from both an environmental and economic point of view. Electrolytes used in galvanic processes can become polluted by base metals and, once contaminated, require replacement, generating additional costs and operational inefficiencies. By reducing the contamination of electrolytic baths, ALS helps extend their useful life and drastically reduce the costs associated with their replacement.

The process is also fast and efficient: thanks to the vacuum distillation phase, the treated material can move on to the next processes in approximately 3–4 hours.
Thanks to its ability to separate base metals and concentrate the precious fraction, ALS represents a valuable opportunity for the recovery of precious metals such as silver, palladium and rhodium from galvanic and fashion-related waste streams.

The application of vacuum distillation technology shows strong potential beyond traditional precious metal refineries, offering new possibilities for sectors where efficiency, sustainability and resource recovery are becoming increasingly strategic.

With ALS, IKOI confirms its commitment to developing advanced technologies that support cleaner, more efficient and more sustainable precious metals recovery processes.