European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform

Process & contact

Tracegrow RETRACER™ – Tracegrow Oy
tracegrow.com

Updated 08/25

Input materials

Black mass from end-of-life alkaline batteries supplied by licensed EU battery recyclers, and industrial sidestreams from chemical and metal industries in the EU

Output products

ZM-GROW contains 4.9% manganese and 4.4% zinc (w/w), with over 90% of these metals recovered from black mass from end-of-life alkaline batteries supplied by licensed EU recyclers. This material is fully water soluble, used in foliar application and in seed coating formulations.

M-TRACE™ is produced from EU industrial sidestreams, mainly battery industry sidestreams (zinc-industry anode sludge), and contains 10.9% manganese (w/w), providing a concentrated, fully soluble source of recycled manganese in liquid form, for foliar applications.

Contaminant levels are below EU limits for heavy metals; no pathogens or pharmaceuticals. Certified for Organic Farming in Germany and The Netherlands.

This concerns a micronutrient recycling process, no phosphorus or nitrogen is involved. Tracegrow Factory 03

Process description

The proprietary RETRACER™ hydrometallurgical process extracts zinc and manganese, achieving recovery rates of >90%. This is achieved by separation, controlled leaching and purification steps.

The process generates no wastewater or off-gas emissions and is designed for low energy use.
Tracegrow Factory

Products are ZM-GROW™, which contains 4.4% zinc and 4.9% manganese, mainly made from end-of-life batteries, and M-TRACE™: a 10.9% manganese solution, from productio nwaste

M-TRACE is CE-certified under the EU Fertilising Products Regulation CMC 15, but ZM-GROW cannot be certified at current, due to an inconsistent and/or restrictive wording on the origin of such materials in the Fertilising Product Regulation CMC 15, which prevents some materials from end-of-life batteries being CE certified, despite being of sufficient quality. M-TRACE and ZM-Grow have also received end-of-waste and fertilizer authorisation on national level, and are certified for Organic farmng in several countries.

The process is protected by multiple patents (granted and pending).

The technology produces no wastewater or off-gas emissions, and operations are certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. The company has received the Finnish Environment Institute Circwaste Award for its circular economy innovation.

Operating status

A full-scale manufacturing facility is operating in Kärsämäki, Finland, making up to 10 million litres product per year.

Commercial operation has been ongoing since 2018

Capacity:

ZM-GROW™ – up to 5 million litres per year
M-TRACE™ – up to 5 million litres per year

Products are CE certified under CMC15.

Operation: Continuous full scale industrial production

In addition, the company is developing battery grade manganese sulfate production.

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