Case Study: Vacuum Distillation Furnace for a Polish Wheel Balance Weights Recycler
GLOBAL-CORP Sp. z o.o., a recycling company in Poland, contacted Pingxiang Xinchen Furnace about recovering lead and zinc from wheel balance weights. Their feed consists of mixed, separate lead-based and zinc-based weights — not a homogeneous Pb-Zn alloy — with steel clips and surface coatings present. The company wanted an economical system appropriate for a small recycling business, delivered and supported in the EU.
The inquiry
The buyer was evaluating two routes: selective melting with separate lead drainage, and vacuum distillation. They asked for the smallest suitable model, the practical batch size and throughput, the power and consumables, the expected recovery rates and cross-contamination levels, whether the zinc would be recovered as metallic zinc, and the full scope of supply including vacuum system, condenser, cooling, dust extraction and controls — plus delivery, warranty and installation support in Poland.
Our recommendation: vacuum distillation over selective melting
We recommended the vacuum distillation route. Conventional melting only consolidates the material — both metals are liquid at the same time and cannot be drained separately. Vacuum distillation uses the boiling point difference between zinc (about 907 °C) and lead (about 1,740 °C): under vacuum the zinc evaporates and condenses as metallic zinc blocks, while the lead stays in the crucible and drains separately.
The recommended configuration
We proposed the XCJD-3000KG vacuum distillation furnace, the most economical unit for this feed: batch capacity 2.4 to 2.8 t, cycle time approximately 4 hours, and daily throughput of 10 to 12 t per 24 hours at roughly 1,000 kWh per batch. Zinc recovery reaches 95 to 96 percent, with cross-contamination of about 1 percent zinc in the lead and 2 percent lead in the zinc. The recovered zinc is collected as metallic blocks, and the crucible is replaced about once a month. Separation trials on comparable material are run regularly in-house, so the expected results are backed by measured data.
Scope of supply and delivery
The turnkey scope covers the vacuum distillation furnace, vacuum pump set, condenser and cooling system, dedusting and fume extraction, and the electrical controls. The unit measures 3.0 × 2.05 × 2.32 m with a shipping weight of approximately 19 t, delivered approximately 30 days after order confirmation with export packing and a full document set for EU conformity. Warranty is one year, and installation with commissioning at the customer’s site in Poland takes about 10 days with engineers sent from China.
The outcome
The recycler now has a clear, tested path from mixed wheel balance weights to two sellable metal streams: metallic zinc blocks cast from the condenser and separated lead drained from the crucible. The configuration matches a small business — one furnace, one operator team, a standard 400 V / 50 Hz supply — while the trial data and documentation make the investment decision verifiable before the order is placed.
If your recycling business handles wheel balance weights or similar lead-zinc material, contact Pingxiang Xinchen Furnace at ferrytk898@gmail.com or WhatsApp +86 136 1799 5900. We test representative feed samples, recommend the right furnace size, and support delivery, installation and commissioning in your country.
