Competitiveness Case ⑥ — The Gold Rush Dream in Discarded Circuit Boards: Vary Tech Empowers Yongxing Pengkun to Write a Legend

Published on:2025-07-18

On the fertile land of Hunan Province lies Yongxing, hailed as the "Silver Capital of China Without Silver Mines." Although devoid of natural mineral deposits, it has created an economic value exceeding 50 billion RMB through "transforming waste into gold." Behind this achievement lies the legendary tale written by enterprises like Yongxing Pengkun Environmental Protection Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yongxing Pengkun).





Globally, the wave of electronic product iteration is surging. Reports from International Data Corporation (IDC) indicate that by 2025, global electronic waste is projected to surge to 54 million tons. This represents not only a significant environmental challenge but also holds immense resource potential, particularly the high-value metals like gold, silver, and copper found in discarded circuit boards. As the world's largest producer and consumer of electronic products, China's volume of discarded circuit board processing is expected to reach 1.2 million tons by 2025. Hu Pengfei, General Manager of Yongxing Pengkun, vividly points out: "An ore yielding 5 grams of gold per ton is considered rich, whereas a ton of discarded circuit boards contains over 10 grams of gold and more than 100 grams of silver, representing very high value." Transforming these potential pollution sources into the green wealth of a circular economy is precisely the mission of pioneering companies like Yongxing Pengkun.

 


From "Hazardous Waste" to "Gold": The Magic and Wisdom of a Modern Factory

Entering Yongxing Pengkun, one is struck by the sight. This is not a traditionally messy recycling station, but a modern green factory. Spread across 158 acres, facilities like the discarded circuit board warehouse, organic hazardous waste pyrolysis workshop, and copper-containing smelting workshop are meticulously arranged, with each step reflecting technological rigor and environmental commitment.



The core competitiveness enabling the transformation from "circuit boards" to "gold" lies in the "oxygen-free pyrolysis + oxygen-enriched side-blown smelting" integrated processing technology independently developed by Vary Tech.

Under oxygen-free conditions, the organic components in discarded circuit boards are converted into energy sources like pyrolysis oil and combustible gas, while metals are concentrated in the pyrolysis carbon residue. Subsequently, the oxygen-enriched side-blown smelting technology efficiently recovers high-purity copper and associated precious metals like gold and silver from these enriched residues and various copper-containing materials.

This staged synergy ensures the comprehensive recovery of both organic and metallic components, maximizing the utilization value of the waste.





To guarantee ultimate environmental protection in recycling and eliminate "toxin" concerns, Vary Tech employs combined flexible sealing technology, innovatively solving the challenge of dynamic sealing in large pyrolysis equipment, ensuring pyrolysis occurs in an oxygen-free environment. Compared to the risk of highly toxic dioxins produced by high-temperature incineration, the oxygen-free environment cuts off the oxygen supply needed for dioxin formation. Simultaneously, the reducing atmosphere promotes dioxin decomposition, and structural design optimization reduces dioxin precursors, significantly lowering environmental risks.

Vary Tech's innovative hot air recirculation technology efficiently utilizes high-temperature flue gas and low-temperature reflux gas, precisely controlling the pyrolysis temperature. Closed-loop reuse of pyrolysis gas improves thermal efficiency while reducing investment in flue gas purification, effectively lowering operating costs.



This combined process is highly energy-efficient, achieving a green cycle of energy self-sufficiency. The combustible gas and pyrolysis oil produced can directly serve as auxiliary fuel for the smelting process, significantly reducing reliance on external energy and operational costs. The oxygen-enriched side-blown technology itself, due to increased oxygen concentration, enables more efficient combustion and metallurgical reactions, further reducing energy consumption.

This integrated process can flexibly handle multiple types of industrial solid waste – whether organic-rich discarded circuit boards, polymer hazardous waste, or copper-containing sludge and slag – finding efficient solutions, thereby enhancing the factory's material reception capacity and market competitiveness.

Zhou Yi, Deputy General Manager of Yongxing Pengkun, once explained: "We achieve 'leaving no waste behind,' turning waste into treasure. More importantly, product quality is guaranteed, realizing dual enhancement of social and environmental benefits." The recovered copper products boast a purity exceeding 99.999%, and their value increases by over 20% after being processed into copper powder. Alloy superconducting materials made from pure copper powder and pure silver powder double in value! This is not only an economic success but also the best interpretation of the "green development" philosophy.

From Blueprint to Reality: Setting New Benchmarks for Speed and Quality

The story of Yongxing Pengkun was not achieved overnight. Construction began in April 2018, and it officially commenced operations in January 2020. As a major industrial project in Yongxing County, it has set new quality and circular economy benchmarks with its first-class engineering, advanced equipment and facilities, and high-standard environmental emissions.



The project is equipped with 6 sets of batch pyrolysis systems and 1 set of continuous pyrolysis system. It annually recycles and utilizes 187,800 tons of various industrial solid wastes, including 20,000 tons of circuit boards and 167,800 tons of other industrial solid waste, producing 12,500 tons of copper powder and copper alloys per year. It is not only a vital component of Yongxing County's "China Silver Capital" strategy but also actively drives the quality improvement and upgrading of the entire comprehensive precious and rare metal recovery industry.

Xu Changhai, Director of the Yongxing County Bureau of Science, Technology, and Industry Information, stated: "We guide and encourage enterprises to widely carry out industry-university-research cooperation and innovation with scientific research institutions, break through core technologies, and focus on cultivating innovative enterprises... to lead the development of our entire industry."

Yongxing Pengkun is the crystallization of this innovative spirit. Beyond discarded circuit boards, Yongxing Pengkun can also process waste packaging bags, scrap materials, welding slag, waste lubricants, waste cutting fluids, waste resin residues, paint sludge, waste filter cotton, waste gloves and rags, waste activated carbon, and various other hazardous wastes. It provides standardized comprehensive services for hazardous waste collection, transportation, storage, disposal, and process management to renowned large enterprises like GAC Group, CIMC, Shengyi Technology, China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), Samsung Electronics, Foxconn, China Recycling, Dongjiang Environmental, and Sound Environmental, adhering to the highest environmental safety standards.

A Commitment to a Green Future

The success of Yongxing Pengkun is a testament to Vary Tech's deep cultivation in the circular economy field. It demonstrates to us that waste is not an endpoint, but a new starting point empowered by technology.

In the future, Vary Tech will continue to innovate, expanding the application of pyrolysis technology into emerging circular economy fields such as biochar, discarded photovoltaic modules, and decommissioned wind turbine blades. It will drive global industrial sustainable development, collaborating with partners to create a new era of green, low-carbon, and efficient circular economy, achieving synergistic wins for both the economy and the environment.

 
 
 
 
 

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