Thermal Drying & Roasting of Oily Revert

One of the most common challenges within the superalloy recycling industry is the handling of wet turnings, sludge and oil-contaminated fines.

Using controlled thermal treatment and roasting processes, Sonic Solutions is able to reduce:

• Oils
• Moisture
• Coolants
• Hydrocarbon contamination
• Organic residues

from nickel alloy turnings and revert materials.

Unlike aggressive burn-off systems that can lead to excessive yield loss and fines extraction, our processes are designed around controlled recovery and material preservation.

In many cases, industry-standard drying systems can lose significant quantities of valuable metallic fines during processing. Our approach focuses on controlled handling and recovery of high-value material while achieving acceptable remelt specifications.

Typical materials include:

• Inconel turnings
• Rene alloys
• Waspaloy
• Nickel sludge
• Tungsten-bearing fines
• Oily powder and filter cake materials

Because apparently every valuable alloy on Earth must arrive soaked in something flammable.

Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC) Removal

Sonic Solutions has been actively developing specialist processes for the removal of thermal barrier coatings from aerospace and energy-sector turbine components.

This includes:

• Zirconia TBC removal
• Bond coat stripping
• MCrAlY coating removal
• HR160 coating removal
• Chemical stripping processes
• Mechanical and ultrasonic-assisted cleaning

Turbine blades and vanes often contain highly valuable nickel superalloys beneath complex coating systems that must be removed prior to remelt and alloy recovery.

Using combinations of:

• Shot blasting
• Ultrasonic cleaning
• Controlled acid chemistry
• Thermal treatment
• Surface preparation

we are able to assist with the recovery and preparation of coated turbine scrap for downstream processing.

Our work includes ongoing development around:

• Rene alloys
• PWA alloys
• MarM247
• IN718
• Waspaloy
• HR160-coated materials

and other high-temperature aerospace materials.

The challenge with these materials is not simply removing coatings. It is removing them quickly enough to be commercially viable while remaining controlled enough not to dissolve the alloy underneath. Industrial chemistry has a remarkable talent for turning £50,000 worth of turbine blades into educational experiences.

Ceramic Core & Specialist Revert Processing

We also support customers with materials containing:

• Ceramic cores
• Foundry residues
• Oxides and heat treatment scale
• Embedded contamination
• Complex remelt challenges

Many revert streams require specialist toll processing before they become commercially attractive for remelt or downstream refining.

Sonic Solutions works closely with customers to develop practical processing routes for unusual, difficult or heavily contaminated materials that fall outside conventional recycling methods.

Sometimes the best opportunities in this industry are the materials nobody else wants to touch.