Production of fine chemicals

Did you know that many fine chemicals are used in the plating process of galvanic industries? And that some of these compounds are based on precious metals such as Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru? An example of one of these companies is Faggi Enrico Spa (based in Itily) who specialise in the manufacture of supported heterogeneous and homogeneous precious metal catalysts for chemical processes of pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries. They provide a full service for recovery and refining of precious metal from spent catalysts based on our known-how and technologies. Our services include development and production of new catalysts tailored on the customer’s requirements and catalyst-screening through activity tests under different reaction conditions. Furthermore, our catalysts are completely characterized through physical and chemical analytical methods to assure high quality products.

On the subject of gold – according to Wikipedia, as of 2015, approximately 186,700 tonnes of gold exists above ground and the world consumption of new gold produced is about 50% in jewelery, 40% in investments, and 10% in industries such as the one mentioned above. Gold’s high malleability, ductility, resistance to corrosion and most other chemical reactions, and conductivity of electricity have led to its continued use in corrosion resistant electrical connectors in all types of computerized devices (its chief industrial use). Gold is also used in infrared shielding, colored-glass production, gold leafing, and tooth restoration. Certain gold salts are still used as anti-inflammatories in medicine. As of 2016, the world’s largest gold producer by far was China with 450 tonnes per year.[9]

AG is the chemical symbol for silver and is also often used in the production of high purity chemicals and compounds.  It is a soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The metal is found in the Earth’s crust in the pure, free elemental form, as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is produced as a by-product of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.