A new generation of silver recovery medium.

Most commercially available metallic replacement cartridges (MRCs) have the reputation of performing inconsistently and inefficiently when they are used to recover silver from silver-rich solutions. The major source of the problem is the inefficient use of iron, including "channeling" inside the MRC -- a phenomenon where the silver-rich solution creates distinct paths through which it flows, leaving much of the iron unused and reducing the silver recovery capacity of the cartridge.

Metafix conducted an 18-month R&D study to find a medium for MRCs that minimized channeling and improved cartridge performance. The medium we found comprised a mixture of iron and inert fiber. In manufacturing the MRCs, Metafix used a special high-pressure procedure. The combination of the new medium and manufacturing procedure resulted in MRCs that offered consistent silver recovery performance and increased, efficient iron usage when used for silver-rich solutions from the photofinishing process.

The new Metafix MRCs performed well even at very high solution flow rates -- up to12 L/min for the largest cartridge. The name of the patent pending iron and inert fiber mixture is MetaWool*. MRCs containing MetaWool and manufactured with the high-pressure procedure are called Metafix metallic replacement cartridges (MRCs).

Features of Metafix MRCs containing MetaWool: