Maximum Precious Metals Recovery Starts With the Right Partner
Forty years of reduction chemistry brought to the precious metals recovery sector.
REDUCING AGENT EXPERTISE
Our in-house laboratory, reaction database and thousands of accumulated case studies represent a depth of understanding that takes decades to build — and that sits behind every product and every conversation we have.
PACKAGING OPTIONS & SIZES
We offer flexible packaging formats and quantities from drums to IBCs to bulk. Strategically located regional warehouses across N America, Europe and Asia ensure consistent product availability and timely delivery. We are built around your procurement cycle, not the other way around.
COMPLIANCE AS STANDARD
All products are supplied with full technical documentation and regulatory compliance aligned with destination country requirements, including UK and EU REACH. We offer full SDS documentation, and lot-specific Certificates of Analysis.
SBH's performance in precious metals recovery is established science. Near-quantitative yields. Clean precipitation. No sulfur contamination. Effective across every leach system your process runs.
-
What you are choosing is not the chemistry. It is the partner behind it.
-
Chematek's experience begans in 1980s Italy, where we introducing Sodium Borohydride into pharmaceutical manufacturing at a defining moment in chemical innovation. Four decades of case studies, proprietary chemistry development and in-house laboratory work has followed. We have spent forty years becoming the specialists others call when the chemistry matters most.
Product Options
Solid - Powder
Available in 50 kg aluminium bags in drum (5 × 10 kg) and 10 kg aluminium bags in drum (10 × 1 kg).
Solid - Granular
Available in 50 kg aluminium bags in drum (5 × 10 kg).
Liquid — 12% Solution in 40% Caustic Soda
Available in drums (25 kg · 200 kg) and IBC (1 t · 1.25 t · 1.4 t).
Chematek supplies SBH in solid and liquid forms, across a range of packaging configurations. Where standard formats don't fit, we work with you to find a solution that does.
Every batch is supplied with a full Certificate of Analysis because what goes into your process determines what comes out of it.
Packaging flexibility and custom specifications available on request.
Precious Metals Expertise
We understand the commercial weight of 5–10% residual metal left in barren solution by electrochemical methods. We understand why sulfur contamination from hydrosulfite or metabisulfite creates a refining penalty that quietly erodes the margin you are trying to protect.
-
The same logic applies across the full recovery spectrum — from silver at scale to palladium from autocatalyst circuits — where yield and precipitate purity are commercial decisions, not just technical ones. And we understand why rhodium and ruthenium — the most demanding metals to recover cleanly — require a reagent with an exceptionally low contamination profile, where a second refining step is a cost no one wants to absorb.
-
That understanding did not come from reading about the sector. It came from decades of working inside it.
Frequently Asked Questions
SBH converts dissolved precious metal ions back into solid metallic powder through reduction-precipitation — which is then filtered and smelted into refined metal. It is effective for silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium and ruthenium across cyanide, chloride, thiourea, thiosulfate and bromide leach systems.
Electrochemical methods typically leave 5–10% residual metal in solution. SBH achieves near-quantitative recovery — the preferred choice wherever metal value is high and losses carry a real commercial cost.
Sulfur-based reducing agents introduce sulfur contamination into the precipitate, generate SO₂ or H₂S emissions, and carry flammability risks. SBH produces none of these — delivering a cleaner precipitate and eliminating the downstream refining penalty that sulfur contamination creates.
Hydrazine is classified as a probable human carcinogen and faces increasing regulatory restriction globally. SBH delivers equivalent or superior recovery performance with a significantly safer handling and compliance profile.
The stabilised 12% solution in caustic soda is the industry-standard format — safer than powder, easy to dose precisely, and consistent batch to batch. Available in 25 kg and 200 kg drums and IBCs up to 1.4 t, with solid forms available where process requirements demand them.
Yes. With distribution hubs across North America and Europe and global reach beyond, we manage the full supply and compliance picture — transport classification, REACH registration and SDS documentation — wherever you operate.
Reducing Agents Product Range
| Product | CAS number | Description | Document | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synhydrid® | CAS: 22722-98-1 | Sodium bis(2- methoxyethoxy) aluminium hydride in toluene Synhydrid® performs reduction reactions, transforming functional groups by means of hydride addition. It can reduce esters and acids to alcohols or aldehydes, ketones to secondary aldehydes, amides and nitriles to amines, lactones to diols or lactols. | Download TDS | |
| Piperhydride® | CAS: 71128-61-5 | Solution of sodium bis(2-methoxyethoxy)(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)aluminium hydride Piperhydride® was developed in response to more stringent safety, legal and environmental requirements. It is a safe and cost-effective replacement for DIBAL-H in existing processes. | Download TDS | |
| Sodium Borohydride | CAS: 16940-66-2 | Sodium Borohydride is a versatile reducing agent used in organic synthesis for the reduction of various functional groups, including aldehydes, ketones, and nitro compounds, among others. It is also used in the preparation of boranes, in the production of paper and textiles, as a bleaching agent for wood pulp, and as a hydrogen source for fuel cells. Format & | Download TDS | |
| Lithium Borohydride | CAS: 16949-15-8 | Lithium Borohydride (LiBH₄) is a powerful reducing agent used in organic synthesis for the reduction of a broader range of functional groups, including aldehydes, ketones, esters, amides, and nitriles. Compared to sodium and potassium borohydride, lithium borohydride exhibits higher reactivity and is more soluble in ether solvents, enabling efficient reductions under conditions where milder borohydrides are less effective. Format & Packaging Solid - Powder: Alu-bags in drum (10 x 1kg) Solid - Powder: Alu-bags in drum (32 x 1kg) Liquid - 4M in THF: Drum (150kg) | ||
| Potassium Borohydride | CAS: 13762-51-1 | Potassium Borohydride (KBH4) is a reducing agent used in organic synthesis for the reduction of various functional groups, including aldehydes, ketones, esters, and carboxylic acids. Like sodium borohydride, it can also be used in the preparation of boranes. Potassium borohydride can be more soluble than Sodium Borohydride in some solvents, which can make it easier to use in certain reactions. Format & Packaging Solid - Crystals: 50kg Alu-bags (5X10kg) | Download TDS | |
| Sodium Cyano-Borohydride | CAS: 25895-60-7 | Sodium Cyanoborohydride (NaBH₃CN) is a mild and selective reducing agent widely used in organic synthesis, particularly for the reduction of imines and Schiff bases. Its controlled reactivity allows selective reductive amination in the presence of aldehydes and ketones, making it especially valuable in pharmaceutical and fine chemical synthesis. Format & | ||
| Sodium Triacetoxy-Borohydride | CAS: 56553-60-7 | Sodium Triacetoxyborohydride (STAB) is a selective reducing agent commonly employed in reductive amination reactions under mildly acidic conditions. It offers improved chemoselectivity compared to sodium borohydride, enabling efficient conversion of imines to amines while minimising unwanted reduction of carbonyl functional groups. Format & Packaging Solid: 25kg Drum (10*2.5kg) |
Let's Talk
If you have a project you’d like to discuss, please provide your details below so we can chat.