Aluminum Scrap Price & Recycling

It’s called aluminum by the Americans and aluminium by the British, but everyone agrees that it’s the third most abundant element in the world next to oxygen and silicon. It makes up about 8 percent of the total world’s weight. It is not naturally found in its pure form. It is part of an organic compound called alum.

In 1825, a Danish chemist was the first to be able to extract aluminum form alum. Although the process was improved over the years by succeeding scientists, the metal’s hardiness made it more valuable that gold. Napoleon III, president of the French Second Republic, in 1848, presented aluminum plates and cutlery to his guests. Les important guests were required to use gold cutlery. Because of its high value, the Washington Monument was covered in it in 1884.

In 1886, Charles Hall, a French engineer and chemistry graduate, came up with a way to extract the metal more efficiently. This Hall-Heroult method is still used today to produce aluminum.

Aluminium scrap is often classified as “new scrap” in production and “old scrap” after consumption.

The manufacturing of aluminum semi-fabricated and finished products can produce new scrap. The old scrap aluminum refers to products that have been disposed of by consumers. Old scrap aluminium is more polluted than new scrap. Old aluminium scrap can come from many sources, including demolished buildings, old packaging material, household appliances and machinery equipment, and end-of-life vehicles.

Scrap aluminum cans, scrap metal, and other scrap is often collected and sorted by complex schemes that involve millions of households, regional and local authorities, small and large collectors, and metal merchants. The effectiveness of collection programs can also be affected by environmental policies and waste.

The scrap aluminum may need to be further separated and pre-treated before it can be used in melting furnaces. This stage of the process can be accomplished by a variety of mechanical operations such as gravity, magnetic, eddy current, and colour sensor. You can also use x-rays to further separate different aluminum alloys. Casting alloys and wrought alloys are often separated before any mechanical processes.

To transform aluminium scrap into aluminum metal, other input materials are required. Aluminium products have many functionalities and characteristics that are dependent on alloy elements. Salt flux is used to remove impurities in scrap aluminium.

Aluminium can be 100% recycled. Aluminium recycling refers to the process of reusing aluminium scrap after it has been produced. Re-melting the metal is a simple process that uses less energy and costs than making new aluminium by electrolysis of aluminum oxide (Al2O3). This process requires first obtaining bauxite ore, and then refinement using the Bayer process. Recycling scrap aluminium requires only 5% of what it takes to make new aluminium from the raw ore.

Aluminium is an infinitely recyclable material, and it takes up to 95 percent less energy to recycle it than to produce primary aluminum, which also limits emissions, including greenhouse gases. About 75 percent of the aluminum produced over the past 100 years, or nearly a billion tonnes, are still being used today. Even when you consider the costs of collection, separation, and recycling, aluminium recycling can often result in significant cost savings over new production. Long-term savings can be even greater when you consider the lower capital costs associated with landfills, mines and international shipping of raw aluminium.