Aluminium scrap is the most important material in the recycling process

In general, aluminum scrap can be divided into "new scrap" and "old scrap". The former comes from the production process, the latter from consumer goods.

New scrap originates from the manufacturing process of aluminium semi-finished and final products. Used scrap refers to scrap obtained from end-of-life consumer products. In general, the contaminants in old waste are higher than in new waste. Sources of used waste include end-of-life vehicles, demolished buildings, discarded packaging materials, home and office equipment, and mechanical products.

The collection and sorting of aluminium scrap in general (especially old scrap) is a complex process involving thousands of households, local management machinery, small and medium-scale acquirers, and metal traders. In addition, waste policies and environmental policies also have a significant impact on the efficiency of recycling systems.

The sorted aluminium scrap needs to be further subdivided and pretreated before it can be recycled through the smelting furnace. During the sorting stage, different mechanical methods can be used to treat the waste, including magnetic separation, gravity separation, eddy current processes or colorimetric sensors. When further separating the aluminum alloy material, the X-ray method can also be used. In general, it is necessary to separate the deformed and cast alloys prior to mechanical processing, if conditions permit.

In order to convert valuable aluminum scrap into metallic aluminum, some other materials are also required. In order to obtain multifunctional and characteristic aluminium products, alloying elements play a vital role. In the process of refining aluminum scrap, some impurities cannot be removed by mechanical methods, but these impurities can be removed by molten salt method in the smelting furnace.

In every corner of the world, recycled aluminium is smelted to make new products