by What is it?
Recycled metal refers to scrap metal materials that have been recovered from items that are at the end of their useful life or are obsolete and can then be reprocessed and reused in new products. Common types of metals that are recycled include steel, aluminum, copper, brass, tin, and zinc. These metals can be extracted from things like appliances, automobiles, machinery, and structures. Recycled metal is typically collected at recycling centers, scrap yards, or metal recycling facilities where it is sorted and processed.
Collecting Recycled Metal
In many areas, programs exist to collect Recycled Metal from households and businesses so it doesn’t end up in landfills. Common ways to collect metal scrap include setting up designated recycling bins or containers where people can drop off items like empty cans, scrap copper pipe or wiring, steel beams, and more. Scrap metal haulers also collect directly from factories, construction sites, demolition projects, and other commercial operations that generate large amounts of scrap metal as a byproduct. Scrapyards purchase scrap from individuals and businesses looking to unload scrap for cash. The collected scrap metal is then sent to processing facilities.
Processing Recycled Metal
Once the Recycled Metal reaches a processing facility, it goes through several steps to prepare it for remanufacturing. First, the scrap is sorted by type of metal. Magnets and eddy currents are often used to separate ferrous materials like steel and iron from non-ferrous items like aluminum, copper, brass, and lead. Within each category, the scrap is further sorted by grade. Shredding machines then break the scrap down into uniform pieces small enough for melting. Any remaining non-metal items or coatings are removed through mechanical or water separation processes. The clean, sorted metal scrap is then compacted into dense bales for storage and transportation to smelting facilities.
Smelting Recycled Metal
The next major step is smelting, which involves melting the scrap metal at high temperatures to separate it from any impurities still present. For ferrous metals, this smelting process takes place in electric-arc furnaces charged with shredded scrap, slag formers like limestone, and sometimes direct-reduced iron. Non-ferrous metals like aluminum are typically remelted in reverberatory or rotary furnaces. As the molten metal cools and solidifies in the furnace, any dross or slag floats to the surface where it can be removed, leaving purified recyclable metal below that is sampled and tested for quality.
Reusing Recycled Metal
The purified scrap can then be reprocessed into new metal products through several methods depending on the end use. Common processing routes include casting the scrap into ingots or blooms for remelting, continuous casting into semifinished shapes like billets or wire rods, thermoforming sheet or rod stock, and more specialized powder metallurgy methods. The scrap products are then used to manufacture a vast array of new goods from automotive and machine parts to appliances, cans, siding, pipes, and more. Over 75% of recycled steel goes back into making new steel products in this circular metal life cycle.
Benefits of Recycling Metal
There are significant economic and environmental benefits to recycling scrap metal rather than mining new sources of raw materials. Reusing metals through recycling:
– Saves Energy – It takes much less energy to reprocess scrap metal than mine and refine virgin ores. Recycling steel saves over 60% of the energy used in production.
– Reduces Emissions – Producing goods from recycled rather than newly mined metals emits far fewer greenhouse gases and other air pollutants tied to mining, smelting, and refining operations.
– Conserves Resources – Recycling scrap metal greatly reduces the need for landfill space and preserves natural resources that would otherwise be used for mining new ores.
– Supports Local Jobs – The metal recycling industry involves the collection, sorting, processing, and manufacturing operations that collectively employ thousands of people across the supply chain.
– Lowers Costs – Using recycled feedstocks for production lowers material acquisition costs compared to relying on expensive virgin mineral ores.
Overall, recycling metal creates a sustainable materials management system that promotes environmental stewardship, social benefits, and continued economic development on a foundation of resource conservation. Expanding metal recycling programs and modernizing infrastructure will help maximize these advantages in the future.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
About Author:
Money Singh is a seasoned content writer with over four years of experience in the market research sector. Her expertise spans various industries, including food and beverages, biotechnology, chemical and materials, defense and aerospace, consumer goods, etc. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/money-singh-590844163)
