Many Non Ferrous Metals Make Good Recyclers
Silver, gold, copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, nickel, cobalt and titanium are all non ferrous metals. Every year millions of tons of these substances are turned into scrap and are recovered by refiners, smelters, ingot makers and foundries. Secondary materials such as these are necessary as they are combined to produce new alloys.
Aluminum is one of the most frequently recycled non ferrous metals today and is also found in abundance in the earth’s crust. It is the only material that covers the amount it costs to collect and process at a recycling centre. Recycling aluminum is economically viable, energy efficient and environmentally sound.
The non ferrous metal recycling industry is made up of many small companies which purchase the scrap material which is then passed onto a larger company where it begins the recycling process.
Stages of the recycling of non-ferrous metals
The first stage is sorting each metal into its right group so that it goes through the correct recycling process. Non-ferrous materials are compressed into enormous blocks for ease of handling and subsequent transportation.
Hydraulic machinery is used to exert a high amount of pressure so that the non ferrous metal can be cut up into easy to manage sizes. Through the use of a furnace the recovered metals are melted down and shaped into ingots. These ingots may be used by a foundry or they could be made into flat sheets and shapes such as tubing which are made into new products. Ferrous metals when recycled do not lose much of their original metal.
Aluminum is one of those non ferrous metals that when recycled is frequently used to make the same product repeatedly. It is suitable as window frames, roofing material, structures for buildings, airplanes, boats, cars, trains and trucks as well as motorcycles, bicycles and wheelchairs. When it comes to packaging, it is often used for cans and foil. In the middle of the last century aluminum was increasingly used as a substitute for copper in transmission lines of high voltage. Tableware and cooking pots are these days commonly made from aluminum.
Copper is the best conductor of electricity and when alloyed with metals like zinc, lead and tin is also used to make valves that control water flow. Recycled copper is frequently used in wiring, circuitry, electromagnets, switches, refrigeration, air conditioning and water control systems.
Lead when recycled is used in car batteries for the plates that function as electrodes. Lead also offers a barrier against the effects of X-rays.
Zinc is used mixed with copper to make brass and as a coating on steel – a process called galvanization, which protects steel and iron from corrosion. Zinc is used just as it is as a sacrificial anode which helps corrosion of steel hulls on ships.
Recycling statistics
- 40% of global requirements for copper come from recycled material.
- 30% of zinc production globally comes from recycled zinc.
- 75% of the 700 million tons of aluminum produced since the 1880s is still in use today and 63% of cans are recycled globally.
Consistent recycling of non ferrous metals has been going on quietly, saving billions of dollars of electricity and resources.
If you have any non ferrous metal that you no longer need, dilleroadrecycling can offer you a good price and will ensure that your unwanted product will not go to waste.