What Are The Processes Involved In Scrap Metal Recycling?
There are different types of scrap metals, and each type has a unique use. For example, valuable ones like gold, silver and copper are often used for making decorations, jewellery and coins. Strong ones like iron and stainless steel are used to make cars and train tracks.
Once metal products wear down, the scrap can be recycled and used for making similar or different metallic products. If you have some scrap metals at home, you can sell them to a metal recycling company, where they will carry on with the rest of the recycling process. Here are the steps involved in metal recycling.
The Sorting Stage
Before anything else, scrap metals have to be sorted and separated into ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Unlike non-ferrous metals, such as copper and aluminium, ferrous metals like steel and lead contain iron. Usually, a large and powerful magnet or a sensor picks up all the ferrous metals from the pile.
The Processing and Melting Stage
After sorting the metal, the recycler usually shreds the metals for easy melting. For example, aluminium pieces may be recycled into smaller sheets while steel will be transformed into small blocks. The aim here is to get small pieces of metal because smaller pieces do not require much energy to melt them down compared to producing metal from its original ore.
The other step is to throw each type of metal into its respective furnace.
The Purification and Cooling Stage
Purification ensures that your final product is free of any impurities. Usually, impurities tend to reduce the properties of the metal and lower the quality. The main method used in carrying out this process is called electrolysis.
Once the impurities have been removed, molten metal is then carried on a conveyor belt to cool and solidify into various shapes, such as bars.
The Transportation Stage
The final step involves transporting the solidified and shaped metal from the recycling companies to manufacturers. There, they will be used to produce various products like electrical wiring, aircraft, ships, and even joint replacement parts.
Once these final products wear down, they will go through the entire process from the start to the end.
Many people do not know what to do with their scrap metal, so they end up in garbage bins, which is dangerous to the environment. The right thing to do is to take them for recycling in exchange for some cash.
Share