Thinking About Metal Recycling? You Will Now.
Secondary metals are metals discarded through industrial and manufacturing operations or as commercial products that are now obsolete. Recycling these secondary metals allows that we return these waste materials back into the general manufacturing so they can be used for the production of new metal products, thus saving costs and making things more efficient in general. The secondary metals industry is involved in all aspects of this process, from locating scrap, to getting it to a recycle facility and then re-using the material for new metal-based products.
The advent of the industrial revolution in the late 19th and early 20th centuries fueled the consumption of metals significantly. During the 20th century, this trend continued and grew exponentially. By the 1980s, the annual production of metals worldwide was a hundred times what it was in the 1880s. Naturally, this incredible rise in need for metals and the production of metal-based products has led many people to question if there is enough metal reserves in the world to keep up with demand.
Mining for metals cannot continue indefinitely, therefore scrap metal recycling is a natural part of the chain of use. Metal reserves are found, they are made into a usable form, a product is manufactured from it, the product is used, discarded, and then the metal is used again. It just makes ecological sense--it's using the earth in a smart way. With recycling, there is a huge amount of metals in use that will be recoverable at some future point.
Aluminum recycling is a large portion of the scrap metals industry. In 1993, in a survey of Western countries, 28 percent of the total recycled scrap materials were made up by aluminum. The others that were a significant part of the total included copper, lead, molybdenum, tin, and zinc.
In terms of product applications, metals are rarely used in their pure and absolute form. I's also tough and expensive to remove alloy elements from metals, so usually the alloyed materials are recycled as alloyed metals only. The various metals that make up the alloyed metal are not taken out to be used in their pure state.
Scrap metal recycling makes economic sense. It also shows our responsibility to the earth and to the efficient use of our precious natural resources. If there's one positive thing that is happening in this area, it's that the trend to recycle more continues.
Turning Scrap Metal into Gold
How do you turn scrap metal clippings into gold for your company? By recycling scrap metal waste into valuable secondary market products that will increase your profit margin and help you maintain a clean and hazard free work environment. To earn top dollar for your recycled metal you must process the metal to the accepted industry standards by removing most, if not all of your cutting fluids, and compacting the metal into easy to handle forms.
Waste metals such as scrap aluminum, brass, copper, and iron are better in a compacted briquette form. The briquetting cycle compacts the metal allowing for a reduction of volume of up to 8:1 and also extracts the cutting fluids from the metal. When the briquette material is compacted and the fluid is removed, the metal is cheaper to handle because it is smaller and lighter. The briquetting process can lower the weight of scrap metals by 50%. Low shipping costs are mandatory because many scrap processors or brokers then ship the scrap nationwide and overseas for re-melting and re-processing. High density metal briquettes bring the highest possible price for your scrap.
There are several models of briquetting equipment and the best one for your company depends on how and how often it will be used. How much scrap metal your company will need to recycle and the types of coolant being extracted will determine the type of equipment you will need. The most efficient way to set up or upgrade your scrap metal processing operation is to evaluate the type of metal scrap you will be recycling, estimate the volume of your scrap metal processing and set a budget for your new equipment and then call or email Applied Recovery Systems so that they may provide you with a proposed system to meet your needs.