Metals are versatile, essential and can be used for a variety of purposes. Metals are used in industrial applications such as trucks, cars and airplanes. Metals can be used for domestic purposes such as the manufacture of cutlery, crockery, and packaging. Metal recycling has the advantage that it can be recycled many times without changing its properties.
Aluminum and steel are the most commonly recyclable metals. Silver, copper, brass, and gold are all valuable metals that are seldom thrown out to be recycled. They do not cause a problem or crisis in waste disposal.
Metal Recycling Process
Metal recycling is very similar to other recycling processes. Metals are sorted according to their properties. However, it is important to have some basic knowledge or understanding of metals. It will also help to recycle them and keep a greener environment. Following are the steps in the metal recycling process.
1. Collection
It is the most important and first step of best metal recycling in Sydney. This involves simply collecting all metals. The process should be set up so that containers are specifically designed for collecting metals.
Scrap yards are places where people can go to get paid for the metals they collect. The yards charge different prices for each metal. Scrap metal yards serve as metal collection centers.
2. Sorting
Sorting the metals is the next step after the collection. It is important to separate what can be recycled from what cannot. The quality of the metal that is recycled is extremely important.
The original materials that are used to recycle the product or item must be of high quality. It is important to perform a quality check during the sorting procedure.
A product must contain at least 50% metal. It’s still worth recycling even if the metal is surrounded with other materials, like plastic.
It’s possible to have products that contain only a little metal. However, it is easy to separate and remove the metal. A plastic three-ring binder, for example, is not scrap metal. However, the metal rings are easily removed and can be used.
Scrap metal can be classified into ferrous (containing iron such as steel) or nonferrous. Magnets are a good way to determine if the metal is nonferrous or ferrous. Ferrous metals are attracted to magnets because they contain iron. Nonferrous metals do not and can be easily removed from mixed waste streams.
In large recycling plants, sensors are used to identify metals using infra red scanning and x rays. Biotechnology, hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy are three common categories of metal-sensing processes. These technologies can improve metal recovery rates.
3. Processors
The next step after sorting is to squeeze or compact the metal. Squeezing and squashing all the recycled materials is done by machines to reduce their size on the conveyor belts.
4. Shredding
The shredding process begins after the metal has been crushed and broken. Metals are broken into small pieces or sheets for further processing. Small pieces can be melted with less energy than large metal pieces because they have a larger surface-to-volume ratio. Steel is usually transformed into steel blocks, while aluminum is typically converted into sheets.
5. Melting and Purification
The melting of scrap metal occurs in a large oven. The melting of scrap metal takes place in a large furnace. The melting process consumes a significant amount of energy. The energy needed to melt recycled metal is lower than the energy used to produce metal from raw materials.
The furnace is heated at the appropriate temperature to melt the metal. The melting time can vary depending on the size of the furnace, the amount of metal in the furnace, and the temperature of the furnace.
6. Purification
Purification is the next step after melting. Different methods are used to purify metals. Purification is necessary to make sure that the metal product is pure and of high quality. Purifying metals can be done by electrolysis.
Other metals can be separated from recyclables by passing them through powerful magnet systems. There are many different methods of purification depending on the metal.
7. Melting and solidifying the metal
The molten metal, after the purification procedure, is transported by conveyor belt into a cooling chamber. Here it is cooled down and solidified. At this stage, the scrap metal becomes a solid metal which can be reused. The molten metal is then treated with other chemicals to give it its density and properties.
At the cooling stage, different shapes and sizes are designed and made.
8. Transport of Metal Bars
After the bars are designed and manufactured, they are then packaged according to their size and shape and ready to be transported to different factories or to people who need the metal. The cycle then begins again.
Why is it important to recycle metal?
People tend to ignore the importance of recycling solid wastes, particularly metal. Some people throw them out while others let the metal rot.
If you understand the many benefits of recycling metals, you won’t throw them out or let them be eaten by rust, weather, and other elements. Here are a few of the many benefits of recycling metals.
1. Preservation of Natural Resources
One of the most important reasons to recycle metal is because it can be used in many different ways. Mining is the process of removing metal from the earth. The areas that have been mined tend to become depleted over time and miners will move on to find new metals. If this trend continues, or if it is not controlled, the majority of areas will be covered with huge excavation holes.
Recycling metal reduces the damaging effects of mining by providing an alternative ore. Mining operations destroy natural habitats and pollute air, water, soil, and other environmental factors.
While a mine is operating, toxic runoff may occur. It can even affect lakes and streams for decades after the mine has closed. Recycling metal is essential to avoid this and to preserve the environment.
2. Reduce Emissions
Have you heard about global warming? The steady increase of carbon dioxide in the air is the cause of this phenomenon. We can’t undo the damage already done to the atmosphere, such as the destruction of the ozone and global warming. But we can stop or control further damage. Recycling metals and other solid waste is the only way to achieve this.
Metal recycling conserves resources by using less energy and reducing greenhouse gases. Producing new metal emits a much greater amount of greenhouse gases than making products using recycled metal.
These emissions can influence climate change, and also lead to harmful levels of air pollutants in cities. This could cause respiratory problems in you and your neighbors. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries reports that recycling metal could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 300 million to 500 millions tons.
3. Economic Development
The government can save money by recycling metals. The money that is saved can then be used to fund other programs for development, which can improve the standard of living and economy.
The government can also generate more revenue through the exportation of recycled metals. This will improve the socioeconomic status of the citizens, and create jobs for the unemployed.
According to the National Institute of Health, recycling metal generates 36 times as many jobs as sending the same amount of waste metal to an incinerator and six times the number of jobs created by sending metal to landfills. According to the National Recycling Coalition, recycling generates an average of $236 billion per year and employs over a million people in Sydney.
4. Energy Management
Recycling metals reduces demand for natural resources, such as ore. The demand for natural metal decreases when more metals are recycled. In addition, processing scrap metal requires less energy than extracting ore, purifying it, and then forming it into desired shapes.
5. Landfills need to make room for non-recyclable items
Landfills are increasingly crowded, both with recyclable and non-recyclable items. Recycling is essential to save landfill space. Scrap metal is a material that is easy to recycle and can be used for many different purposes.
6. Air Quality Improvements and Groundwater
Garbage in landfills is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Metals should be kept out of landfills to reduce the harmful effects. When trash is buried on landfills, the soil becomes contaminated, and eventually, rain will carry it into reservoirs that hold drinking water.
7. Metal Recycling: Business Opportunities
Metal recycling is a lucrative business. Entrepreneurs can enter the metal recycling industry by starting a scrap metal collection company or becoming a scrap vendor. In recent years, however, the low prices have been a challenge.
8. Savings on your money
This is one the most important but least considered reasons. It would be cheaper to produce metal if people regularly recycled metals and metal products. This is because it requires less energy and ore. The cost of metal will be reduced, saving you money.
Metal is a valuable resource that should be recycled in order to maintain a constant supply, protect the environment and improve economic growth.
