Jul 17 2014
“Urban Mining” is gaining in importance in the aluminium industry. The recycling ratios in application industries such as automotive or construction have meanwhile reached about 95 percent, and more than 60 percent in packaging.
The potential and the technical possibilities of recycling will be presented at the ALUMINIUM World Fair in Düsseldorf from 7 to 9 October, which will highlight this topic at a special “Recycling Pavilion”.
With its new “Recycling Pavilion”, the trade fair reflects the aluminium industry’s increasing orientation towards issues of sustainability and energy efficiency. At the joint stand in Hall 9, specialised companies of the industry from Germany, Italy, Spain, China and Dubai present their recycling solutions. The “Recycling Pavilion” is of interest to scrap dealers, suppliers of separating facilities, shredding/crushing plant, remelting facilities and suppliers of secondary aluminium.
Solutions to meet the growing worldwide demand for primary and recycled aluminium are a central issue at the pavilion. Currently, only a third of the demand for aluminium can be met from scrap recycling. Demand for aluminium is growing faster than the quantities of returned aluminium scrap, according to Deutsche Bundesverband GDA, Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie. The optimisation of recycling processes is therefore all the more important.
95 percent energy savings through recycling
Aluminium recycling not only secures the supply of raw materials, but above all minimises emissions und saves energy. Recovery of secondary aluminium uses only 5 percent of the energy required for the production of primary aluminium. The high degree of recyclability of aluminium is due to its purity and low melting point (660°C). The recovery cycle can be repeated an unlimited number of times without loss of quality. What is more, the global aluminium stocks that are still in use in products represent a resource bank: An estimated 75 percent of all aluminium ever produced is still being used, with some of it having undergone multiple recycling processes.
Industry expands capacities
So as to meet the demand and make more intensive use of urban raw material sources, the aluminium industry is massively expanding its recycling capacities. One example is Novelis. The company, which will be an exhibitor at ALUMINIUM, succeeded in casting the first aluminium slab with a length of almost 10 meters. In future, the new plant is to produce around 400,000 tons of slabs from recycled aluminium, which makes it the largest of its kind worldwide. Aluminium producer Alcoa already concluded a special recycling contract with aircraft manufacturer Boeing to secure aluminium supplies. Trimet AG also takes back scrap aluminium from customers from the automotive, electrical and engineering industries, thus solving their waste disposal problem at the same time.
ALUMINIUM 2014 demonstrates potential of recycling
Aluminium recycling is a profitable business, as will be demonstrated at the ALUMINIUM World Fair held in Düsseldorf from 7 to 9 October. At the world’s largest trade event of the aluminium industry, aluminium producers and converters meet with suppliers of technologies and equipment for production, further processing and finishing. In four exhibition halls, approximately 950 exhibitors from 50 countries show the full performance spectrum every two years: from the production of the base material through to its processing and the finished product – and back to the raw material via the recycling process. With the Recycling Pavilion, the trade fair creates a special contact point for the recycling industry for the first time. At the same time, ALUMINIUM stays on a growth course for its 10th edition: with several months still to go until the trade fair opens, Halls 9 to 12 of Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre are almost completely sold out.