Recycling of Aluminum

Aluminum is the second most used metal in the world because of its properties including good corrosion resistance, low density, high electrical conductivity and good thermal conductivity. However, the negative environmental impact from production of primary aluminum is due to the corresponding impact of red mud and release of fluorides which is devastating to forests and the space required for waste disposal. Recycling, in addition to reducing the impact of disposal of the by-products of primary aluminum production also consumes a great amount of electricity. Therefore, recycling of aluminum scrap is of increasing interest. In this article, the following factors involved in aluminum recycling are discussed: environmental and energy impact, secondary metallurgy of aluminum, fundamentals of aluminum recovery using salt flux, recovery of aluminum drosses by milling and preliminary treatments of scrap.