Global sorting solutions provider, TOMRA Recycling, has published a new eBook in the run-up to the ALUMINIUM Düsseldorf trade show, which runs Oct. 8 to Oct. 10.
The new eBook highlights the opportunities that aluminum recycling presents and demonstrates how the latest sorting technologies can unlock vast potential in this industry. The company intends to showcase its aluminum solutions at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre, Germany.
The global aluminum recycling industry offers potential for growth and long-lasting change. As companies increasingly commit to becoming more sustainable, reducing their carbon footprint, and supporting decarbonization efforts, aluminum recycling can be a catalyst of transformation. Using recycled aluminum not only delivers environmental benefits, but also improves operations for aluminum producers, processors, and recyclers.
TOMRA’s new eBook, ‘The Green Revolution: A guide to the future of aluminum recycling,’ is intended to help recyclers and processors unlock the benefits of recycling aluminum. The eBook provides an overview of the current global market for aluminum and stresses the need for recyclers to understand the sources and composition of the aluminum they are recycling.
According to Giuseppe Pietro Granara, Americas segment manager metals at TOMRA Recycling, the ebook helps recyclers and processors unlock the benefits of recycling aluminum by highlighting its numerous advantages including its ability to be endlessly recycled without loss in quality and its pivotal role in reducing CO2 emissions.
“Additionally, the eBook showcases what is already achievable today,” he said. “Furnace-ready aluminum is already being used in high-end applications, and sensor-based sorting technologies now enable advanced solutions, such as sorting aluminum by alloy. These innovations are bringing the industry closer to achieving true circularity.”
The eBook also highlights the range of sensor-based sorting technologies that can be used and configured to create a clean aluminum fraction based on recyclers’ specific requirements. The latest cutting-edge sensor-based sorting technologies can create furnace-ready aluminum for use in the manufacture of aluminum products for high-end applications, helping to close the loop on aluminum.
“X-ray transmission (XRT) technology is pivotal in metal sorting,” Granara said. “Thanks to its capability of sorting by atomic density, it efficiently sorts aluminum alloys from other light or heavy metals. Furthermore, it enables the separation of low- and high-density alloyed aluminum fractions. XRT has been a proven technology for over 20 years, offering high-volume and high-quality processing and enabling customers to obtain a commercially desired premium product with minor processing of the material.”
TOMRA’s ebook also stresses the need for recyclers to understand the sources and composition of the aluminum they recycle. Granara noted that the ebook emphasizes that aluminum varies in contamination levels, composition, and even shapes. These characteristics determine the extent of treatment required before recycling and the value embedded in the input material.
“For instance, aluminum processed through rolling, extrusion, or forging, known as wrought aluminum, is more desirable on the market,” he said. “Sorting alloys falling in this class may require more complex and tailor-made solution compared to cast aluminum, which is easily re-melted and poured into molds or dies. Cast aluminum typically contains more alloying elements, necessitating different sorting strategies.”
