Aluminum is the second most recycled metal available.
There is a huge market for recyclable aluminum mostly because in its raw state aluminum oxide requires tremendous amounts of energy to break its oxygen bonds and turn it into pure aluminum. On the flipside aluminum scrap is very easy to re-melt and turn into new products.
Aluminum grades:
Aluminum cans: These are made from a high purity alloy. Recycling centers pay per pound for aluminum cans. Bales are sold to metal commodity brokers.
Industrial scrap: Manufacturing scrap and rejects. Money = Separation by alloy. The most common industrial alloys are 6061, 2024, 5052, 7075. different alloys are worth different amounts 7075 alloy being the most valuable from the list above.
Turnings: These are the metal chips leftover from machining and sawing operations. Turnings are often worth less money because the material is usually contaminated with cutting oils and other foreign materials.
Post consumer scrap: Most common sources are aluminum furniture, tree bases, cooking pots, siding, gutters, window frames, automobile parts ( transmision housings, alloy wheels, engine pistons, intake manifolds, cylinder heads, engine blocks), and lawn maintenance equipment parts.
Post consumer scrap is probably the hardest to recycle but the easiest to come across. The problem is these materials are usually contaminated with paint, oil, and foreign metals. Most large recyclers will accept post consumer scrap as is but at a reduced rate. For example I have a truckload of old lawn chairs, I’ve ripped the fabric off of them but there is still steel rivets remaining this material may only sell for $0.20 per pound verses if I remove the rivets It may sell for $.45 per pound.
Equipment needed to start an Aluminum Recycling
To process large amounts of post consumer or commercial aluminum scrap
invest into three key pieces of equipment.
An Alloy Identifier: This is a small handheld device that samples the material and gives you a digital readout of the alloy it contains. These are fairly expensive but well worth the investment.
A Hammermill: This is just what it sounds like there are many configurations of these machines but essentially it beats the material into small pieces with mechanical hammers. This is also an expensive piece but once you have one in place the man hours it saves is incredible.
Magnetic Separator: This is a conveyor belt system with large magnets to pull out any ferrous metals from the material flow. And on a separate conveyer belt an Eddy Current Separator on a conveyor belt, with a drum of alternating polarity magnets spinning under it. This causes non ferrous metal such as aluminum to jump off of the conveyor belt and out of your material stream. This is used for separating aluminum from plastic.