TOMRA and industry representatives test recyclability of aluminum production scrap
The automotive industry produces large volumes of aluminum production scrap. Although the scrap is collected, processed and reused, it is often not turned into high-quality recyclates. TOMRA, Gerhard Lang Recycling GmbH, Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences, and engineers from Jeanvré teamed up for the 3.9 million euro-funded KANAL project to prove that aluminum production scrap can be effectively sorted and transformed into high-quality secondary aluminum. The consortium will use LIBS technology and target a processing capacity of up to 5 tons per hour. The project is supported by Novelis, the world's largest recycler of aluminum and a leading manufacturer of rolled aluminum products, and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection as part of its lightweight construction technology transfer program.
With ever more efforts to increase the use of recycled content in automotive production and other industries, the separation of aluminum scrap according to alloy classes is taking on a decisive role. Aluminum alloys consist of different elements, such as magnesium, zinc, copper, or silicon. These additional elements define the specific properties of the aluminum alloy. Alloy classes 5000 and 6000 are particularly in demand in the automotive industry. While the production scrap is collected, it is a mixture of numerous elements which proves challenging in the recycling process. Due to the high-quality demands, the requirements to use more recycled material, and the industry’s decarbonization goals, automotive manufacturers are looking to increase the use of aluminum scrap. To recycle the scrap generated in production, it must first be sorted by alloy type. This requires innovative solutions which the consortium is testing.
"In our joint project, we focus on the
detection, separation, and subsequent reuse of aluminum-magnesium alloys and
aluminum-magnesium-silicon alloys, namely classes 5000 and 6000. We are delighted
that we are part of the project. With TOMRA's dynamic LIBS technology, we will demonstrate
together with partners from the entire value chain that we can close the loop
on automotive production scrap," adds van de Winkel.
The project is carried out in an aluminum processing plant with LIBS sorting machine at Gerhard Lang Recycling in Gaggenau in an industrial environment.