CHALLENGES IN METAL RECYCLING

Shweta Basu (13105396)University of Limerick 2014

RECYCLING METALS Common metals Specialty metals Precious metals

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CURRENT STATUS OF METAL RECYCLING RECYCLED CONTENT: The share of scrap in

metal production, which is important to get a sense of the magnitude of secondary supply.

End-of-life recycling rate (EOL-RR): The fraction of metal in discarded products that is reused in such a way as to retain its functional properties.

BENEFITS OF RECYCLING: Reduces the extraction of virgin ores. Environmental impacts of metal production

are reduced. Recycling metal is more energy efficient than

acquiring it from mines.

GLOBAL ESTIMATION OF END OF LIFE RECYCLING RATES

A:THE GLOBAL CYCLES OF NICKEL FOR THE YEAR 2005 AND NEODYMIUM FOR 2007B: MATERIAL EFFICIENCIES ACROSS NICKEL’S LIFE CYCLE.

Legend:-min: mining-S: smelting-R: refining-F: fabrication-Mfg: manufacturing-W: waste management and recycling-EOL-RR: end-of-life recycling rate-NFR: nonfunctional recycling

THE SEQUENCE OF THE MAIN STEPS INVOLVED IN THE RECYCLING OF METALS

AN ELEMENT RADAR CHART

Legend:-BOF: basic oxygen furnace-EAF: electric arc furnace-ISP: imperial smelting process

IMPROVING METAL RECYCLING: Taking advantage of both the low labor cost in

developing countries for manual disassembly and the high efficiency of specialized smelters in industrialized countries for end process for electronic goods recycling.

The involvement of the designers of future products in choosing right material combination which can be recycled later.

The corporation, universities and government should work together to transform the state of metal recycling in today’s world by researching on improved technologies to overcome the challenges.

CONCLUSIONWe are currently very far from a closed-loop

material system but improvement is possible .

REFERENCE:

Reck B., Graedel T.E., “Challenges in Metal Recycling” Science 337, 690 (2012)