Recycling of aluminum cans: from reception to finished products. Recycling of aluminum cans - development prospects Technology for recycling cans into scrap

It's no secret to anyone that recycling human waste is practically a gold mine, and it is rather problematic to objectively assess the volume of this market, in particular in our country. But, in order to at least in general terms to understand the existing volumes, it is enough to consider a simple example. Have you ever, throwing another can of soft drink into a bucket, thought about how many people do it at the same time as you around the globe? You can simply say, there are millions of them, and that is why recycling aluminum cans is not only a profitable business, but also creates a significant contribution to environmental protection and rational use natural wealth.

General view of the problem.

According to statistics, the capacity of the Russian market of aluminum cans is estimated at approximately 2-3 billion. Considering the weight of a can of even a small volume, which is about 15 grams, we get the amount of aluminum spent, which is approximately 30-40 thousand tons of pure metal. And if we take into account the energy resources necessary for the production of metal from primary raw materials, the prospects for the development of the processing industry become obvious.

This option will also have a positive impact on the environment. As an example of the effective application of recycling technologies, the North American company Novelis can be cited, which already in 2009 was able to recycle more than 39 billion aluminum cans, which made it possible to obtain more than 530 thousand tons of pure metal during remelting.

Processing technology for aluminum cans.

The current level of development of recycling of secondary raw materials allows the use of several methods for obtaining pure aluminum from cans. The most common are the following:

The simplest, and therefore most commonly used, is pressing. The source material is subjected to primary sorting and cleaning from household waste. After that, the raw material is crushed with simultaneous cleaning from various iron components using an electromagnet. The resulting substance is subjected to pressing, forming briquettes of a certain weight, and sent for remelting to a metallurgical plant. The disadvantages of this method include the high content of various impurities due to imperfect cleaning methods.
Another, more advanced method, providing better cleaning, is based on similar principles. Its difference lies in the use of multi-stage grinding and removal of impurities. As a result of processing, aluminum powder, or material in the form of small metal flakes, is obtained. Despite the higher quality processing, it has a significant disadvantage. For the organization of such chains of this type, the presence of extensive production areas is required. Also, the use of a multi-stage cycle significantly increases the cost of the product.
The recycling of aluminum cans based on pyrolysis is the most efficient technique. The additional costs required for the associated equipment are offset by the cost of the resulting material.

The initial processing steps are similar to existing steps for other methods. Secondary raw materials are washed, sorted, and various impurities are removed. Small pieces of aluminum obtained during grinding are subjected to pyrolysis in special installations.

The essence of this process is to heat the elements of crushed cans to a temperature that is 100 degrees or more higher than the melting point of aluminum, up to approximately 750 degrees. During the heating process, all organic and some inorganic impurities are decomposed, and the resulting liquid aluminum is poured into pre-prepared forms. The product obtained in this way is distinguished by the minimum presence of various inclusions, and can be processed at metallurgical plants without additional purification, which makes it a highly competitive material.

Considering the economic feasibility of processing such raw materials, we can conclude that the organization of enterprises of this type is quite a profitable undertaking. The only problematic issue, due to the peculiarities of the mentality of the majority of the inhabitants of our country, is the issue of sorting garbage by each person. In most countries, this method of waste collection has already proven effective, and it is considered unacceptable for a resident, for example, in Japan, to throw an aluminum can into a waste container. food waste. The introduction, and most importantly, the adoption by the population of such a separate method of collecting waste, will significantly increase the economic efficiency of processing any secondary raw materials.

Aluminum cans appeared on the shelves about fifty years ago.

Since then they have become one of the the most popular tare for storage:

lemonades;
sodas;
low alcohol drinks.

There is not a single grocery store that would not offer its customers a can of cold drink on a hot summer day.

The popularity of aluminum in modern marketing is quite clear. This metal has good stability to organic acids contained in carbonated drinks and fermentation products. Add to this the light weight, and you have the perfect metal for making cans for soft drinks.

When aluminum cans came into use, a serious problem arose street clogging and even whole cities. After all, many people do not think about the surrounding cleanliness at all and throw the cans right on the ground. However, to date, this issue has been completely resolved. Banks can be handed over to collection points and, what is most remarkable, receive for that money.

Read about it below:

how to choose the right banks for sending for processing;
how much are aluminum cans accepted;
how to earn more.

Aluminum cans compare favorably with other types of containers in the following ways: benefits:

save the initial qualities of the drink are better than plastic containers;
fully protect the contents from the influence of the environment, and the metal itself does not have a negative effect on it;
aluminum cans are beneficial to manufacturers due to easy transportation(they are light enough and do not fight);
banks are especially good for buyers because cool quickly and are able to "hold" the cold for a long time;
it is a reusable product and it may be subject to further recycling.

Such enterprises are resellers and offer quite favorable prices when selling non-ferrous metal scrap at retail, that is, by kilograms. The cost per kilogram in some points may increase due to the number of cans handed over. Before delivery, inquire about the availability of the reception point for the implementation of this activity.
Many of the organizations offer not only the removal of scrap, but also the following services:
cleaning;
sorting;
metal pressing.

True, the price of this varies.
If it is possible to sell cans in bulk from several thousand kg, it is better to cooperate directly with metal base or processing plant.

They can also organize self-delivery of the product, and the price will please.
The only difference will be that the banks will have to on one's own:
cleanse;
sort.

IN Lately in Russia, the third option for the "realization" of aluminum cans is becoming more and more famous.
This is a special machine for receiving aluminum cans ( vending machine), which carries out the reception by the piece. In big cities, such miracle machines are usually found in shopping centers. The average cost of receiving one aluminum can in such a machine is about ten kopecks apiece, and any enthusiast of any age can return it.
Although this system just starting to develop in our country, it is safe to say that it is the future of scrap metal collection.
Admission conditions
A huge plus for the delivery of aluminum cans is that the seller receives the money immediately after the delivery of the container. However, it is worth noting that in each type of enterprises and private companies conditions recycling may differ.
Not all collection points accept aluminum cans by the piece.
The minimum weight is usually one kilogram, and in large enterprises and processing plants - one ton.
If you want to hand over banks piece by piece, then it is better to contact resellers.
They can find through:
janitors;
sellers in the store.

But their prices are right too. You can’t hope to rent a bank for a lot.
It is more profitable to hand over one aluminum can to a special machine for receiving them, but keep in mind that they are still only in large cities.

They only accept banks that meet the following criteria:
clean;
whole;
with intact barcode.

It is easier and more profitable to donate kilograms.
Private reception points take banks of any:
type;
forms;
quality;
destination.

Even crumpled dirty beer cans stained with earth.

Such companies carry out:
cleaning;
sorting;
remelting

If you would like to receive more money per kilogram, it is better to hand over banks:
clean;
sorted.

Each organization determines the sorting conditions itself.
Most often, they ask distribute container according to:
volume;
appointment.

Less often - by chemical composition.
Also, if possible, they are asked to place cans in pressed bales for optimal loading into vehicles ( upon order pickup).
As for processing plants, they usually buy already pressed an aluminum can from several hundred kilograms.
Reception is carried out in accordance with regulatory documents of a regional scale, and the seller must have an identity document with him upon delivery.
Scrap is accepted only:
in pure;
sorted by varieties and groups.

To the composition of non-ferrous metal scrap on large enterprises there are certain important requirements:
the metallurgical yield must be at least 90%;
paper, iron and dirt are not allowed;
it is required that the mass of the metal be 95% aluminum, other metals are allowed, but they must be the smallest fraction;
radiation pollution is unacceptable.

Prices for aluminum cans at collection points
To form average prices, consider the cost of receiving aluminum cans at three types of enterprises:
those that accept banks with a total weight of several tens and hundreds of kilograms;
enterprises buying scrap from a kilogram;
places where you can rent cans by the piece.

From 10-100 kg
At this point, we took four large enterprises that either themselves are engaged in the processing of scrap metal, or directly cooperate with such plants.
Mostorma
This company is engaged in the reception of raw materials various types. One of them is aluminum cans. The company's website states that they accept weight not less than 0.5 tons. The minimum price is 45 rub./kg.
The price increase depends on three parameters:
weight characteristics(the more you rent, the more the cost of raw materials per kg becomes);
raw material purity(lack of dirt and impurities);
opportunity self delivery goods.

The company also notes that the reception of cans is possible only compressed.
SecondResource
One of the largest enterprises cultural capital Russia offers to buy aluminum cans from 50 kg by price from 65 to 75 rubles per kg when using your own transport.
The price varies depending on the purity of the offered raw materials.
Its cost will be lowered by 5% if the scrap contains:
dirt;
impurities.

If the seller cannot deliver the goods on one's own, the price of aluminum cans will vary from 40 to 68 rubles per kilogram.
MDM VtorMetal
Moscow enterprise accepting aluminum cans at a price 64 rubles/kg.
For this price, you can only sell scrap metal that meets the following criteria:
clean;
compressed;
free of foreign metals and dirt.

Also company offers a surcharge 10% when accepting payment by bank transfer.

Ecopolis
Here, for a kilogram of scrap aluminum cans, you can get from 20 rubles. The company emphasizes that the price will rise depending on the amount of scrap delivered. However, the company's website does not provide accurate information about the price increase.
From kilogram
Here are the five most popular private reception points of the three largest cities in Russia.
MetalExpert24
The Moscow company offers the purchase of aluminum cans at a price 68 rubles/kg. Terms of price increase or decrease not specified, but proposed calculation cost goods according to the photo.
Metal+
Moscow-based Metal+ lists two prices per kilogram for aluminum cans. 45 rubles per kilogram will be received by those who rent cans at retail, that is from 1 to 99 kg. And those who decide to sell over 0.1 tons receive at a time 50 rubles for one kilogram. At the same time, in the cost export is included raw materials enterprise.
Mosvtormetall
Here the price is 64 rubles/kg, but does not include pickup. Also, the company's website notifies that the price of large quantities of goods may increase markedly.
LLC Resurs
This company has a price from 40 rubles per kg of aluminum cans. The cost can rise to 42 rubles for cashless payments and up to 45 rubles for the delivery of scrap from one ton.
Riten Metal
The Novosibirsk enterprise "Riten Metal" is ready to buy scrap aluminum cans for 59 rub/kg. Here, accepting payment by card is also beneficial: the cost will increase to 60 rubles per kg.
The company only accepts the following banks:
clean;
sorted.

The price may increase depending on the weight of the item.

By the piece
Neither large enterprises nor small collection points will accept aluminum cans weighing up to one kilogram.
Piece by piece, banks can only be handed over to resellers or found in your city vending machine- machine for receiving aluminum cans.

At piece by piece acceptance of aluminum cans, the price per piece varies, but on average they are from 30 to 50 kopecks.
The average price of aluminum can scrap is presented in the table:
How to get a higher price?
To get as much profit as possible from the delivery of aluminum cans, you need to prepare a favorable ecological environment on our planet.
In addition, for the delivery of this type of scrap, no financial costs are needed. You do not need to buy additionally to search and various metal. After all, there are banks in almost every yard and they will even be grateful to you if you want to collect them.
How is the reception of aluminum cans special machine in Sweden, see this video:
In contact with

The aluminum can is the most recycled container on the planet. Most of of all aluminum containers was subjected to secondary processing repeatedly. Most developed countries used aluminum products are recycled almost 100%.

It would take at least five hundred years for an aluminum can thrown away somewhere in the forest to completely decompose. But the processing of aluminum and containers from it as a whole requires much less labor and energy than the processing of plastic or paper. The math behind this recycling is simple: one old can yields approximately one new can, not including damaged cans.

Now the volume of filling the Russian market with banks is estimated at about 2-3 billion. A standard can of 500 ml has a mass of about 15 g. In sum, the weight of all these cans is a figure comparable to the annual production of aluminum in Russia.

If you take into account that not only cans are made of aluminum, and add to this a lot of used aluminum profiles, auto parts, various furniture and building accessories, waste aluminum capacitors, you will get cosmic numbers. And all this useful wealth in our country for the most part continues to be stored in landfills.

Processing methods

Aluminum is a fairly easy-to-recycle material. The amount of irreplaceable losses in the recycling of aluminum is low, the benefits are high. And in comparison with materials of organic origin or glass, the number of aluminum recycling cycles is almost infinite.

Recycling of aluminum cans and other products made from this metal can take place in several ways:

Important! If you decide to assemble a smelter, you need to learn the technique of safe work with molten metal in advance. It doesn't hurt to have a fire extinguisher.

Benefits from recycling and environmental benefits

Jars lying around here and there are not toxic, like mercury lamps or batteries, but useful environment do not carry. Firstly, it is not aesthetically pleasing: landfill areas could be used with a larger payload, scattered cans will not decorate any city, and in nature some animal can get hurt about them.

On the other hand, aluminum has convenient properties: it is light, ductile, not afraid of rust, and most importantly, it can be recycled repeatedly without loss of properties.

About seven hundred recycled cans would be needed to make a bicycle. Each kilogram of recycled aluminum saves 14 kilowatt-hours of electricity. By recycling all obsolete cans piled at landfills in Russia, it is possible to save 75% of the annual capacity of the Bratskaya HPP. This is how much electricity is consumed each year by the Bratsk aluminum plant, the largest in Russia in the production of primary aluminum.

Note! If you decide to collect aluminum cans for collection at collection points, it is best to compact them at home and store until at least a few kilograms have accumulated.

Even self-collection of aluminum by one person can bring some benefits - a kilogram of aluminum will bring you a couple of extra hundreds of rubles, a sense of belonging to a big cause - environmental protection, as well as Greenpeace respect in absentia and a bonus to karma.

What is made from recycled aluminum

The possibility of repeated processing with almost no loss makes aluminum a very convenient material. The aluminum can is the most recyclable container.

We can say with confidence that 99% of cans of drinks in the store or your refrigerator have already been waste more than once before.

Three-quarters of all aluminum produced since the 1980s has been repeatedly recycled and is still in use today, with the remelting of secondary raw materials consuming only 5% of the energy needed to produce primary aluminum of the same mass.

Secondary aluminum is used in the production of furniture, building materials, automotive, aircraft. Another area of application of recycled metal is the manufacture of aluminum composite panels for building cladding and fasteners for them. The aluminum T-profile used to hold furniture and hard flooring together is also made from recycled materials.

Secondary aluminum is also used to reduce the amount of oxygen in steel, the production of components for metal-plastic windows, radiators.

How to assemble a mini-smelter for melting aluminum at home from improvised means is described in the following video:

Most aluminum products can also be made from recycled materials; in production, such recycled metal is sometimes even more valued. It is worth starting to recycle cans and sort out cabinets - the income from the delivery of scraps of aluminum profiles and pipes from an old vacuum cleaner is just enough for a dozen new cans with something tasty.

Today we will look at how to melt aluminum cans using a simple small melting furnace at home. This time we use our high-tech backyard and a bucket of soda or beer cans. To make crafts from aluminum, or rather from cans, let's start by getting ours, which has already been made earlier, and a large bag of coal briquettes. They are usually used for barbecues. When a few coals have been distributed at the bottom of the smelter, a crucible made from a steel fire extinguisher can be added.

Just take a look at what they sell in this Chinese store.

If you place the crucible on a layer of coal, they will melt faster. Now let's attach the steel tube through the air inlet. This will provide a temperature sufficient for melting, but we still need to find a way to force air inside. For this, a household hair dryer, which can be bought at any store, is perfect.

Connect the hair dryer to a piece of PVC tubing, using two three-centimeter sleeves to attach the steel tubing on one side and make it easier to detach the hair dryer on the other. The whole structure is very easy to disassemble and place in a 20 liter bucket.

The blower is at the right angle, it does not hurt to prop it up so that it does not move away. This way you keep the walls intact and significantly increase the life of the smelter. Now that the smelter is ready, let's fill it to the top with coal. You can use a propane torch because it heats up everything very quickly. The coals are burning, so let's turn on the hair dryer on low power and send oxygen to the coals to heat everything up properly. As you can see, the lid we made retains heat and the temperature rises. The crucible and holes in the center of the lid fit perfectly.

Now let's take aluminum cans prepared for melting down and steel tongs. After 10 minutes, the smelter is extremely hot. It can be seen that the steel crucible glows orange, which means that everything is ready. The crucible is 8 centimeters in diameter and therefore great for melting cans of drinks and at temperatures over 500 degrees Celsius they melt in just a couple of seconds. We will bring the power of the smelter to full in order to melt everything as quickly as possible. The productivity of the device is on average 10-12 cans per minute.

The nice thing is that cans can be both dirty and painted, with leftover soda. It doesn't matter, as we'll see shortly, the mini-smelter absorbs everything and produces pure liquid aluminum. From experience, 35-45 cans are enough to produce 450 grams of aluminum. If you first crush the cans, then you don’t even have to remove the lid, which means that even less metal will oxidize during melting. After melting 50 cans, the crucible is full, but there is a lot of waste inside that we don't need.

A good way to insulate aluminum is to take a steel mold. To begin with, carefully pull out the crucible, making sure that it is firmly grasped with steel tongs. Then very slowly pour the melt into a steel mold. As you can see, the slag stays in the shade or acts almost like a filter, preventing solid particles from leaving it. After separating what we need, we can tap the crucible on a piece of cement and remove the slag. After cleaning the crucible, we can immediately use it again.

For fun, a few more cans were melted down to fill new form for cupcakes. The goal is to give the bars a beautiful unusual appearance. A form of steel, but sometimes a fire breaks out. This will burn off the non-stick coating. But this will only be the first time. After a few minutes the ingots begin to harden but they are still terribly hot, so hot that the paper instantly flares from them. It will be good to stock up on a bucket of water to cool them. thrown into cold water the ingots are still hot to boil it instantly, but after about 10 seconds they cool down and can already be reached by hand.

Use a mini cupcake mold to make smaller ingots. The result is some very cute little cupcakes. The purpose of ingots is to have pure metal ready when you want to do something. Now, if necessary, you just need to throw a couple of ingots into a clean crucible. With this configuration, the ingots will melt in 5-10 minutes. When using ingots, we do not need to get rid of slags, except for a thin film of aluminum oxide, which means that the crucible is full of liquid aluminum ready for casting.

Let's pour aluminum into the sand in which it is made special shape, which burns, absorbing 900 grams of liquid metal. After 10 minutes, the metal is hard enough to hook with tongs. We can break the mold and pull out our castings. At the link at the beginning of the article, you can see how the sword was cast in more detail.

When the job is done, all the accessories can be conveniently placed in a 20 liter bucket, and when the smelter has cooled down, you can easily shake out the ashes by holding the handle. Cleaning is quick and when you put a plant pot inside, the smelting furnace turns into a decoration.

Well, now you know how to turn empty soda cans into shiny metal muffins at home. You can just be proud of them and admire them, or you can use them to cast everything that comes to mind.

WikiHow is a wiki, which means that many of our articles are written by multiple authors. When creating this article, 19 people worked on editing and improving it, including anonymously.

Recycling materials is not only good for the environment, but it can also be great for your wallet, making you some extra cash. The easiest way to recycle aluminum cans and plastic bottles: They can be taken to recycling centers, which usually pay by weight or quantity. Keep reading this article to learn how to recycle aluminum cans and plastic bottles to make money.

Steps

Getting ready for recycling

Find out the location of the nearest storage and recycling center. Collection centers that can pay you for aluminum cans by weight are usually located on the first floors of scrap metal and waste paper recycling firms. (Those located in paper recycling centers can also refund your used paper.) Centers that can refund you for aluminum and plastic containers, based on their number, can be found in supermarkets and large beverage stores - either in the store itself or near it.
Most centers have limits on how many containers a person can donate per day. These limits vary from 48 to 500 pieces, in general, it will be 144-150 pieces.

Find out what exactly you can donate to such centers. Most of these centers accept bottles of carbonated drinks (beer and soft drinks), but some can also accept non-carbonated drinks such as wine, liquor or bottled water. In addition, most stores will refund you for bottles of the brand names they sell in their stores.
Recently, some collection and recycling centers require that certain beverage containers have a sign indicating the company that supplies this drink to stores.

Jars and bottles must be clean, empty, relatively undamaged, and must be level. It is possible to straighten an aluminum can by inserting a wooden or metal rod inside and leveling the walls from the inside. (However, do not press hard, so as not to break the walls of the jar). Plastic bottles can be flattened by inhaling air into them.

Look for a label that indicates that the jar or bottle is returnable. On aluminum cans, you can find such markings on the top or bottom. If we talk about bottles, then they have markings on the neck or on the sides, and sometimes on the lid itself.
Due to the fact that cans and bottles are marked in this way directly at the factory, the marking indicates where such containers can be returned. A jar or bottle does not have to be donated at a specific location, it is quite possible to have a container that you cannot rent at your place of residence.

Remember that if a can or bottle is not labelled, you can still recycle it, such as taking it to a recycling center or taking advantage of your city's container recycling program.

Selling bottles and cans

Gather the right amount of jars and bottles. Turning in a kilo of aluminum cans or 6-12 soda bottles at a time won't make you much money and will likely spend more on gas than you get. Try to collect as many cans as your collection center accepts and/or a few full bags of aluminum cans; you can also visit more than one center to turn everything in if necessary.
By collecting aluminum cans and plastic bottles, you can store them in the garage or basement during the winter or in the yard in good weather. But don't forget that the residual sugar in the soda bottles will attract bees, ants and wasps.

Separate containers that can be recycled from those that cannot. Labeled aluminum cans and plastic bottles can be taken to collection centers, unlabeled aluminum cans go to recycling centers, and unlabeled plastic bottles go to a recycling bin.
Non-changeable aluminum cans can be crumpled to take up less space and give away more and in fewer bags than if you hadn't crumpled them. Crumpled cans, however, will not be accepted if you want to turn them in for money.

Separate the returnable cans from the bottles. Most drop-off centers require bottles to be separated from cans. Bottles can be placed in cartons or plastic milk crates, while aluminum cans should be placed on a flat cardboard surface, in the shallow boxes in which these cans are shipped to stores. Such small boxes usually hold 24 cans, which will help you conveniently count the number of cans and have an idea of \u200b\u200bhow much money you can get for them.
Most drop-off centers have a number of these small boxes that you can place the cans in before returning. You can also take the boxes ahead of time to place the jars in at home.

Organize jars and bottles by brand. Although not required, you can store all branded containers to save time at the drop center. (It also makes it easier for the centers to return your boxes back to you if you pick them up). Grocery stores have different trade marks beverages from various distributors and when you return empty containers to stores, those stores return them directly to the distributors who sold the beverages to those stores, they require the containers to be sorted by product line before they are sent to the distributor. Most distributors work with 3 big companies that produce sweet water: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Dr. Pepper/7-Up. Below is a list of products that each company produces:
Coca-Cola: Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, Sprite, Fresca, Mr. Pibb, Barq's, Fanta, Tab

PepsiCo: Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Free, Pepsi Max, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist

Dr. Pepper/7-Up: Dr. Pepper, 7-Up, Diet 7-Up, Cherry 7-Up, A&W Root Beer, Crush, Diet Rite. Squirt

Containers from drinks purchased from a specialized store can only be returned at the drop-off center of this store. Keep these containers separate from national brand containers, which you can return at other retailer's drop-off centers.

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