REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

PARTICLE SORTING OF LIGHT-METAL ALLOYSAND EXPANDED USE OF MANUFACTURING

SCRAP IN AUTOMOTIVE, MARINE AND AEROSPACE MARKETS

Hartmut HarbeckTiTech GmbH

Adam GesingGesing Consultants Inc

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Value-added markets: Al-intensive vehicles

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Value-added markets: Al-intensive vehicles

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Value-added markets: Al-intensive vehicles

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Value-added markets: Al-intensive vehicles

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Value-added markets: Al-intensive vehicles

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Use of Al- and Mg-based alloys in automotive components

AE41, AE44 (Mg-Al-RE)Creep-resistant castings

AJ62 (Mg-Al-Sr-Ca)

AZxy, AZ91 (Mg-Al-Zn-Mn)

x<4 sheet and extrusionsx>4 castings

AMxy, AM60 (Mg-Al-Mn)Mg

brazed heat exchangers1100/4147, 3003/4147

extrusions6061, 6082, 7004, 7008, 7129

stiffener sheet5182, 5754

closure sheet6016, 6111

cast wheelsA356.2

power train castings38X.0, 319, 356Al

ApplicationAlloyParent

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Value-added markets: Al-intensive vehicles

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Value-added markets: Al-intensive vehicles

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Al alloys dominant in marine market

extrusions: spars, structural stiffeners6061, 60636XXX

sheet and plate: hulls, superstructures5052, 5X56, 5X83, 5X865XXX

ApplicationsAlloysAlloy

Family

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Value-added markets: Al-intensive vehicles

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Value-added markets: Al-intensive vehicles

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Use of Al- and Mg-based alloys in aerospace components

creep-resistant castingsAE41, AE44Mg + Al + RE

sheet and plate6061

extrusions6056, 6061Al + Mg + Si

sheet5086Al + Mg

extrusions2X96, 2099

sheet and plate2050, 2X95, 2090, 2X98Al + Li

extrusions, sheet7X50, 7055, 7X75

sheet and plate7010, 7X50, 7X75Al + Zn

extrusions2014, 2X18 2024, 2026

sheet and plate2X14, 2X19, 2X24Al + Cu

ApplicationAlloyAlloy Family

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Secondary die castings

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Aluminum production and recycling

Remelt and ingot casthouse

Semi-fabricator

Component manufacturer

Assembler

Use

Shape caster

Dross processor

Prime smelter

Scrap dealer

Landfill

Casting scrap

Dross

Shredder Sorter

Fabscrap

Manufscrap

Mixedmanufscrap

Reject componentsAssembly

scrap

Oxides Salts

FoilsChips

TurningsContaminated

scrap

RSI

Alshred

EoLscrap

Waste

EoL & mixed metal scrap

Handsorted Alscrap

Shredder

residues

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Quantities of new fabrication and manufacturing scrap

A mass balance of global Al flows done around 2005 demonstrated that new scrap represents >50% of prime metal production at ~21,000 kt. This was three times as much metal as was recovered from old post-consumer scrap.

Mg-based alloys consume currently ~300 kt of prime Mg and result in ~200 kt of die trim and machining chips.

New scrap has a significant advantage over post-consumer scrap in that it is already collected at the fabrication and manufacturing locations, is generally more predictably contaminated, and is not corroded.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Production and manufacturing scrap sources

• Primary smelter dross• Remelt and secondary smelter dross and skim• Ingot/billet casting scrap• Shape casting scrap• Semi-fabrication scrap• Manufacturing scrap

Prompt and manufacturing scrap quantity is large (~3 × old scrap).

Metal production and semi-fabrication scrap either is or should be alloy segregated at source.

Manufacturing scrap often is a simple mixture of known metals and alloys.

Scrap is usually surface contaminated: oily, lubricated or coated with paint, paper or plastic. Scrap should be cleaned, preferably before sorting, but definitely before remelting.All metal separated from production or manufacturing scrap is already recycled, some of it closed-loop into a similar alloy.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

New scrap

New scrap generation has immediate financial impact on product component costs.

Manufacturers purchase metal for their products – and the resulting scrap – at a high price that includes the cost of production of the prime metal, and all metal fabrication steps

Manufacturers then sell the new scrap at a discount to prime metal. The size of the discount depends on how clean the scrap is and if it is segregated by alloy or sold as a mixture.

In this way scrap generators pay more, while scrap recyclers could the benefit of the discount when they batch secondary alloys from scrap.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Segregation by alloy at sourceAt source, the composition of each alloy is known to a better precision than can be determined by on-line sensors.

Segregation by alloy at source is always preferable to later sorting.

Alloy segregation is typically practiced at the semi-fabrication plants. Mistakes and mix-ups still sometimes happen.

Logistically, scrap segregation by alloy is difficult in large machining shops and stamping plants. When source segregation is attempted, mistakes often happen.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Mixed-alloy scrapOccasionally mixed-alloy new scrap has an average composition that is compatible with an alloy with a higher alloying element content, and can be used directly in batching this alloy without sorting.

This is a case for used beverage cans, where the average can composition can be used for batching the can body alloy.

However, these cases are exceptions, and more commonly new mixed metal scrap is sold at a discount to be used later for secondary foundry alloy or painted building sheet applications.

To recover full material value and keep this metal in marine and automotive wrought product markets, sorting of mixed scrap will usually be necessary.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Sorting technology –current commercial practice

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Chute type particle sorter

1 Unsorted particle feed2 Scanning and processing3 Diversion

1

2

3

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Belt type particle sorter

1 2 3

1 Unsorted particle feed2 Scanning and processing3 Diversion

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Sensors suitable for scrap sorting tasksThere are a number of sensors that can remotely inspect and analyse particles distributed on a conveyor belt, sliding down achute or in free fall.Vision 2-D and 3-D sensors identify shape and size of individual particles. In new scrap there may be a consistent correlation between the metal/alloy type and the shape/size of scrap pieces.In cases where such a correlation exists sorting by shape is one of the most cost-effective options.Colour or gray-scale sensors identify painted particles and contaminants and sort by parent metal (Mg, Al, Zn, Cu, Fe). Sometimes, during a pre-cleaning step, the scrap surface is chemically altered to selectively tint different alloys in the mix.X-ray transmission sensors are able to look through light-metal particles. This enables the sensors to identify attachments or contaminant particles; sort by wall thickness; separate light metal from dense metal; Al from Mg; and Al alloys with Mg or Si only from Al alloys that contain dense alloying elements such as Cu and/orZn.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

FinderEddy-current coil sensor

sorter

Air jet ejection

Conveyor

Sorted ProductsSorted

ProductsSorted

ProductsSorted

Products

Conveyor

Sorted Products

Air jet ejection

Conveyor

Sorted Products

ECC sensor

Mixed feed

Find metal in residue

and/or

separate stainless steel

Potential for grouping some non-ferrous

metals

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

CombiSenseColor and ECC sensor sorter

Air jet ejection

Conveyor

Sorted ProductsSorted

ProductsSorted

ProductsSorted

Products

Conveyor

Sorted Products

Air jet ejection

Conveyor

Sorted Products

ECC sensor

Mixed feed

Color sensor

Illumination

Separate Cu, brass, Zn, stainless

steel, nonmetal

or

Al, Mg and nonmetal

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

X-Tractdual energy x-ray

transmission sensor sorter

Mixed feed

Air jet ejection

Conveyor

Sorted ProductsSorted

ProductsSorted

Products

Mixed feed Sorted

Products

Conveyor

Mixed feed Sorted

Products

Air jet ejection

Conveyor

X-Ray Illumination

Sorted Products

DE sensor

Mixed feedIdentify

contaminants,

attachments,

separate light metals from dense metals

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

DE-XRT identification of Al and Mg

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Elemental composition sensors

Elemental composition sensors enable separation of alloy mixtures that are not separable by physical shape or colour or X-ray absorption.For new scrap mixtures consisting of few known alloys, calculation of the actual elemental concentrations is not necessary.It is adequate to base the sort on the alloy spectral fingerprint.This significantly simplifies the complexity of the sorting task, as compared with trying to batch an alloy from a mixture of scrap particles of many unknown alloy compositions.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Elemental composition sensors:X-ray fluorescence sensor (XRF)

Used for discrimination based on high (>18) atomic number alloying elements.

In air XRF can remotely sense characteristic x-rays from Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu, Ni, Zn and denser elements.

Air absorbs low-energy x-rays from light metal elements such as Li, Mg, Al and Si.

XRF sensors have limited usefulness for Al- and Mg-based alloys.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Elemental composition sensorsLaser-induced plasma spectroscopy (LIBS)

The optical emission from a plasma spark generated by the ablation laser impact is spectroscopically analysed.

All alloying elements of interest can be detected by optical emission spectroscopy.

LIBS technique is used where discrimination based on light alloying elements (Li, Mg, Al and Si) is necessary.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Elemental concentration sensor sorters

XRF sensor

Alloy sort based on analysis of dense

elements

Mixed feed

Air jet ejection

Conveyor

Sorted ProductsSorted

ProductsSorted

Products

Mixed feed Sorted

Products

Conveyor

Mixed feed Sorted

Products

Air jet ejection

Conveyor

X-Ray Illumination

Sorted Products

XRF array sensor

Mixed feed

Mixed feed

Air jet ejection

Conveyor

Sorted ProductsSorted

ProductsSorted

Products

Mixed feed Sorted

Products

Conveyor

Mixed feed Sorted

Products

Air jet ejection

Conveyor

Sorted Products

OE Spectrometer

Mixed feed

XYZ scanner

LASER Illumination

Camera

LIBS sensor

Alloy sort based on analysis of all

elements,

light and dense

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Competition:Sorting table vs Sorting circuit

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Sorting circuits

In order to provide sorted products with an acceptable combination of recovery and product purity, sorters are arranged in a circuit with auxiliary unit operations. A typical dry sorting circuit for light-metal scrap might include following unit operations:

• Particle sizing – size reduction and size separation

• Clean and dry – removing cutting fluids and forming lubricants from new scrap

• Sort out non-Al contaminants from Al-alloy mix

• Sort mix by alloy or batch target alloy(s) from the mix

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

LM alloy batching/sorting plant

1000-2000 HP hammer mill

Al fines

Overbelt magnet

steel

Oversize

Mg

steel

>3<9 mm Al mix

Oversize30 mm 9 mmfines

screens

>9<30 mm>30<100 mm>3<9 mm

Eddy current rotor circuit

attached steel stainless steel

Nonmetal

Headpulley magnet

>9<100 mm Mg / Mg+Al / Al

DE x-ray sensorparticle sorter circuit

Al-alloy mix

Mg-alloy mix

Clean

LIBS sensor elemental composition particle sorter circuit

Al alloy 1

Al alloy 2

Al-alloy mix

Mg alloy 1

Mg alloy 2

Mg-alloy mix

Contaminated

Mg + Al

<3 mm fines

Mg fines

>3<9 mm Mg mix

Dense Metals

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Sorting circuit

Sorter Optimum Performance Curve

0 Component Recovery (%) 100

0

Pr

oduc

t Gra

de (%

)

100

Circuit Optimum Performance Curve Feed mix

Prepare Feed

PS mix

product

PS mix

Clean Residue

Clean product

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Scrap sorting plant (current technology)

Scale and radiation detector

1000-2000 HP hammer mill

nonmetal

Overbelt magnet

steel

Oversize

steel

lead

<3 fines

>3<9 mm

metal mix

Cu

Oversize30 mm 9 mmfines

screens

>9<30 mm

>30<100 mm

>3<9mm

Eddy current

rotor circuit

attached steel

stainless steelNonmetal

lead wire

stainless steel

Headpulley magnet

Eddy current coil particle sorter circuit

attached steel re-

shred

wire

>9<100 mm metal mixDE –X-ray

sensorparticle sorter

circuit

Al Mg

Dense metal mix

XRF sensor elemental

composition particle sorter

circuit

red brass

yellow brass

Color sensorparticle sorter

circuit

Red White

Zn stainless steel

Dense metal mix (dense media sink)

Dense metal mix (dry sort)

DE –X-ray sensor

particle sorter circuit

Al + Mg (light media float)

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Desirable and feasible separations for new scrap:Impurity removal

Impurity separation from purchased new scrap, nominally alloy-segregated at source(nonmetal, other metals, other alloys of the same metal, pieces with “other” attachments, dirty, painted or coated) from (2024, 3003, 5754, 5182, 5052, 5083, 5086, 6061, 6082, 6022, 6111, 6016, 7004, 7008) Small quantity of impurity from large quantity of good material. Economic for small particle sorting.

colourdirty, painted or coated

XRT, LIBS,XRFother alloy

eddy current rotor nonmetal

XRTpieces with attachments

colour, XRT, eddy current coilother metal

howwhat

Remove

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Desirable and feasible separations for new scrap:Sorting of new scrap

XRT, color

Machining chips, turnings 6063, 6061 from 2024, 7050, 7075,

356 from 319, 38X

Al from brass, st. steel, zinc

LIBS Stamping skeletons: Automotive: 6111 from 5754

XRT, LIBS

Sprues, gates, mold trim,

356, 319, 38X, 413

LIBSCutting trim: Aerospace:2024 from 7050 & from 7075,

Marine: 5083 from 5086

howwhat

SortSorting among known alloys of new, mixed-alloy scrap

Similar quantities of known alloys.

Economic for sorting of larger particle.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

ConclusionsManufacturing of aerospace, marine and automotive components results in generation of large quantities of new scrap.

Source segregation of scrap by alloy is desirable but often not practical

Sorting of scrap to maintain its value is usually more cost effective than

Sorters that can identify and remove impurities are already commercially available and proven in large tonnage industrial applications.

Sorters that enable sorting by alloy have also been proven and commercial units are under development.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Conclusions Source segregated fabrication scrap is routinely used in batching aerospace marine and automotive alloys

Sorting of new scrap mixed manufacturing can significantly increase the quantity of light metal scrap that is practical to use as starting material for value added alloys for production of cars, boats and airplanes.

REWAS 200812-15 October, Cancun

esingonsultants Inc

Consumer

Collection & de-pollution

Feedstockproduction

Material production

Semi-productfabrication

Energy recovery

Mechanical segregation

ManufacturingConstruction

Assembly

Thank you