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10/23/2007 -
Aluminum Recycling (2006)
by Mark E. Schlesinger
ISBN 0-8493-9662-X, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 2006. Hardcover. 248 pages. $139.95.
The most abundant metal in the earths crust, aluminum is a remarkable metal due to its recyclability. Aluminum compounds have existed since antiquity. Romans became adept at applying these compounds as astringents. The Hall–Héroult process of 1886, allowed for mass production of the metal for commercial and industrial use. Today, recycling of aluminum has become a profitable global industry. There are continual upgrades in cold rolling, coating, and reclamation. Delacquering and other preparation techniques are receiving attention by metallurgists and dross treatments are being upgraded. A primary challenge in the industry today is the optimization of separation techniques. The industry puts millions of dollars into the U.S. economy and employs over two million people worldwide. Economically and ecologically, aluminum recycling is important. Now an American habit and as close to us as our curbside, recycling is integral to our lives and it is being written about in hundreds of thousands of postings by state and city governments, in informative issues papers and technical articles in journals and magazines. Books about recycling are not common so when a work is written with care and expertise it is worth review.
Professor of metallurgical engineering, Mark E. Schlesinger, has in Aluminum Recycling, clearly described the primary macro- and micro-elements of the metallurgical and sociological aspects which comprise the industry. There are a total of fourteen chapters. The first four chapters are unique for a book with this subject matter. There is a short history of aluminum recycling in America, as well as a good description of wrought aluminum alloys and the scrap collection process. Contributor Gregory M. Gelles describes the economics of the recycling community using market statistics, world aluminum production, and recycling rates.
A primary purpose behind Aluminum Recycling is to cover scrap recycling rather than recovery from naturally occurring materials. This objective is accomplished. Following traditional extractive metallurgy sequencing there are nine chapters of which two describe scrap collection and beneficiation practices. Beneficiation technologies cover separation, thermal processing, and agglomeration. Twelve subsections of beneficiation are covered including hand and eddy current sorting, thermal processing, balers, and briquetting. Scrap classifications are given in alphabetical order with separate headings and specific descriptions of density, range of size, and variations in specifications. Four chapters cover furnace fundamentals, parts and accessories, fossil fuel, and electric furnaces and there are several cut-away diagrams which assist in the clarity of this portion of the book. The government, economic demand, cost, and technology systems are reviewed in light of the technological data central to the books composition. Concluding with the technical subjects of impurities, reactive metals, refining, and dross processing, there is no primary subject relative to aluminum processing that is not covered. Closure for the topic is found in the final chapter which describes safety and environmental considerations for this field of metallurgy.
The graphs, charts, and photography are excellent additions to the content. One unique feature is the recommended readings section and reference lists for further research at the end of each chapter. In the academic environment, Aluminum Recycling would not only be useful in a metallurgy course but for an environmental studies, sustainability, or technical policy class. The interdisciplinary nature and coverage of all primary aspects of the recycling field also are credible for general education on the subject. If anything could be added, a chapter on global statistics might be informative as well as a closing case study for the technicalities of recycling. The author states in his introduction “I wrote this book because I could not find one like it.” He has accomplished this task by creating an informative, easily readable and understandable overview of aluminum recycling.
For more on Aluminum Recycling, visit the CRC Press web site.
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