The processing of scrap copper recycling starts with removing impurities and then burning them.
1. Impurity removal
The scrap copper with many impurities is removed and then smelted into metallic copper. In many cases, scrap copper will contain some impurities, so the initial treatment of scrap copper is generally to remove impurities. After impurities are removed, metallic copper with higher purity will be obtained, and then materials suitable for smelting will be selected, and finally extremely rare copper substances will be extracted.
2. Combustion treatment
For scrap copper with low impurity content, dry combustion treatment is directly used to obtain high-purity copper metal. Scrap copper also contains less impurities. For scrap copper like this, you can directly ignite the combustibles inside, and then dry out the moisture in the scrap copper. The combustibles inside will slowly disappear with the heating time, and the remaining material is high-purity metallic copper. .
Uses of scrap copper
The recycling of scrap copper does have a very wide range of uses. If it cannot be recycled effectively, it will be a huge waste. Because copper is a very important raw material and is widely used in electrical, light industry, machinery manufacturing, construction industry, defense industry and other fields, it is second only to aluminum in the consumption of non-ferrous metal materials in China.
Normally, after reprocessing of scrap copper and new scrap copper, about one-third of the refined copper will be returned to the market, and the remaining scrap copper will be reprocessed and reused. And using scrap copper as raw material can save resources and reduce emissions compared with copper ore smelting. Simplification of the process requires simple equipment, high recycling efficiency, less energy consumption, lower interest rates, light pollution and other characteristics.
According to statistics, nearly half of the copper produced in the world is consumed in the electrical appliance industry. Copper is used in the military to make various bullets, artillery shells, ship condensation tubes and heat exchangers, as well as elastic components of various instruments. It can also be used to make bearings, bearing bushes, oil pipes, valves, pump bodies, as well as high-pressure steam equipment, medical equipment, optical instruments, decorative materials, metal artwork and various daily appliances.