unalloyed state. Not by me because I have no direct experience
doing this on a small scale. The reason given is that it picks
up too much oxygen and gets a lot of porosity. A friend who
tried it won't do it any more. Hydrogen is also a problem.
In industrial scrap recovery operations that I am familiar
with, high grade scrap with a high copper content is recovered
in fairly large revebatory furnaces but the product ends up as
alloy ingots. Low grade stuff can be recovered in a coke fired
copula. The results then go to a revebatory furnace for
alloying. Industrial shops can control a proper atmosphere.

At Santa Clara de Cobre in Mexico copper ware is made in an
old traditional way. Haven't been there yet.
My understanding is that they put the copper directly in a
coke or possible charcoal bed with a bellows pumped air blast. I
understand the bed is basically a hole in the ground with an
ingot sized depression in the bottom.
Molten copper ends up in the bottom. The bed is allowed to
cool and a solidified pan shaped ingot is recovered from the
bottom. The ingots are then drawn out into absolutely
beautiful vase and bowl shaped objects.by traditional hand
techniques. I have posted stuff on this before further down
this list.
Jesse


I found this but my other file is missing. Basically you gotta keep the oxy away from the copper. Be it flux or an intense charcoal fire.

Forgeing hot copper is kewl.

Thanks Bruce for your input. You useing Borax for flux?


Here's another option

Microwave blommery

----- Original Message ----- From: <> To: <> Sent: Friday, January 02, 7:46 AM Subject:
Re: [hobbicast] Microwave Melting Update > Ray, > > I don't wish to burst your bubble, but, the
best you can hope for in a > watt microwave is to melt about 5 lb. of Iron in one hour. > >
Technically speaking, it takes about 0.2 kWh to melt 1 lb. of Iron. That is > with 100% efficiency.
Induction melting is only about 65% efficient, so that > would use about 0.3 kWh to melt 1 lb. of
Iron. We believe that microwave energy > can be substantially more efficient, because we don't
need to heat up the > refractory and we don't need to have cooling water running through a coil. >
> Now, if you really want to melt a lot of Iron at home, let's say 100 lb., you > would need to
have a 20 kilowatt microwave oven, and you would need to run it > for one hour. Anything over
about 2 kW is rare for a home microwave. BUT, > there are lots of industrial units out there with
20 kW or more. > > Now, if I want to melt lb. of Iron in one hour, I will need to build a >
400 kW microwave. That's getting quite large. We have the notion that we can > build this
furnace quite inexpensively by ganging 400, 1 kW magnetrons into a > series of wave guides that
are mounted tangentially around a cylindrical > "melting zone." A 1 kW magnetron costs less than
$10.00. If we spend $4,000 on > magnetrons and then maybe another $10,000 on the power
supplies and controllers, and > maybe $10,000 on the structure and refractories, we should be able
to have a > furnace that will melt one ton per hour for less than $25,000. This is at > least
one-fifth the cost of an induction melter that will do the same thing. AND, > we will be more
energy efficient. > > Or, maybe it won't quite work that way and we will have blown a few
hundred > thousand dollars to prove that it doesn't work. If we don't try, we will never > know
what is possible. > > More to follow.... > > Tom Cobett > Cleveland, OH > > "In Pyro Veritas" >

----- Original Message ----- From: <> To: <> Sent: Thursday, January 01, 3:12 PM Subject:
[hobbicast] Microwave Melting Update Some of you may know that I make a living by
developing new products and processes for the metal casting and steel making industries. About 6
months ago, we started looking seriously at using microwave energy for melting metals. About
$40,000 later, we have done an immense amount of lab work. We have successfully melted
Aluminum, Bronze, Iron, Steel and even Glass in a simple watt microwave oven. The key
points in doing this are as follows. 1. You need do have either a special crucible that absorbs
microwaves, or, you will need to have microwave absorbing materials nearby to a microwave
transparent crucible. So far, we have made all of our own crucibles. I can't tell you what we are
using, because we fully intend to offer these crucibles for sale to the public, sometime this year.
What I can tell you is that Silica (fused silica) is microwave transparent. Alumina becomes a
microwave absorber at elevated temperatures. Once you get it hot, it will get very hot, very
quickly in microwave energy. We have developed a mixture of refractories that can be shaped into
a crucible that will reach over 2,000°F. in less than 5 minutes of microwave heating. 2. You will
need to use some fairly fancy refractory insulation to keep from burning up the inside of the
microwave. We use a very low density solid or fibrous material that is about 70% Alumina and
30% Silica. You can either build a box and then put the crucible inside of it, or, you can line the
whole inside of the microwave. Just remember that the radiant heat from a glowing crucible needs
to be contained, or you will quickly burn the inside of the oven. Remove any plastic covers inside
the microwave, or they will melt. 3. You really need to keep close tabs on the temperature of the
metal in order to avoid some serious over heating disasters. Last month, we over heated some
Iron, which then melted through an Alumina crucible (that takes °F), and then we vaporized
the Iron (that takes about °F). Things can get really hot really fast. Be prepared to shut down
the power if you get into runaway heating. Have some really well insulated gloves or tongs to
handle the crucible. 4. Now, here's the neat part. We know that metals behave as microwave
reflectors. They won't heat up in a microwave. BUT, we have learned that all metals will become
microwave absorbers at elevated temperatures. We suspect that the temperature at which this
occurs is about half of the melting point of the metal. We will know what the exact temperatures
are later in January. Once you reach this magical temperature, the metals will absorb the
microwaves and you can melt lickety split! Virtually all of the energy that you put into the oven is
going directly into the metal and causing molecular vibration (heating). DON'T DO ANY OF
THIS KIND OF STUFF IN YOUR WIFE'S MICROWAVE! I have toasted 3 microwaves in the
past 3 months, mainly because they got too hot from runaway heating. I melted through the
bottom of one and the Iron ran out onto the table, along with a fair amount of microwave energy,
which can be quite dangerous. If you are serious about doing this, you need to constantly measure
for microwave leakage from the unit. I expect to make a public announcement about the
availability of these special crucibles and the refractory insulation for holding them, sometime in
the next 3 months. This is no BS. We are quite serious about designing a microwave that will have
the capability of melting at least one ton per hour, by the end of . The eventual goal is to
design and build a system that can melt several hundred tons a day. I will keep all of my
Hobbicast friends posted on our progress. Tom Cobett Cleveland, OH "In Pyro Veritas" [Non-text
portions of this message have been removed] This list is for discussion of metal casting and does
not accept attachments. For off topic discussion and to share photos and stuff: join Sandcrabs by
sending a blank message to: Please visit our sponsor: Budget Casting Supply Files area and list
services are at: problems that cannot be otherwise solved contact the list owner by : blems
that cannot be otherwise solved contact the list owner by : Yahoo! Groups Links To visit
your group on the web, go to:

Copper is not generally a recommended metal to cast in anunalloyed state. Not by me because I have no direct experiencedoing this on a small scale. The reason given is that it picksup too much oxygen and gets a lot of porosity. A friend whotried it won't do it any more. Hydrogen is also a problem.In industrial scrap recovery operations that I am familiarwith, high grade scrap with a high copper content is recoveredin fairly large revebatory furnaces but the product ends up asalloy ingots. Low grade stuff can be recovered in a coke firedcopula. The results then go to a revebatory furnace foralloying. Industrial shops can control a proper atmosphere.At Santa Clara de Cobre in Mexico copper ware is made in anold traditional way. Haven't been there yet.My understanding is that they put the copper directly in acoke or possible charcoal bed with a bellows pumped air blast. Iunderstand the bed is basically a hole in the ground with aningot sized depression in the bottom.Molten copper ends up in the bottom. The bed is allowed tocool and a solidified pan shaped ingot is recovered from thebottom. The ingots are then drawn out into absolutelybeautiful vase and bowl shaped objects.by traditional handtechniques. I have posted stuff on this before further downthis list.JesseI found this but my other file is missing. Basically you gotta keep the oxy away from the copper. Be it flux or an intense charcoal fire.Forgeing hot copper is kewl.Thanks Bruce for your input. You useing Borax for flux?Here's another optionMicrowave blommery----- Original Message ----- From: <> To: <> Sent: Friday, January 02, 7:46 AM Subject:Re: [hobbicast] Microwave Melting Update > Ray, > > I don't wish to burst your bubble, but, thebest you can hope for in a > watt microwave is to melt about 5 lb. of Iron in one hour. > >Technically speaking, it takes about 0.2 kWh to melt 1 lb. of Iron. That is > with 100% efficiency.Induction melting is only about 65% efficient, so that > would use about 0.3 kWh to melt 1 lb. ofIron. We believe that microwave energy > can be substantially more efficient, because we don'tneed to heat up the > refractory and we don't need to have cooling water running through a coil. >> Now, if you really want to melt a lot of Iron at home, let's say 100 lb., you > would need tohave a 20 kilowatt microwave oven, and you would need to run it > for one hour. Anything overabout 2 kW is rare for a home microwave. BUT, > there are lots of industrial units out there with20 kW or more. > > Now, if I want to melt lb. of Iron in one hour, I will need to build a >400 kW microwave. That's getting quite large. We have the notion that we can > build thisfurnace quite inexpensively by ganging 400, 1 kW magnetrons into a > series of wave guides thatare mounted tangentially around a cylindrical > "melting zone." A 1 kW magnetron costs less than$10.00. If we spend $4,000 on > magnetrons and then maybe another $10,000 on the powersupplies and controllers, and > maybe $10,000 on the structure and refractories, we should be ableto have a > furnace that will melt one ton per hour for less than $25,000. This is at > leastone-fifth the cost of an induction melter that will do the same thing. AND, > we will be moreenergy efficient. > > Or, maybe it won't quite work that way and we will have blown a fewhundred > thousand dollars to prove that it doesn't work. If we don't try, we will never > knowwhat is possible. > > More to follow.... > > Tom Cobett > Cleveland, OH > > "In Pyro Veritas" >----- Original Message ----- From: <> To: <> Sent: Thursday, January 01, 3:12 PM Subject:[hobbicast] Microwave Melting Update Some of you may know that I make a living bydeveloping new products and processes for the metal casting and steel making industries. About 6months ago, we started looking seriously at using microwave energy for melting metals. About$40,000 later, we have done an immense amount of lab work. We have successfully meltedAluminum, Bronze, Iron, Steel and even Glass in a simple watt microwave oven. The keypoints in doing this are as follows. 1. You need do have either a special crucible that absorbsmicrowaves, or, you will need to have microwave absorbing materials nearby to a microwavetransparent crucible. So far, we have made all of our own crucibles. I can't tell you what we areusing, because we fully intend to offer these crucibles for sale to the public, sometime this year.What I can tell you is that Silica (fused silica) is microwave transparent. Alumina becomes amicrowave absorber at elevated temperatures. Once you get it hot, it will get very hot, veryquickly in microwave energy. We have developed a mixture of refractories that can be shaped intoa crucible that will reach over 2,000°F. in less than 5 minutes of microwave heating. 2. You willneed to use some fairly fancy refractory insulation to keep from burning up the inside of themicrowave. We use a very low density solid or fibrous material that is about 70% Alumina and30% Silica. You can either build a box and then put the crucible inside of it, or, you can line thewhole inside of the microwave. Just remember that the radiant heat from a glowing crucible needsto be contained, or you will quickly burn the inside of the oven. Remove any plastic covers insidethe microwave, or they will melt. 3. You really need to keep close tabs on the temperature of themetal in order to avoid some serious over heating disasters. Last month, we over heated someIron, which then melted through an Alumina crucible (that takes °F), and then we vaporizedthe Iron (that takes about °F). Things can get really hot really fast. Be prepared to shut downthe power if you get into runaway heating. Have some really well insulated gloves or tongs tohandle the crucible. 4. Now, here's the neat part. We know that metals behave as microwavereflectors. They won't heat up in a microwave. BUT, we have learned that all metals will becomemicrowave absorbers at elevated temperatures. We suspect that the temperature at which thisoccurs is about half of the melting point of the metal. We will know what the exact temperaturesare later in January. Once you reach this magical temperature, the metals will absorb themicrowaves and you can melt lickety split! Virtually all of the energy that you put into the oven isgoing directly into the metal and causing molecular vibration (heating). DON'T DO ANY OFTHIS KIND OF STUFF IN YOUR WIFE'S MICROWAVE! I have toasted 3 microwaves in thepast 3 months, mainly because they got too hot from runaway heating. I melted through thebottom of one and the Iron ran out onto the table, along with a fair amount of microwave energy,which can be quite dangerous. If you are serious about doing this, you need to constantly measurefor microwave leakage from the unit. I expect to make a public announcement about theavailability of these special crucibles and the refractory insulation for holding them, sometime inthe next 3 months. This is no BS. We are quite serious about designing a microwave that will havethe capability of melting at least one ton per hour, by the end of . The eventual goal is todesign and build a system that can melt several hundred tons a day. I will keep all of myHobbicast friends posted on our progress. Tom Cobett Cleveland, OH "In Pyro Veritas" [Non-textportions of this message have been removed] This list is for discussion of metal casting and doesnot accept attachments. For off topic discussion and to share photos and stuff: join Sandcrabs bysending a blank message to: Please visit our sponsor: Budget Casting Supply Files area and listservices are at: problems that cannot be otherwise solved contact the list owner by : blemsthat cannot be otherwise solved contact the list owner by : Yahoo! Groups Links To visityour group on the web, go to:

RE TECH Product Page

Copper recycling business has seen consistent high growth over the last years. If you&#;re planning to get into the recycling industry, this could be a very good option to start with.  As much as 80% of copper used comes from recycling and just 20% comes from mining. Not only that, copper recycling is energy efficient.  Copper recycling uses 15%-20% of the energy required to copper from ore. Also copper does not lose its chemical or physical properties in the recycling process.

Excited about copper recycling ?

I thought so. I decided to write a series of blogs on how you can start a copper recycling business. Over this series I will be going into detail on various subjects on copper recycling. We will have to look at the installation and running cost, technical information and many other factors. I will cover each of these in detail as we move forward. 

In this blog, which is the first of the series, I will give a basic overview. I will present to you a basic idea of the copper recycling business and broadly cover different aspects of it. As we move forward I will go into detail on each of these aspects. I this blog I will be covering following points &#; 

1. Why is recycling copper better than extracting ?
2. Raw materials for copper recycling.
3. Copper recycling rate definitions.
4. Different types of copper grades used for recycling.
5. Recycling steps.
6. Processes Used in Copper Recycling Business.
7. Challenges and Future Of Copper Recycling Business

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Why is recycling copper better than extracting ?

It is more cost efficient &#; As I have already mentioned recycling copper will be considerably easy on your pocket. Not only is it cheaper to recycle than manufacture, it consumes less energy too. Recycling consumes 15-20% less energy compared to obtaining copper from ore.

It helps in conserving copper reserves &#; We know that our reserves are not infinite. Since copper is used in large quantities it is important to use these reserves smartly. By recycling copper we utilise the existing copper and our reserves last longer.

Reduces waste spread &#;  So ever wondered what happens when we don&#;t recycle? It gets dumped into a landfill. This can have serious negative effects on the environment. Also since land is not infinite, less landfills we have better it is.

Provides monetary benefits &#; Not only recycling copper is cheaper, it can generate revenue. Scrap yards and make more money by purchasing it and recycling business and use copper recycling to grow. This also creates new and better job opportunities.

Reduced air pollution &#; Copper related activities produce harmful emissions. These are activities related to mining, miling, smelting and refining of copper. More we recycle copper, the less it is a requirement of such activities.

For efficient recycing of copper, connect with our recycling experts here!

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Raw materials for copper recycling &#; 

copper scrap

You can distinguish copper scrap in three types. I have discussed these below :

Direct Scrap :

DIrect copper scrap is also called home scrap. It is generated at smelter/refinery and has the highest purity level. Direct copper scrap is usually internally recycled at the plant.

New Scrap : 

New scrap is generated during manufacturing of copper. There is a major difference between New scrap and Direct scrap. New scrap may be adulterated during the processing.  

Old Scrap :

Old scrap is also termed as old, obsolete, or external arising scrap. Old scrap comes from copper products that have completed their useful life. Old scrap is comparatively difficult to recycle when compared with New and Direct scrap. 

There are 6 major sources of Old Scrap : 

1. End-of-life vehicles (ELV) &#; These include road transport vehicles that have reached their end of life. Some examples are cars, trucks and busses. Primary source of copper in ELV is wiring. Overall copper content in ELV is 1-2%.

2. Construction and Demolition waste (C & D) &#; This includes copper found in wirings of buildings, pipes and fittings etc. C & D waste contains about 0.3% copper. 

3. Waste from Electronics and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) &#; WEEE is today one of the biggest sources of copper. WEEE can be divided into 3 sub-categories &#; 

• White goods &#; Domestic appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators etc.
• Brown goods &#; Audiovisual appliances such as televisions and music players etc.
• Gray goods &#; Computers and telecommunication appliances.

Estimated copper content of WEEE ranges from 2-20%.

4. Industrial Electrical Equipment Waste (IEW) &#; This includes power cables, transformers and other electrical equipment. Copper content in this can range from 5-80%

5. Industrial Non-Electrical Equipment Waste (INEW) &#; This includes large transportation equipment such as planes, ships, trains. It also includes spent ammunition and other machinery.

6. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) &#; MSW is hardest waste to process. Copper content in this is estimated around .05 -.20%  

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Copper recycling rate definitions

recycling rate definitions

I am sure you would agree with me that in any activity efficiency is important. Well copper recycling is no different. To measure the efficiency of recycled product different parameters are used. These are called Recycling Rate Definitions. I have given a brief overview of important ones below &#; 

Recycling Input Rate (RIR) &#; 

RIR calculates how much useful metal is obtained from scrap. You may want to note that RIR does not indicate recycling efficiency. To estimate the recycling efficiency we have to consider other factors like cost of processing. This parameter is often used by metal traders and resource policy makers.

Overall Recycling Efficiency Rate (Overall RER) &#; 

Overall RER estimates the overall efficiency of the recycling process. It measures the efficiency with which scrap and other metal bearing residues are collected and recycled by a network of collectors, processors and metal recyclers. This is mostly used by scrap processors and scrap generators.

End Of Life Recycling Efficiency Rate (EOL RER) &#; 

EOL ROR is used to measure recycling efficiency of EOL scrap. EOL scrap is material that has been used and discarded at the end of its useful life. This is mainly used by recycling industries, product designers and environmental policy makers.

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Different types of copper grades used for recycling

copper scrap grade 1 copper scrap grade 2 copper scrap grade 3 copper scrap grade 4

For convenience and better understanding I have prepared a table below. Here you can find different types of scrap and secondary copper-containing material. For each type I have also listed copper content.

MaterialCopper ContentSourcePure no. 1 copper scrap99%Semi finished products, wires, strip, cuttingsNo. 2 copper scrap94-98%Miscellaneous unalloyed wireLight copper scrap88-92%Sheet, gutters, boilers, wiresRed brass scrap75-85%Valves, machinery partsShredder material60-65%CarsElectronic scrap5-30%ElectronicsCopper slag1-8%Copper smelter slagCopper dust1-50%Copper smelter dustDifferent types of copper grades

More the amount of copper content available, easier it will be to obtain copper from it. To obtained copper from Light copper scrap refining is required. Red brass scrap contains copper-tin-zinc-lead alloys and can be remelted with little or no refining.

Shredder material , copper slag and copper dust is smelted, reduced and refined. Copper recovery from Electronic scrap is complex and has low copper content.

Copper recovery is also done from residues of other processes. These are called copper slag, dust and sludges. Mostly these are internally recycled within the plant.

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Struggling with buying and selling copper waste? Connect with copper waste buyers and sellers here

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Recycling Steps

Below i have listed the main stages of copper recycling process &#; 

Collection 

Before we recycle we need material to recycle. This is where the collection phase comes in. In this step we collect the copper containing material that we would like to recycle. 

Sorting

Now that we have different copper containing materials we separate them. Not all materials that are collected will be fit for recycling. Based on the copper content we separate materials that are fit to be recycled. Another parameter of separation is the recycling process we will use. If a material cannot be recycled with the process we are going to use, we filter it out.

Crushing

After sorting, the material is crushed and made compact. This way it will take less space and will be easier to recycle.

Shredding

In shredding we break down the material into smaller bits. This makes it easier to recycle and provides a large surface to volume ratio making it easier to melt.

Melting and Purification

In this process copper is melted in a furnace. In this process a lot of energy is consumed. However this energy is still less than the energy required to obtain copper from raw ore. This process can take hours depending on the temperature of the furnace and the quantity of copper being melted.

Purification process

In this process melted copper is purified. Different methods can be used to purify. One common purifying method is electrolysis. 

Melting and Solidifying Copper

Molten copper is coolified in the cooling chamber in this process. Depending upon copper grade other chemicals may be added to obtain proper density and properties.

Processes Used

copper wires and cables

Wire and Cable Scrap Processing

Wire and cable form a major part of recyclable copper scrap. For better understanding I have provided a flowchart below. First wires are broken down into smaller pieces of less than 6mm. This is done in a granulator. Next copper is separated from insulation in a gravity separator. Once separated from insulation copper can be melted in a furnace and solidified into solid blocks. After this it is ready for reuse.

Automotive Copper Recovery

This process is primarily used for recovering metals from scrap automobiles. There are three potential sources of copper in an automobile. 

• Radiator
• Non-Ferrous metal scrap remaining after the car has been shredded.
• Auto Shredder Residue which remains after metals have been removed.

Electronic Scrap treatment

This is used for recycling copper found in electronic scrap. Electronic scrap broadly speaking contains 3 types of materials &#; 

• Plastic.
• Refractory Oxides.
• Metals &#; about 50% of metal is copper.

Here the approach is similar to that used for automobiles &#; 

1. Disassembly to recover large items.
2. Reducing the size of material of disassembly using shredding.
3. Using difference in density and electrical conductivity to separate metals.

Challenges and Future Of Copper Recycling

future of copper

One of the major problems India faces is the lack of a proper collection system for copper scrap in India. Current collection system is highly unorganised and inefficient. Another problem is lack of technical knowledge. Many scrap dealers are unaware of the material that contains copper alloys. This results in recyclable copper many times being sent to landfills. Connect with our landfill consultants here!

According to Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. Despite these problems copper recycling has seen huge growth over time. Global trade of copper scrap imports in India increased from 103,334 in to 174,882 in . Also In Global scrap trade flow for copper was worth $19,062,369,776 and in volume 4,928,672. In future as copper scrap and demand increases, copper recycling business is bound to increase by leaps and bounds. 

I&#;ll be posting more blogs on this series. Moving forward we will look into each aspect of Copper Recycling Business. Knowledge is power, and in this series we will cover deep knowledge on this subject. If I missed out any specific parts or you have any questions, make sure to leave them in the comments below. Also it would be great If you subscribe with us. That way we&#;ll keep you updated on the latest articles in this series.

Author

• sahil sanwal

  Sahil Sanwal is a dedicated environmentalist with a strong commitment to creating sustainable solutions for a healthier planet. As the founder of My Waste Solution, he is driven by a deep concern for social and environmental issues, aiming to provide comprehensive solutions to waste management challenges. His work focuses on helping industries, societies, and organizations manage their waste responsibly, ensuring a cleaner and more sustainable environment for future generations.

Summary

Article Name

How To Start Your Copper Recycling Business. The Very Basics

Description

Copper Recycling Business is on the rise. Here is a first part of complete guide on how to get into this business and make profits.

Author

Sahil Sanwal

Publisher Name

mywastesolution.com

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