An article recently published on the iScrap App website named the top seven frustrations with scrap yards. The frustration that landed on top on the list was “lack of clarity about scrap metal grading.” What’s even more vexing is that this frustration can be experienced by both the buyer and seller of scrap.
Misidentified metal scrap can be a very challenging problem. With end-product quality, process integrity, safety, and regulatory compliance at risk, accurate knowledge of the grade and composition of the scrap material being introduced into the process is a necessity for manufacturers who are buying the scrap. It’s also an issue that affects the price of the metal itself, which effects bottom line profits for both parties.
The scrap business is significant, so there is a lot of material to be identified, and a lot of profit to be made. The USGS reports that automobiles make up the primary source of old steel scrap – more than 15 million tons of steel is recycled from vehicles annually. That large supply is boosted by structural steel from construction, appliances, rebar and reinforcement steel, and steel packaging. One can imagine though that the supply of steel scrap is not clean when it arrives at the recycling facility. Who knows what metals and alloys are mixed in the truckloads that arrive at the scrapyards?
And it’s not like one can sort by color; grey and rust are not the best indications of the many metals from which an alloyed material may be made. In fact, the World Steel Organization notes that steel (which is an alloy of iron and carbon, manganese and small amounts of silicon, phosphorus, sulphur and oxygen) boasts more than 3,500 different grades with many different physical, chemical, and environmental properties.
It’s no wonder many scrap metal recycling companies have difficulty telling the difference among various metals. So how can scrapyards ensure they are paying the right price for the material they are purchasing, but also certify that what they are selling to manufacturers is accurately identified?
Meeting customer specifications is crucial to a scrap metal recycler’s business. As we published in a previous article, If the metal is not sorted and verified, there could be disastrous consequences. For instance, aerospace and automobile parts made of the wrong materials could fracture and break during use, ships made of corrosive metals could sink, and skyscrapers could crumble if structural metal started to bend.
And it’s not just the steel industry. The aluminum production industry is very careful about the scrap it buys. Compared to the clean, neatly packaged, and well-defined alumina raw material to which manufacturers are accustomed, post-consumer scrap is composed of a mixture of wrought and casting grades. The exact chemical composition of scrap, including the existence of contaminants or hazardous elements, may be unknown. (Read more about aluminum in the scrap industry.)
Copper is also a popular recycled metal. Since much of the metal comes from copper wire from electrical infrastructure or even power lines, metal railroad tracks, church bells, appliances, statues, etc., it most likely is mixed with other materials as well. (Unfortunately, copper theft has also been a concern.)
To help ensure product integrity, scrap metal operations use handheld XRF analyzers for accurate, reliable material identification. XRF (X-ray fluorescence) is a non-destructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of materials. XRF analyzers determine the chemistry of a sample by measuring the fluorescent (or secondary) X-ray emitted from a sample when it is excited by a primary X-ray source. Each of the elements present in a sample produces a set of characteristic fluorescent X-rays (“a fingerprint”) that is unique for that specific element, which is why XRF spectroscopy is an excellent technology for qualitative and quantitative analysis of material composition.
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) brings immense value to scrap metal recyclers because they can positively identify numerous alloy grades, rapidly analyze their chemical composition at material transfer points, and assure the quality of their product to their customers. If metal sold by the salvage company is not verified, each shipment could cost the company thousands of dollars if the buyers refuse it or downgrade it.
XRF analyzers could also identify something valuable that would normally be tossed into a pile of lower valued metal. One salvage company discovered the true identity of the “304 stainless” shipment: INCONEL® 750 — the latter alloy is more valuable which means a huge increase in price compared to the standard stainless. And a huge profit.
Editor’s Note: See us at ISRI2022, the recycling industry’s largest in-person event, March 21 – 24, 2022, Las Vegas, NV USA.
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I was captured when you explained that there could be ruinous impacts if the metal is not verified and sorted. My friend is working on a project that produces a lot of scrap metal. I think he should look for a company that recycles them for proper disposal.