10 - Recycling and reusing of nonferrous metals

Abstract

Ever since mankind has mastered the art of extracting and refining metals, there has been a heavy dependence on metals and related materials. A lot of emphasis was laid on mining and metallurgy with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Slowly nations were built, and metals were marked as the strength of a nation. However, with the spread of the Industrial Revolution its adverse effects also entered the system. Increased mining activity led to environmental degradation and resource depletion. It led to too much of wastes and increase of landfills, which polluted air, water, and soil and degraded human health and environment. Conservation of resources also became of prime importance. Recently, more and more emphasis has been laid on the recycling of metals. This chapter primarily deals with the recycling of nonferrous metals and their alloys. Nonferrous metals are generally more expensive than ferrous metals, because of desirable properties such as low weight (e.g., aluminum), higher conductivity (e.g., copper), nonmagnetic property, or corrosion resistance (e.g., zinc) and hence have a wide variety of applications. The impact of recycling nonferrous metals on energy, environment, economy, education, society, and health has been discussed in depth. Using secondary sources can lower the energy usage of manufacturing the same product by an average of 75% or more. Using the secondary mode of manufacturing from scrap metal also decreases the emission of greenhouse gases up to 86%. It also helps society by providing local jobs and contributes to a nation's economy and overall development.