Collection, Thermal Treatment, and Remelting End-of-Life Al Packaging in Norway

Abstract

Aluminum (Al) is used in packaging due to its density, strength, and preservative qualities. The Norwegian packaging flows in 2020 are shown. The paper outlines a laboratory methodology to evaluate the recycling performance of Al packaging where parameters of collection type and pre-treatment are alternated with measurement of yield and analysis of metal quality. Further, the paper evaluates the recyclability of the Al from (1) sorted at a materials recovery facility for municipal waste, (2) from a co-mingled glass and metal packaging collection system, (3) used beverage cans from a deposit system, and (4) from a novel collection scheme. The benefit of pre-treatment is evaluated for all these systems. The results indicate acceptable yield and metal quality from remelting in all four collections systems, but care should be taken in the comparison. Collection, pre-treatment, and melting processes need to be assessed together. Overall, thermal treatment at 550°C is better than at 300°C, which is also worse than just drying at 110°C. This study aims to contribute to assessing Al packaging recycling in Norway and help future developments.