Zinc Recycling

Product Details

Zinc Recycling

A key part of the modern materials world in which zinc finds itself is recycling. Zinc, in common with all metals (and unlike synthetic materials) can be recycled indefinitely without degradation. This has been appreciated for many years and zinc scrap and residues are classified, traded and priced according to their zinc content and to the economics of turning the scrap into a useful product. There is more to recycling than simple returning a material to its original state. This is particularly true for zinc, for which scrap and residue arise in some ten different ways and are recovered into a variety of different forms. Old scrap zinc sheet is easily returned into metal ingots. Process residues from galvanizing are highly valued raw materials for the production of zinc pigments and other chemicals. Brass scrap is recycled entirely within the brass industry. And when zinc coated steel is recycled, the zinc volatilizes, and is captured in the flue dust and can be used alongside zinc ores in the production of primary zinc metal.

Availability of zinc for recycling depends principally on two factors, namely the production of process scrap from current consumption and the arising of zinc from end of life products. Process scrap recycled immediately and virtually completely. However, given the long service life of many products containing zinc, the arising of old scrap is dependent on the usage of zinc many years ago. The total amount of zinc scrap is rising around world and is estimated at about 3 million tones. The vast majority of this is recycled or in store, pending recycling. No more than 5% is unaccounted; a record that few materials can beat.