ALUMINUM SCRAP RECYCLING FOR FOUNDRY ALLOYS: REVIEW OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY CHALLENGES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54899/dcs.v22i84.3867Palavras-chave:
Aluminum Recycling, Foundry Alloys, Dross Management, Industry 4.0, Circular Economy, Carbon Reduction, SustainabilityResumo
Aluminum recycling is pivotal for achieving carbon neutrality and advancing the circular economy, offering significant reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions compared to primary production. This review synthesizes global advances from 2020 to 2025 in scrap collection, sorting, remelting, and alloy recovery, with a focus on technological progress, sustainability metrics, and policy integration. Secondary aluminum already supplies over one-third of global demand and could surpass 50 % by 2030 with stronger segregation systems and extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes. Innovations such as high-shear degassing, solid-state chip recycling, and chloride-free refining have improved melt quality and reduced salt-slag waste. At the same time, life-cycle assessments indicate up to 95% lower emissions compared to virgin aluminum. Persistent barriers remain—namely alloy contamination, inconsistent scrap classification, and limited traceability in informal collection networks. Regional policy experiences demonstrate that harmonized standards, mandatory recycled-content targets, and digital traceability accelerate market adaptation, whereas developing economies still face fragmented logistics and weak governance. Future directions include integrating real-time life-cycle assessment, artificial intelligence-based scrap sorting, and international alloy standards, enabling over 80% recycled content. Overall, aluminum recycling emerges as a technologically mature, economically competitive, and environmentally decisive route for decarbonizing metallurgical production and supporting the global energy transition.
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