What are tin cans recycled into? How to make money by recycling aluminum cans and plastic bottles

Today we will look at a way to melt aluminum cans using a simple small melting furnace at home. This time we're using our high-tech backyard and a bucket of soda or beer cans. To make crafts from aluminum, or rather from cans, let's start by getting ours, which was already made earlier, and a large bag of coal briquettes. They are commonly used for barbecues. When several coals are distributed at the bottom of the smelter, a crucible made from a steel fire extinguisher can be added.

Just look what they sell in this Chinese store.

If you place the crucible on a layer of coal, they will melt faster. Now we connect the steel tube through the air supply hole. This will provide enough temperature for melting, but we still need to find a way to get air inside. A household hair dryer, which can be bought at any store, is perfect for this.

Let's connect the hair dryer to a piece of PVC pipe, using two three-centimeter couplings to attach the steel tube on one side and make it easier to disconnect the hair dryer on the other. The entire structure is very easy to disassemble and place in a 20 liter bucket.

The blower is at the right angle, it doesn't hurt to prop it up so it doesn't move away. This way you will keep the walls intact and significantly increase the service life of the smelter. Now that the smelter is ready, let's fill it to the top with coal. You can use a propane torch because it heats everything up very quickly. The coals are burning, so let's turn the hairdryer on low and blast the oxygen into the coals to really heat things up. As you can see, the lid we made retains the heat and the temperature rises. The crucible and the holes in the center of the lid are precisely adjusted.

Now let's take aluminum cans prepared for melting and steel tongs. After 10 minutes the smelter is extremely hot. You can see that the steel crucible glows orange, which means everything is ready. The crucible is 8 centimeters in diameter and is therefore perfect for melting drink cans and at temperatures over 500 degrees Celsius they melt in just a couple of seconds. Let's bring the smelter's power to full to melt everything as quickly as possible. The productivity of the device is on average 10-12 cans per minute.

The nice thing is that the cans can be dirty and painted, with the remains of soda. No matter, as we will soon see, the mini-smelter absorbs everything and produces pure liquid aluminum. According to experience, 35-45 cans are enough to produce 450 grams of aluminum. If you crush the jars first, you don’t even have to remove the lid, which means that even less metal will oxidize during melting. After melting 50 cans, the crucible is full, but there is a lot of waste inside that we don’t need.

A good way to insulate aluminum is to use a steel form. To begin, carefully remove the crucible, making sure that you grip it very securely with steel tongs. Then very slowly pour the melt into a steel mold. As you can see, the slag remains in the shade or and acts almost like a filter, preventing solid particles from leaving it. Having separated what we need, we can tap the crucible on a piece of cement and remove the slag. Once the crucible is cleaned, we can use it again immediately.

For fun, a few more cans were melted down to fill a new muffin tin. The goal is to give the bars a beautiful, unusual appearance. The form is made of steel, but sometimes fire breaks out. This burns the non-stick coating. But this will happen only the first time. After a few minutes, the ingots begin to harden, but they are still terribly hot, so much so that the paper instantly catches fire from them. It's a good idea to have a bucket of water to cool them down. Thrown in cold water the ingots are still too hot to boil instantly, but after about 10 seconds they cool down and can already be taken out by hand.

Use a mini muffin tin to make smaller ingots. The results were very cute little cupcakes. The purpose of ingots is to have pure metal ready when you want to do something. Now, if necessary, you just need to throw a couple of ingots into a clean crucible. With this configuration, the ingots will melt in 5-10 minutes. When using ingots, we do not need to get rid of slag, except perhaps a thin film of aluminum oxide, which means the crucible is full of liquid aluminum ready for casting.

Let's pour aluminum into sand, in which a special mold is made, which burns, absorbing 900 grams of liquid metal. After 10 minutes, the metal is hard enough to grip with pliers. We can break the mold and pull out our castings. At the link at the beginning of the article you can see how the sword was cast in more detail.

When the work is completed, all the equipment can be conveniently placed in a 20 liter bucket, and when the melting pot has cooled down, you can easily shake out the ashes by holding the handle. Cleanup is quick and when you place a plant pot inside, the melting furnace turns into decor.

Well, now you know how to turn empty soda cans into shiny metal muffins at home. You can simply be proud of them and admire them, or you can use them to cast anything that comes to mind.

WikiHow works like a wiki, which means that many of our articles are written by multiple authors. This article was produced by 19 people, including anonymously, to edit and improve it.

Reusing materials not only benefits the environment, but can also be great for your wallet, giving you a little extra cash. The easiest ways to recycle are aluminum cans and plastic bottles: they can be taken to recycling centers, which usually pay based on the weight or number of items returned. Continue reading this article to learn how to recycle aluminum cans and plastic bottles to make money.

Steps

Getting ready for recycling

Recently, the volume of supplies of imported soft drinks and beer in metal cans with a capacity of 0.33, 0.5 and 1.0 liters has sharply increased. Domestic enterprises - producers of beer and soft drinks also began to use this type of packaging for their products. All this has led to a sharp increase in the share of metal in urban waste, the collection of which is not sufficiently organized.

Empty cans are scattered throughout the city, due to this the amount of garbage increases and the problem of recycling cans becomes more acute, especially in the summer months, which worsens not only the appearance, but also ecological state cities.

By expert assessments In Moscow, on average, about 800 thousand cans are consumed per day - about 300 million cans per year. Of these, approximately 210 million are aluminum cans and 90 million are tin cans, which are taken to landfills.

Aluminum cans are melted using traditional technology in electric furnaces. However, if you melt aluminum in the form of cans, the output is only about 20% of the metal. When melting compressed briquettes from solid cans, the aluminum yield is only 40%, and the rest goes to waste. The best technological indicators are obtained by remelting cans in the form of briquettes, pressed from pre-crushed and sorted can material. In this case, the aluminum yield reaches about 80%.

Therefore, mechanized can processing areas are equipped with small-sized crushers and presses, auxiliary and sorting equipment and are organized in crowded places (airports, train stations, stadiums, large hotels, restaurants, business centers, places of public recreation).

The productivity of one such site is at least 8 thousand cans per day. The products of these sections should be briquettes sorted by metal type.

Cans are disposed of by crushing, separating and pressing into briquettes for subsequent use as secondary raw materials for metallurgical production.

Chemical analysis of ingots obtained after melting the cans, which is given

It's no secret that recycling human waste is practically a gold mine, and it is quite problematic to objectively assess the volume of this market, in particular in our country. But, in order to understand at least in general terms the existing volumes, it is enough to consider a simple example. Have you ever thought about how many people are doing this at the same time as you around the world when throwing out another soft drink can into a bucket? to the globe? Simply put, there are millions of them, and that is why recycling aluminum cans is not only a profitable business, but also creates a significant contribution to conservation environment and rational use of natural resources.

General view of the problem.

According to statistics, capacity Russian market aluminum cans are estimated at approximately 2-3 billion. Taking into account the weight of even a small can, which is about 15 grams, we get the amount of aluminum consumed, which is approximately 30-40 thousand tons of pure metal. And if we take into account the energy resources necessary for the production of metal from primary raw materials, the prospects for the development of the processing industry become obvious.

This option will also have a beneficial effect on the environmental situation. An example of the effective use of recycling technologies is the North American company Novelis, which in 2009 was able to recycle more than 39 billion aluminum cans, which made it possible to obtain more than 530 thousand tons of pure metal from melting.

Technology for recycling aluminum cans.

The current level of development of recycling of secondary raw materials allows the use of several methods for obtaining pure aluminum from cans. The most common are the following:

• The simplest, and therefore most often used, is pressing. The source material undergoes primary sorting and cleaning from household waste. Afterwards, the raw materials are crushed with simultaneous cleaning of various iron components using an electromagnet. The resulting substance is pressed, forming briquettes of a certain weight, and sent for smelting to a metallurgical plant. The disadvantages of this method include great content various impurities due to imperfect purification methods.
• Another, more advanced method, providing better cleaning, is based on similar principles. Its difference lies in the use of multi-stage grinding and impurity removal schemes. As a result of processing, aluminum powder, or material in the form of small metal flakes, is obtained. Despite the higher quality processing, it has a significant disadvantage. To organize such chains of this type, extensive production areas are required. Also, the use of a multi-stage cycle significantly increases the cost of the product.
• Recycling aluminum cans based on pyrolysis is the most effective method. The additional costs required for the appropriate equipment are offset by the cost of the material obtained as a result.

The initial stages of processing are similar to existing steps in other methods.

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Recycled raw materials are washed, sorted, and various impurities are removed. Small pieces of aluminum obtained by grinding are subjected to pyrolysis in special installations.

The essence of this process is to heat the elements of crushed cans to a temperature that is 100 degrees or more higher than the melting point of aluminum, up to approximately 750 degrees. During the heating process, all organic and some inorganic impurities decompose, and the resulting liquid aluminum is poured into pre-prepared forms. The product obtained in this way is distinguished by the minimal presence of various inclusions, and can be processed at metallurgical plants without additional purification, which makes it a highly competitive material.

Considering the economic feasibility of processing such raw materials, we can conclude that organizing enterprises of this type is quite a profitable undertaking. The only problematic issue due to the peculiarities of the mentality of the majority of residents of our country is the issue of waste sorting by each person. In most countries, this method of waste collection has already proven effective, and for a resident of, for example, Japan, it is considered unacceptable to throw an aluminum can into a food waste container. The introduction, and most importantly the acceptance by the population of such a separate method of collecting waste, will significantly increase the economic efficiency of processing any secondary raw materials.

How to melt aluminum cans

Re: Melting Aluminum :)

at the chipmaker they melted it on a gas stove using household gas.

In general, I’m copying it here so that we can have it too.

So, the task: melt a small amount of aluminum (to begin with) to obtain a stable liquid phase and cast it. Budget: 0 rub. Only a gas stove and available materials are available. Time before wife arrives: 2 hours. Go!

1. Oven - a tin can with a diameter of 100 mm. At the bottom there is a hole for the flame to enter, the crucible stands on three pillars of bolts inside the jar, 20mm from the bottom (Fig. 1). The flame must flow around the crucible, creating a thermal air cushion - this solves problem No. 1: colossal heat loss by radiation and convection when heating an open crucible with a burner.

2. Crucible - a tin can with a diameter of 70 mm. The crucible must be closed with a lid to reduce heat loss. There is a risk of burning through the bottom, so have water and sand at hand and pour water onto the stove (at the same time protecting the stove from overheating).

Melting aluminum beer cans

The crucible heats up more from the edges, the risk of burning through the center is minimal.

3. The burner is designed on the basis of a regular burner. First of all, the flame divider is removed and a piece of pipe is installed - I used a diameter

10mm and long

40mm (Fig. 2). The larger diameter of the outlet hole compared to the standard one allows the flame not to go out when larger volume supplied gas (this was problem No. 2). And now main secret burners - using a wire, the pipe is fixed further than the outlet! So

In this way, the gas sucks in air, and the gas-air mixture at high speed (this is important so that the mixture does not have time to burn) is thrown into the furnace and burns there, flowing around the crucible on all sides (Fig. 3). At the same time, the flame is transparent blue, without soot, etc. — burns very well (in photo 3 the burner is working at full capacity, although the flame is not visible). Just in case, the room is well ventilated.

The crucible heats up to red instantly. I add aluminum (wire), close the lid - melting begins (Fig. 4). The metal melts, slag floats and/or settles to the bottom. For safety reasons, the process is not left unattended for a minute. Metal is added in parts every 5 minutes. In total, it took about 20 minutes (it could have been faster, it took longer out of habit). Then I add salt, remove the waste, and voila! An excellent liquid metal (Fig. 5), suitable for casting small products. The metal is cast into a tin can, resulting in an ingot weighing about 100g (Fig. 6). Problem solved!

Results. According to preliminary estimates, melting up to 0.5 kg in such a furnace is easy, up to

1 kg (330 ml - jar volume) should be tried. In the future, since everything is working, it will be possible to improve the design and optimize the process: definitely replace the crucible with stainless steel, flux and degass the metal more correctly, consider casting issues, etc. Now we need to cover our tracks so that the wife can fry her cutlets there as if nothing had happened. I did it!

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» At home

How to melt aluminum at home

We melt aluminum at home

Date: 01/01/1970

It is extremely sad when small but important functional elements break down in the house: guides for roller shutters or sliding doors (burst), fittings (something fell off), etc. As a rule, such elements are made of aluminum. Finding a replacement is a difficult task, and it happens that it is necessary to fix a malfunction in the functionality of a door or window right now, at least temporarily.

Fortunately, if you know how to solder, many problems with aluminum fittings or profiles can be eliminated. However, such work requires experience and accuracy.

The main snag is to obtain the working material, that is, molten aluminum, which will be used to solder the broken parts.

At what temperature does aluminum melt?

That's right, at a temperature of 660 degrees. An ordinary gas stove won’t give us this, and we shouldn’t do such things at home - it’s better to take the work outside. Let's look at how you can prepare solder by melting aluminum at home. Let us remind you once again that if you are not handy with a soldering iron, then we would not recommend starting all this.

So, the price of aluminum ingots ranges from 55 to 150 rubles. per kg depending on the brand of alloy. If we don't aim specifically high quality works, then any will do. In principle, you can use scraps of the old profile.

To successfully complete the operation, we will need a portable gas torch or blowtorch. Depending on the model, they give a temperature of 1000 - 1300 degrees.

How to melt aluminum cans and make something unusual out of them

This is quite enough.

What are we going to melt in?

For this we need a refractory container, for example, made of stainless steel. You can use a scoop bowl if nothing else is available. We will also need a calcined steel plate or another container into which we will pour molten aluminum.

• We make a small well out of bricks, so that our container can be installed on top (by the way, it can be placed on skewers, they are also quite refractory).
• Before installing the container, light a fire in the well. It will help keep the container warm when we stop using the burner. In addition, the fire will help warm up the aluminum from below.
• When a certain amount of hot coals is formed, we put our container with aluminum and heat it for about 15 minutes. Here you can leave the second container or plate to warm up.
• After this, turn on the gas burner to maximum and heat the aluminum from above.
• The metal will begin to melt in just a few seconds, however, our goal has not yet been achieved - we need uniform heating.
• To do this, the container must be shaken periodically. This should be done extremely carefully, using pliers and thick gloves (for welders this is the best). In principle, the molten composition can be stirred with steel wire (just as carefully).
• Please note that when using recycled materials (remnants of the profile), paint may evaporate, which is not recommended to breathe.
• When melting, aluminum oxide is formed, which in turn forms scale.
• After the formation of homogeneous (adjusted for scale) liquid aluminum, the container is carefully taken with pliers. The contents are poured onto a hardened steel surface. It should be poured in such a way that only the metal pours out, and the scale remains in the original container (in principle, this is not difficult - the main thing is not to tilt it too much).
• That's it, your molten aluminum is ready for further work.

How to melt aluminum at home with a blowtorch?

Important! When melting aluminum, use protective equipment: gloves, protective shoes, overalls, a respirator, special tools to avoid contact of molten aluminum with your body. When molten metal comes into contact with water droplets, it can splash and cause very dangerous burns. Be extremely careful! Ready-made melting furnaces in this store.

The video shows how you can melt aluminum at home using a simple blowtorch. The method is quite simple; it does not require blowing, which is necessary in cases where to create desired temperature Firewood, coals and other solid fuels are used to melt aluminum. The video clearly shows how the preparation is carried out necessary materials aluminum and the smelting process itself.

In this video, another master will present his model of a melting furnace and explain how to make a crucible for melting aluminum and prepare it for work.

And here the actual smelting process is shown and practical advice is given. Notice how the master is protected from injury.

Here there are materials about how to make crafts from plaster, and here about the simplest oven for aluminum. There is another article on this topic here.

How to melt aluminum at home?

As you know, the melting point of aluminum is 660 degrees. This is a fairly low-melting metal that can be melted at home using a gas torch or blowtorch, which can produce temperatures in the range of 1000-1300 degrees (this is quite enough to completely melt aluminum).

This metal will need to be melted in a fairly refractory container, for example, stainless steel.

Under the container we make a small fireplace made of bricks, in which you will need to build a fire in order to warm up the aluminum from below and not allow it to cool.

The bowl with aluminum is placed not on the fireplace, but on top of it, we heat it with a blowtorch or burner.

Aluminum will begin to melt fairly quickly. In order for the molten composition to be homogeneous, it should be stirred periodically using steel wire or something else refractory.

This must be done very carefully. Be sure to wear protective clothing and boots, as well as thick gloves, as molten metal splashes on your skin can cause serious burns. Therefore, you need to take care of your protection first.