Abstract
Recycling is a critical part of obtaining a more circular economy . In the metals secondary industry, traditional equipment (a magnet, file, and/or grinding wheel) used to identify and sort materials at their end of life can aid in grouping metals (i.e. Al + Mg alloys, ferrous, high temperature alloys, etc.), but they are incapable of identifying the alloy ’s elemental composition; a necessity for preventing downcycling and maximizing secondary utilization rates. Handheld analyzers that utilize X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and spectroscopy (LIBS ) technology may offer technological assistance that is helpful for achieving this level of analysis, often referred to as Positive Material Identification (PMI). This work tests the performance of these units under the challenging conditions present in yards (contaminated, unpolished, rugged scraps). These instruments, with their increasing safety settings, ruggedness, ease of point-click use and quick read times (for both XRF and LIBS ) have significant potential, especially with ability to ID metal faster than cognitive recognition. Additionally, as unit costs of these instruments continue to decrease and the range of varying types of metal entering yards continues to widen, the return on investment becomes more immediate. However, extreme fluctuations of reported elemental compositions are being seen even when measurements have been taken in the same place consecutively; indicating that in their current state, they can inform content of material but aren’t necessarily reliable for reporting accurate and precise compositional percentages.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brooks, L., G. Gaustad, A. Gesing, and T. Mortvedt. 2018. Potential for Handheld Analyzers to Address Emerging Positive Material Identification (PMI). Light Metals 2018. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Proceedings 2018, 1131–1135.
Cullen, J. M., & Allwood, J. M. (2013). Mapping the Global Flow of Aluminum: From Liquid Aluminum to End-Use Goods. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, 47(7), 3057–3064. https://doi.org/10.1021/es304256s.
Gaustad, G., Olivetti, E., & Kirchain, R. (2012). Improving aluminum recycling: A survey of sorting and impurity removal technologies. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 58, 79–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.10.010.
Gesing, Adam J. “Shredder Practice for Preparation of Nonmetallic Concentrates and Potential for Particle Sorting of these Concentrates.” Sensor-Based Sorting(2006): 28–30.
Gesing, Adam, and Hartmut Harbeck. “Particle sorting of light-metal alloys and expanded use of manufacturing scrap in automotive, marine, and aerospace markets.”Global symposium on recycling, waste treatment, and clean technology (REWAS). 2008.
Gesing, A., & Wolanski, R. (2001). Recycling light metals from end-of-life vehicles. JOM, 53(11), 21.
Geyer, R., Kuczenski, B., Zink, T., & Henderson, A. (2016). Common Misconceptions about Recycling. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 20(5), 1010–1017. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12355.
Peterson, Ray D. “Issues in the melting and reclamation of aluminum scrap.” JOM 47.2 (1995): 27–29.
Schlesinger, Mark E. Aluminum recycling. CRC Press, 2013.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at RIT and Gerdau Ameristeel for funding that helped to support this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
About this paper
Cite this paper
Brooks, L., Gaustad, G. (2019). Positive Material Identification (PMI) Capabilities in the Metals Secondary Industry: An Analysis of XRF and LIBS Handheld Analyzers. In: Chesonis, C. (eds) Light Metals 2019. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05864-7_170
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05864-7_170
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-05863-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-05864-7
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)