During the manufacturing process of various metal products, scraps of varying shapes and quantities will be produced. Take forged aluminum alloy wheels as an example, in order to produce the customized products of various customers, scraps of different shapes will be produced during forging, machining, polishing and painting processes. The amount of these scraps is considerable, accounting for about 70% of the total weight of raw materials. In the past, it could only be sold to recyclers as scrap metal. In addition to the quantity sold being easily affected by market demand, fluctuations in aluminum prices would also affect the selling price. The processing method was not cost-effective.

SuperAlloy Industrial (SAI) mainly produces forged aluminum alloy wheels. SAI invested and built a smelting plant in Pingtung, Taiwan in 2020. And has been 100% recycling its scraps to produce secondary aluminium billets for forged wheels production. The waste heat from the furnace in the smelting system is recycled and used as pre-treatment of drying the scraps.

Aluminum metal is 100% recyclable, and the energy consumption and the carbon emissions of secondary aluminum are respectively only 5% and 8% of that of primary aluminum. Through the circular economy production model, SAI can not only reduce the cost of purchasing primary aluminum, but also significantly reduce the carbon footprint of products. It is the best booster for major automakers to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality in the supply chain.

Recycling by-product: The scraps from the forging process, aluminum chips from machining process, and defective products scrapped from the polishing and painting processes will all be recycled, sorted, and then cut and shredded to become raw materials for the smelting furnace and made into secondary aluminum billets. The aluminum slag produced by condensation on the surface of the liquid aluminum, as well as the aluminum powder and tailings produced by sectioning the aluminum billets, are all recycled and re-smelted to form an in-plant circulation.

Process optimization: The high-temperature heat, which can 100% replace the use of natural gas in the pre-treatment process, is recycled and reused to dry the aluminum chips through the furnace design.

According to a report by the Aluminum Association, aluminum is confirmed to be the fastest-growing automotive material to achieve lightweight design, and the content of each vehicle is expected to increase to 233 kilograms by 2026; major automakers have also announced their own carbon neutral year goals. SAI’s secondary aluminum RESAICAL® is the best supplier choice to help automakers achieve their carbon neutrality goals.

SAI has become a member of Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) and acquired the ASI Performance Standard V3 (2022) Certification in 2023. The ASI is a standards setting and certification organization that recognizes and fosters the responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium. Sustainability is a key aspect of SAI corporate strategy and will drive suppliers at all levels to comply with ASI standards to ensure the sustainable development of the entire aluminum industry.

Economic

- The smelting plant has an annual output of 40,000 tons of secondary aluminum and will continue to build up production capacity.

- The current utilization rate of secondary aluminum in the production of forged aluminum wheels is 30%. With the certification and adoption by customers, it is expected to reach 50% in 2024, and the ultimate goal of utilization rate is 70%.

Environment

- According to statistics from the International Aluminum Insitiute in 2021, the global average carbon dioxide generated per ton of primary aluminum is 16.6 tons, and SAI's secondary aluminum RESAICAL® is only 0.32 tons which is significantly lower than the average by 98%.

- In addition to smelting plant, SAI has also installed solar power generators on the roofs of the factories to produce electric power for manufacture to practice circular economy, making SAI’s RESAICAL® secondary aluminum a greener material.

The content and images of this case is provided by SuperAlloy Industrial Co., Ltd.; reviewed by Circular Taiwan Network.