Upcycling of Low Quality Aluminum Automotive Scrap: The DNA of Twitch

Abstract

As our consumption of aluminum continues to grow, the demand to maximize the use of aluminum scrap grows proportionally. The challenge is to create value from waste, taking low quality scrap and upcycling it to high value “green aluminum alloys.” Automotive aluminum scrap from auto shredders dubbed “Twitch,” is an amalgamation of aluminum alloys which is traditionally melted and downcycled to a low value alloy. The first step in the development of green aluminum alloys is to have an in-depth knowledge of the Twitch feedstock, both geographically and temporally. In this work, Twitch was collected from the two coasts of US over a period of 12 months; a dynamic analysis of Twitch as well as metallurgical pathways to upcycle Twitch are given.