In terms of the recycling of aluminum waste, Qingzhen city in Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, has been making efforts in three areas.
Firstly, aluminum waste such as old car wheels, used cans, and discarded car engines from South China are collected based on an aluminum content standard of no less than 80 percent. Using advanced processes, non-aluminum metal elements are adsorbed and removed to form recycled aluminum raw material, which then enters the downstream smelting process.
So far, two recycled aluminum projects have been completed and put into operation, with an annual recycling capacity of 200,000 metric tons of aluminum waste.
Secondly, an aluminum liquid production line has been established in Qingzhen, with part of the aluminum liquid directly supplied to downstream companies requiring high-precision sheets, strips, and foils, while another part is used to produce aluminum ingots, rods, and other alloy products of various specifications and grades.
Heat exchange technology is also employed to achieve efficient waste heat recovery, reducing production energy consumption and metal burn-off. In 2023, a total of 39,000 tons of aluminum products were produced, with an output value of approximately 658 million yuan ($90.53 million).
Thirdly, fine dust is efficiently collected and filtered through dust treatment equipment. A supporting circular water pool has been built to accumulate and treat high-temperature casting water, ensuring zero wastewater discharge and recycling production water. Additionally, collaboration with professionally qualified recycling companies allows for the collection and treatment of associated aluminum ash.
So far, the production exhaust gas treatment rate has reached 350,000 cubic meters per hour, while 600 tons of production water can be cyclically processed per hour and an average of 70 tons of aluminum ash can be recovered and treated monthly.