Reclaiming

Name:
Reclaiming
Detailed information:
Recovery and reuse of scrap materials, either in low percentage in new product manufacture or in larger proportions in products in which the highest quality is not essential. Among the materials widely reclaimed in industry are aluminum, steel, paper, rubber, glass, crankcase oil, greases, etc. Solid materials are comminuted, the contaminants being removed with organic solvents or strong alkali solutions (paint from metals, ink from paper, fabric and metals from tires). In the case of cross-linked elastomers, more intensive solvent and heat treatment is necessary. The resulting product is used as an adulterant in low-quality items. Research on high-temperature conversion of scrap rubber to oil, with recovery of carbon black and metal inserts, indicates that substantial value may be obtained by this method. Devulcanization by means of microwave radiation is also under development. The term reprocessing refers specifically to the recovery of nuclear fuels from reactor waste.See Recycling; Reprocessing.