METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REFINING ALUMINUM SCRAP

• Main Authors: UEDA ARATA, HIRANO KENTARO
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 21.05.2009
• Subjects: CASTING; CASTING OF METALS; CASTING OF OTHER SUBSTANCES BY THE SAME PROCESSES OR DEVICES; CHEMISTRY; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION ORPROCESSING OF GOODS; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; METALLURGY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; POWDER METALLURGY; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS; PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; TRANSPORTING; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for refining aluminum scrap by means of which the following process can be performed more efficiently and inexpensively than heretofore: a process of melting aluminum scrap, performing vacuum refining to remove unnecessary components contained in the resulting molten material and then casting the refined molten material into an ingot of prescribed size to carry out recycling into aluminum metal again. SOLUTION: Steps of melting and refining aluminum scrap are separated, and the refining step is coupled with a casting step. Only the melting of the aluminum scrap is performed in a melting furnace, and the resulting molten metal is tapped into a ladle. The ladle is covered with a refractory-made cover communicating with an exhaust means. The molten metal is held for a prescribed time while reducing the pressure of atmosphere in the ladle to a prescribed pressure to remove easily-volatilizable components from the molten metal. Then the pressure is recovered to the atmospheric pressure again, and the molten metal is continuously poured into a mold. COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT