Source: Light Metal Age February 2017
The demand for aluminum and its alloys is projected to grow by 39% over the next decade in the North American light automotive sector [1]. Aluminum is an attractive material for the transportation industry as it is lightweight and possesses excellent static and dynamic mechanical properties. With the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards mandating reduced fuel consumption, automotive vehicles need to be lighter in weight. However, reducing fuel consumption is only one part of the issue. The reduction of CO2 emissions and energy usage during production is also critical moving forward. By manufacturing aluminum components from secondary material streams, 95% less CO2 is emitted and the energy consumed is reduced by 92% compared to primary production [2-3]. The complete benefit of automotive light-weighting using aluminum cannot be fully achieved without an efficient and effective end-of-life collection and recovery process.
Read more: Grave -to-Gate: Automotive Aluminum Recycling at End-of-Life by Sean Kelly and Diran Apelian
