Chaoyang Industry: Infinite Charm

Viewpoint: When primary aluminum production is facing a serious shortage of alumina supply, international alumina prices have taken the opportunity to rise, costs are limited by people, domestic electricity, coal energy shortages, and macroeconomic regulation and other internal and diplomatic difficulties, a new industry has increasingly attracted people's attention - - Aluminium scrap recycling and regeneration - a "green project" that benefits contemporary people and benefits their children and grandchildren. How large is the quantity of scrap aluminum recycled in China? How large is the industrial development space? How bright is the prospect of this sunrise industry? This article will answer questions for you. Among industrial structural metals, the recyclability of aluminum is high, and the regeneration benefit is also greater. Due to the high corrosion resistance of aluminum, except for certain aluminum chemical containers and devices, aluminum products are hardly corroded during their use, such as aluminum doors and windows, high-voltage transmission and distribution lines, aluminum structures and spare parts for transportation vehicles, and aluminum. During the “service” period of the cans, etc., only a very small amount of corrosion loss occurred and almost all of them could be recovered. Recycled aluminum is metal aluminum instead of mineral raw materials, so its smelting processing can save a lot of energy consumption. The recycling of scrap aluminum consumes only 5% of the total energy required for the process from bauxite mining → alumina extraction → primary aluminum electrolysis → casting into ingots. In other words, compared to the production of primary aluminum, each ton of recycled aluminum produced can save 95% of energy. At the same time, it can save 10.05 tons of water, use 11 tons of solid materials, and emit 0.8 tons of carbon dioxide and 0.6 tons of sulfur dioxide. The recycled aluminum industry has obvious advantages in energy saving and environmental protection and is a huge energy-saving project. Although aluminum has strong corrosion resistance, it will also be subject to a certain degree of corrosion in the atmosphere. When it comes into contact with certain chemical substances such as alkalis, seawater, and soil, strong or violent will occur. Chemical reactions cause environmental pollution. The pollutants discharged during the recycling of waste aluminum are much less pollutants than the total production of primary aluminum. The degree of pollution to the environment is also much lighter, roughly equivalent to only 10% of the latter. From this we can see that the recycling and recycling of scrap aluminum is a “green project” that will benefit the future and benefit the children and grandchildren. In the 1950s, China started recycling waste aluminum. However, for a long time, the recycling and utilization industry of recycled aluminum is only a fringe industry in China's aluminum industry. There are few statistical and analytical data in this area, which brings great difficulties to the research of the recycled aluminum industry. The regenerated aluminum industry has gradually grown with the birth of the aluminum industry, but the formation of an independent industry is only formed after the society has accumulated a certain amount of aluminum products. In China, it was only in the early 1970s that it began to form an industry in Baoding, Hebei. Therefore, it can be said that Baoding is the birthplace of China's renewable aluminum industry. Waste aluminum can be divided into new aluminum scrap (productive aluminum scrap) and old scrap aluminum scrap (living aluminum scrap) from the source. New aluminum scrap refers to the scrap and unqualified scrap that are generated during the processing of aluminium. Old aluminum scrap refers to aluminum scraps after consumption by the society, such as aluminum doors and windows, automotive aluminum castings, waste cans, etc., as well as scrap aluminum that is recycled into the society for recycling. The aluminum scrap we studied here is mainly for old aluminum scrap. China’s net imports of waste aluminum have increased rapidly, but since the 1990s, the import of aluminum scrap has continued to rise. It has gradually increased from 5,500 tons to 653,000 tons in 2003. However, the export volume of scrap aluminum is very small every year, generally only a few thousand tons. It has not changed for more than a decade. The amount of waste aluminum imports continued to rise sharply, but there was no increase in exports, which ultimately led to a continued sharp increase in net imports of waste miscellaneous aluminum in China. The waste aluminum imports have always occupied a very important position in China. The United States, Europe, Russia, and Kazakhstan are the major waste aluminum supply regions in China. According to customs statistics, from January to November 2004, China imported 1.05 million tons of waste aluminum, which was a year-on-year increase of 79.4%. In the same period, a total of 3,367 tons of aluminum was exported, a cumulative decrease of 66% year-on-year. China's waste aluminum imports have been expanding year by year, which has caused the local aluminum scrap prices in the exporting countries to rise rapidly, causing a boycott of local aluminum scrap smelters. At the same time, these countries have realized the importance of developing their own recycled aluminum industry and have therefore adopted restrictions on the export of scrap aluminum. For example, in 2000, the Russian government raised the tax rate on scrap copper and scrap aluminium exports (a tax rate of 50% was adopted); Ukraine also decided in 2002 to increase the export tariff on scrap metal from zero to 30% and from 2003. The implementation of export quota system. China's waste aluminum imports also pose an impact on the aluminum scrap market in Europe and the United States, which has led to the vigilance of local waste aluminum smelters. China's waste aluminum recycling gradually entered the peak period China's waste aluminum recycling in the end how much? So far, there is no accurate statistical data. According to Wang Ji-biao, secretary general of the Recycling Metals Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, in the early 1990s, China's domestic recycling of waste aluminum was 200,000 to 300,000 tons/year. From the late 1990s to the present, the amount of waste aluminum recovered was 400,000 to 500,000 tons/year or more, all of which are metal quantities, have not been considered for re-melting and re-use within corner scrap yards of processing companies, and are all made of alloys. Since the 1990s, imported aluminum scrap has occupied a considerable proportion in the domestic recycled aluminum utilization industry. However, after entering the 21st century, the amount of domestic scrap aluminum recycling has rapidly increased, and the proportion of China's total aluminum scrap supply has gradually increased. When aluminum products are used for a certain period of time, they begin to enter the payback period. Combined with the use period of various aluminum products in Germany and the recovery rate in 2000, it can be seen that the longer the service life is the construction and structural aluminum components, up to 30 years. The shorter lifespan is aluminum packaging, only 6 months. The average retirement period is 14 years. However, except for products that have been compulsorily scrapped by regulations within the time limit, many products such as household appliances, aluminum doors and windows, daily necessities, etc. in China have a longer life span than developed countries. Therefore, the scrapping period for aluminum products in China is about 15 years. As for the recovery rate, the average recovery rate in Germany is 77%. Considering that China's current waste aluminum recycling system has not been fully established, it is estimated that the recycling rate of waste aluminum in China will be around 75%. Calculate the approximate quantity of scrap aluminum produced in China at present: the average life span of aluminum products is usually 15 years, and the technology recovery factor is set at 0.75 (some products are still in use although they are still in use, or they are scrapped but the materials are left unused. Not recovered). In 1990, the total consumption of primary aluminum in China was about 830,000 tons, the consumption of aluminum scrap was estimated at 250,000 tons, and the cumulative aluminum consumption was 1.08 million tons. After 15 years, that is, in 2005, the amount of domestic waste aluminum that can be recycled should be around 810,000 tons. The consumption of primary aluminum is the basis for the recycling of recycled aluminum. The growth rate of primary aluminum consumption 15 years ago is basically the growth rate of aluminum scrap after 15 years. China's aluminum industry started late, and for a long time, aluminum is mainly used in the military field, and aluminum is less. Before the 1990s, aluminum consumption in China grew slowly. After entering the 1990s, it began to grow rapidly. In 1990, the consumption of primary aluminum in the domestic market was 830,000 tons. Until 2003, the consumption of primary aluminum in China reached 5.11 million tons. The average annual growth rate exceeds 16%. Since the recycling period for waste aluminum in China is 15 years, starting from 2005, China's scrap aluminum recycling will enter a stage of rapid growth and is expected to increase by more than 16% annually. Based on the above calculations, it can be concluded that China’s scrap aluminum has been recycled in recent years. In 2004, China’s net imports of aluminum scrap were 1.2 million tons, domestic recycling was 756,000 tons, and cumulative aluminum scrap was 1.956 million tons. Considering that 2% to 10% of losses can be generated during the regeneration process of melting and casting, it is expected that about 1.84 million tons of aluminum scrap will be recycled in 2004. China's waste aluminum production has great potential for growth. In 2004, China produced about 6.6 million tons of electrolytic aluminum. In 2004, aluminum scrap was about 1.84 million tons. Although China has become the second largest producer of recycled aluminum after the United States, the output of recycled aluminum is only 27.87% of the total output of aluminum. This ratio is not only far below the level of the developed countries, but also lower than the world average. . According to the statistics of international authoritative organizations, in 2002, recycled aluminum accounted for the proportion of total aluminum production, with an average of 30.9% in developed countries, of which Japan was 99.5%, Italy was 75.6%, and the United States was 52.4. %, Germany is 50.6%. From 1992 to 2002, the total aluminum output in Western countries increased from 20.36 million tons to 25.46 million tons, of which the output of recycled aluminum increased from 5.47 million tons to 7.86 million tons, an increase of 43.7%, an increase far higher than that of primary aluminum. In 2001, per capita consumption of recycled aluminum was 2 kg globally, of which 12.56 kg were for the United States, 10.34 kg for Germany, and 1.02 kg for China, which was only 1/2 of the world’s per capita consumption. Therefore, China's waste aluminum has a lot of room for development and has broad prospects. For a long time, China’s aluminum consumption has reached an astonishing figure. Since China’s own statistical data, the various forms of aluminum accumulated in the society are roughly as follows: From 1953 to 2003, 43.65 million tons of primary aluminum was consumed; from 1984 to 2003 Net imports of un-wrought aluminum and aluminum alloys amounted to 1.52 million tons; from 1981 to 2003, net imports of aluminum scraps totaled 3.93 million tons; from 1984 to 2003, net imports of aluminum were 2.93 million tons. A total of about 52 million tons. This is a huge wealth, indicating that the future availability of waste aluminum resources is guaranteed and will be more than a year. On the other hand, China has entered a cycle of replacement in many fields. It only uses automobiles, home appliances, computers, and mobile phones as examples, and its annual phase-out has been quite large. At the same time, renewable metal resources have also been increasingly eliminated in power, cable, electrical and mechanical equipment, electronics, communications, transportation, construction, and decoration. According to calculations, from 2004 to 2010, China's scrap aluminum can also save about 43 million tons. It should be pointed out that in fact, the accumulated amount of aluminum in China’s society is much larger than the above figure because China’s imports of machinery, electrical appliances, and transportation tools are all very large, and these products contain some aluminum and aluminum alloys. Workpieces. In addition, China also imports some waste machines and waste electrical appliances. They also contain a certain amount of aluminum, but they are not counted in imported waste aluminum. The recycling of aluminum scrap will become the focus of China's aluminum industry. Objectively speaking, China does not have the advantage of vigorously developing primary aluminum. Due to a serious shortage of alumina supply, a large number of imports have led to an increase in international alumina prices, which has led to the cost of domestic aluminum plants being controlled by others and creating a vicious cycle. In recent years, China’s power supply has become increasingly tense, and as a primary aluminum company that consumes large amounts of electricity, it has further increased the burden on domestic power supply. In the past two years, the drastic expansion of electrolytic aluminum in China has caused a domestic oversupply and at the same time caused a serious shortage of electricity, coal, and alumina. Therefore, in the past one or two years, the state will still adopt industrial restrictions on the electrolytic aluminum industry. As the consumption of electrolytic aluminum in China has maintained a rapid development, the average growth rate in the past 10 years is about 15%. In this way, after China's production of electrolytic aluminum is limited, China’s aluminum will be changed from the current oversupply to a supply gap. To make up for this gap, there are only two ways to increase imports and increase output of scrap aluminum. Among them, the increase in waste aluminum production should be a more economical approach because it will not only offset the future supply gap in the country, but also save 95% of energy, reduce the supply pressure of alumina, and reduce the production of alumina and electrolytic aluminum. The environmental pollution generated in this way can be described as a good thing with multiple actions. In developed countries, the waste recycling industry is Chaoyang industry, which is strongly supported by the government. China is also gradually raising awareness in this area. The former State Development Planning Commission, the Economic and Trade Commission, and other relevant departments have made renewable non-ferrous metal production an important part of the comprehensive utilization of resources and sustainable development strategy when formulating relevant technology policies and the 10th Five-Year Plan. It is said that for this reason, the country will gradually introduce preferential policies. In the "Cleaner Production Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China" implemented on January 1, 2003, it was clearly stipulated that the tax authorities shall reduce or exempt VAT in accordance with the relevant regulations of the state for the production of waste products and the recovery of raw materials from wastes. This provides a solid policy guarantee for the development of the recycled aluminum industry. The eight ministries and commissions including the former State Economic and Trade Commission and the Planning Commission have jointly issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Development of the Environmental Protection Industry," and include the development of comprehensive utilization of resources for the comprehensive utilization of "three wastes" and the recycling of renewable resources as the new environmental protection industry. The economic growth point will be incorporated into the national economic and social development plan and the long-term goal will be given priority. At present, recycled aluminum is developing in the direction of legalization and standardization. Especially after China's accession to the WTO, the development speed is faster and the trend is more obvious. China's policy environment for the recycled aluminum industry will be further standardized, relevant laws and regulations will be gradually improved and improved, and relevant technical standards can be brought into line with international standards before 2010. Experts generally believe that China has entered the middle period of industrialization, and resources and the environment have become the two major bottlenecks constraining economic development. Therefore, the development of circular economy has become an inevitable choice for sustainable development. As a green industry, the renewable aluminum industry is not only related to the industry itself, but also can become a breakthrough in the development of China's recycling economy. It should become the focus of the next step in the development of China's aluminum industry. China Nonferrous Metals Reports Wang Zhongjing