News (February 01, 2001)

Scientists at the University of Leeds have developed a new method of recycling steel that turns discarded pop cans made of aluminum or steel into a valuable industrial resource with environmental benefits. The team found that, by the controlled addition of aluminum to the molten steel, the tin or copper impurities are rendered harmless, while the presence of the aluminum increases the hardness and mechanical strength of the steel produced. One obvious source of the alloying agent would be the vast numbers of aluminum cans which currently are recycled separately from steel cans. The new method of recycling eliminates the need for the two metals to be separated and the sorting costs involved. In this photo, tensile test pieces machined from ingots of steel produced from scrap material after processing are tension- tested in the laboratory. For details, contact University of Leeds Innovations, 175 Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, U.K., LS2 3AR; tel. 011-44-113-233-3444, fax 011-44-113-234-3811.