Principles of Metal Refining and Recycling

Book excerpt: Principles of Metal Refining and Recycling provides a self-contained introduction to the field of purification and recycling of metals. The scientific principles in the treatment of the various metals are the same. The importance of using a clean and properly alloyed metal is described in detail. The text covers thermodynamics, physical and transport properties, mixing, mass transfer and numerical models. It describes methods for removal of dissolved impurity elements, particles, and inclusions. It considers important aspects of the solidification process, remelting and adding of alloys. Recycling, future challenges and specific processes for each metal are discussed in detail. The book is a greatly extended update of the 1992 book Principles of Metal Refining by T. Abel Engh. It includes in particular the subjects of metal recycling, ferrous and non-ferrous metal refining, and metalloids like silicon.