Did you know that the old wires we throw away, the discarded water pipes, the shells of end-of-life electrical
appliances all contain a precious "urban treasure"? It is copper - one of the oldest metals used by mankind.
As the global demand for copper resources continues to grow, the pressure on traditional mining is increasing.
The exciting news is that recycling copper not only meets nearly 40% of our needs, it also reduces energy
consumption by more than 80%! That's not just conservation, it's a smart continuation of the earth's resources.
Why does recycling copper make sense?
Resource sustainability: Copper reserves are limited and recycling is the key to alleviating the crisis of resource
depletion. Every time you recycle, you're making a gift to the planet.
Energy Revolution: Recycling new copper from copper scrap uses only 15-20% of the energy used to mine and
smelt virgin copper, dramatically reducing carbon emissions and contributing to carbon neutrality goals.
Economic Engine: The recycling industry creates a large number of jobs, from collection, sorting to processing
and reuse, forming a green economic circular chain.
Environmental guardian: Compared with primary copper production, recycled copper significantly reduces mining
damage, tailings pollution and smelting emissions, and protects green water and mountains.
Recycled Copper: A Complete Journey from Waste to New Life
Collected at source:
Industrial treasures: Copper scraps, trimmings (machining), used equipment (motors, transformers), obsolete cables,
etc., generated by factories, with high purity and large quantities, are the mainstay of recycling.
Life Drops: Waste home appliances (refrigerators, air conditioners, wire harnesses in TVs, motors), old wires and cables,
plumbing fittings, waste decorations, electronic waste (circuit boards containing copper), etc., which is the mainstay of recycling.
Professional Power: Recycling stations, waste collectors, and professional recycling companies reach out to communities,
factories, and construction sites to weave an efficient recycling network.
Fine sorting and pre-processing:
Manual/mechanical dismantling: Removal of plastic/rubber sheaths from wires and cables, electrical housings,
steel screws on large parts, etc.
Incineration (carefully controlled): sometimes used to remove the insulating skin of small wires (must strictly comply
with environmental regulations to prevent toxic emissions such as dioxins, this method is highly controversial and
requires specialized treatment facilities).
Mechanical crushing and sorting: mixed waste (such as circuit boards), using crushing, magnetic separation (iron
removal), eddy current sorting (non-ferrous metals), electrostatic sorting and other technologies to separate out
copper particles.
Wire Stripping Machine: Efficiently remove the insulation layer of wires to get pure copper core.
Fire-eye recognition of copper: strictly distinguish between different types (copper, brass, bronze, white copper),
different grades (clean bright copper, copper with plating, mixed copper) is crucial, which directly affects the
recycling value and subsequent treatment process.
"Lighten up": Stripping non-copper material is a key step:
Cutting to size: Large pieces of copper scrap need to be cut and crushed to a size suitable for the furnace.
Smelting and refining:
Fire refining: Air or oxygen is blown into the molten copper to oxidize the impurity metals (e.g., zinc, lead, tin, iron),
causing them to enter the slag or volatilize. Sometimes fluxes (e.g., quartz sand, limestone) are added to help create
slag and remove impurities. For very demanding oxygen-free copper, reductive deoxidation is also required.
Electrolytic refining (high purity requirements): the fire-refined copper is cast into an anode plate and put into an
electrolytic tank containing copper sulfate solution. When energized, pure copper is precipitated on the cathode
and impurities remain in the anode mud or solution. This is the standard method for producing high purity copper
cathodes (>99.99%).
Metamorphosis in the furnace: Pretreated copper scrap is fed into high temperature melting furnaces (reflector
furnaces, shaft furnaces, induction furnaces, etc.). At high temperatures, the copper melts into a liquid state and
separates from the lower density impurities (slag) to float.
Purification and upgrading:
Remodeling New Life:
The pure copper liquid after refining is cast into various forms:
Large ingots: e.g. copper cathode sheets, wire ingots, billets, which are supplied as semi-finished products to
downstream manufacturers.
Direct molding: Copper can be cast directly and continuously into rods, billets, wire rods, etc., reducing intermediate steps.
These recycled copper materials have exactly the same performance as virgin copper, and are widely used in
various fields such as electric power, construction, transportation, electronics, new energy, etc., opening up
a whole new life cycle.
Safety and environmental protection: the lifeline of recycling
Safety is paramount:
Protective equipment: Operators must wear heat-resistant gloves, protective masks/glasses, flame-retardant
overalls, safety shoes, and beware of burns and metal splashes in the melting area.
Gas Prevention: Smelting, incineration process may produce harmful fumes (especially chlorine-containing plastics),
the need for strong ventilation and gas detection and alarm devices.
Dust control: crushing, sorting links are prone to dust, need to be wet work or equipped with efficient dust removal equipment.
Standardized operation: Strictly comply with the operating procedures of the equipment, especially high
temperature and high pressure equipment.
Iron law of environmental protection:
Exhaust gas purification: smelting furnace, incinerator must be equipped with advanced flue gas treatment system
(such as bag dust removal, wet desulfurization and deacidification, activated carbon adsorption, SCR/SNCR
denitrification), to ensure that the emission standards.
Wastewater treatment: Wastewater generated by wet treatment (e.g. electrolysis) contains heavy metals and acid,
which must be strictly treated and recycled or discharged to standard.
Solid Waste Management: Properly dispose of smelting slag, electrolysis anode sludge (containing precious metals,
which is an important recycling resource), dust collection, etc.. Those containing hazardous substances must be
disposed of safely or utilized in a resourceful manner in accordance with regulations.
Compliant operation: The entire recycling process must comply with national and local environmental regulations,
hold relevant licenses and be subject to supervision.
How can households help with copper recycling?
Accumulate and sort: Collect old wires, broken electrical plugs, discarded faucets, copper decorations, etc.
separately to avoid mixing them with household waste.
Safe Disposal: Never burn your own wires! This produces highly toxic substances. Simply cut off the copper-containing parts.
Drop-off: Support green recycling by taking sorted copper waste to regular community recycling points, scrap
yards or large-scale recycling markets.
Conclusion
Recycling copper is much more than a business, it is a resource revolution for the future of our planet. Every careful
sorting and scientific regeneration of waste copper is a solid step towards sustainable development. This "inexhaustible
mine" hidden in the corners of the city is waiting for us to explore together. Join the copper recycling campaign! Let the
valuable copper resources in our wisdom and responsibility, endless, everlasting shine!