Aluminum is infinitely recyclable, in fact 75% of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today.
After used beverage cans (UBCs) are collected, they are crushed and flattened into bales. The bales get crushed into smaller pieces. The prepared scrap aluminum is then sent to a delacquering furnace where organic contaminants and particulates are removed. The impurities in the scrap are vaporized as the metal is heated and flash off as dust. The molten metal is cast into ingots and then hot and cold rolled into coils of sheet. These coils of sheet are then turned into new aluminum cans.
Now what does the recycling process have to do with gas detection and solvent vapor monitoring?
Plastic bottles with solvent based labels and other materials are recycled and can make their way into the aluminum scrap supply chain. As the scrap material is heated, the non‐aluminum material causes an increase in the %LFL (lower flammable limit) concentration in the furnace atmosphere. As more material is added, the opportunity for the %LFL concentration to reach dangerous levels increases. When this happens it is important to have the proper monitoring equipment installed to keep your employees and facility safe. One that is accurate, failsafe, and can react quickly to prevent explosion.
Take a look at how one of our customers installed the PrevEx Flammability Analyzer to meet the demads of this application.
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