Researchers at the University of Toronto have just made a huge breakthrough: creating a whole new kind of electrochemical cell that can help recycle scrap into high-grade steel, ScienceBlog.com reports.
Recycling is a key part of modern industry, providing more affordable raw materials while avoiding the environmental damage and pollution that comes from mining for raw resources. Unfortunately, some materials are easier to recycle than others.
Aluminum is one of the most recyclable materials we use today. According to the Aluminum Association, all your old cans can be melted down and the material reused to make the same products "virtually infinitely."
Steel, on the other hand, is a problem. To make high-grade steel, the scrap metal must contain very little impurities, ScienceBlog.com explains. But scrap that comes in to be melted down is often mixed in with other components like copper. When it's all melted down together, the metal is only good for making low-grade steel, such as support beams for construction.
But researchers have found an answer.
Gisele Azimi, the Canada Research Chair in Urban Mining Innovations, and Ph.D. candidate Jaesuk "Jay" Paeng have co-authored a paper presenting a new electrochemical cell.
Using slag — a material made up of impurities discarded during the steel manufacturing process — they've created a new type of electrolyte for a device similar to a battery. Putting an impure steel and copper mixture into the cell and running electricity through it, in the presence of the new electrolyte, removes the copper and generates pure iron, the base material for steel.
"Our study is the first reported instance of electrochemically removing copper from steel and reducing impurities to below alloy level," said Azimi, per ScienceBlog.com. "Our method has great potential to offer the steelmaking industry a practical and easily implementable way to recycle steel to produce more of the demand for high-grade steel globally."
That's a big deal, because manufacturing steel is a seriously polluting activity. According to ScienceBlog.com, for every metric ton (around 2,200 pounds) of steel manufactured, almost 2 metric tons (around 4,400 pounds) of carbon pollution is released into the atmosphere.
A better recycling method could reduce that amount, as well as bring down the price of steel for everyone.
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