As global manufacturing accelerates its transition toward decarbonization, lightweighting, and a circular economy, سعر خردة الألومنيوم is no longer just an “internal quote” within the recycling industry. It simultaneously affects manufacturing companies’ raw material costs, procurement strategies, and cross-regional trade decisions, and to some extent reflects the pace of changes in the primary aluminum market and downstream demand.
More importantly, aluminum has the characteristic of being repeatedly recyclable with extremely little performance degradation. More and more countries and enterprises are incorporating recycled aluminum into supply-chain targets (cost, carbon footprint, compliance), which has also made attention to aluminum scrap price continue to rise. This article will cover sources and grades, pricing logic, recycled end products, impurity control, industrial processing methods, and international price ranges to help you quickly build a complete understanding framework of the aluminum scrap market.
Sources and Industrial Attributes of Aluminum Scrap
Aluminum scrap is not a highly standardized commodity; it shows clear grade differences due to variations in source, alloy system, impurity level, and processing difficulty. Understanding “why scrap aluminum is graded” is the first step to understanding “why prices differ so much.”
From the perspective of industrial circulation, aluminum scrap is usually divided into two major categories: industrial scrap (New Scrap) و post-consumer scrap (Old Scrap).
Industrial scrap (New Scrap)
Industrial scrap comes from manufacturing processes, such as التصنيع الآلي باستخدام الحاسب الآلي chips, stamping offcuts, and extrusion leftovers. This type of scrap usually has the characteristics of more traceable composition and more controllable contamination, with a relatively shorter processing path and lower refining and sorting costs. Therefore, in the international market, New Scrap is often regarded as higher-quality recycling feedstock, and its pricing discount is usually smaller.
Post-consumer scrap (Old Scrap)
Post-consumer scrap has dispersed sources, including aluminum materials from building demolition, scrapped automotive parts, appliance housings, and doors and window profiles. Its common problems are widespread mixed materials and many non-metal impurities (paint, adhesive layers, plastics, rubber, etc.), requiring higher sorting, de-coating, and refining costs, and it is also more likely to incur recycling losses. Therefore, the aluminum scrap price of Old Scrap is often more volatile, with a more obvious discount space.
The Core Determination Mechanism of Aluminum Scrap Price
Aluminum scrap price is not simply priced by weight; it is the result of combining recoverable metal content, processing costs, recycling losses, and market supply and demand. Generally, it can be understood from four key factors:
- Primary aluminum price anchoring: Most aluminum scrap uses the primary aluminum price as a benchmark, then subtracts costs such as sorting, refining, losses, and logistics.
- Alloy and grade: The clearer the alloy system and the more stable the batch, the easier it is to enter high-value routes such as extrusion/rolling, and the higher the price.
- Contamination and losses: Oil, moisture, oxidation, and iron/copper impurities reduce metal recovery yield and increase processing costs, leading to discounts.
- Regional and policy differences: Differences in energy, environmental compliance, logistics radius, and import standards create price differences for the same type of aluminum scrap across different markets.
The Value of Aluminum Scrap Recycling
Resource Perspective
Recycling aluminum scrap reduces dependence on non-renewable resources such as bauxite, mitigates land degradation and ecological damage caused by mining activities, and improves the overall utilization efficiency of aluminum resources. In the long term, it helps alleviate pressure arising from resource constraints.
Economic Perspective
Compared with producing primary aluminum from ore, recycled aluminum involves a shorter production process and significantly lower energy consumption, resulting in substantially reduced overall costs. This gives aluminum scrap stable economic value in the market and provides manufacturing enterprises with stronger cost competitiveness.
Environmental Perspective
Aluminum can be recycled multiple times with minimal degradation in performance. Recycling significantly reduces energy consumption and carbon emissions, while also lowering slag generation and pollutant emissions during smelting. It is therefore a key pathway toward low-carbon manufacturing and sustainable development.
Industrial Perspective
Aluminum scrap recycling supports a complete industrial chain encompassing collection, secondary smelting, and downstream processing. Recycled aluminum is now widely used in automobiles, construction, and industrial equipment, promoting the development of a circular economy and providing the manufacturing sector with a stable and sustainable source of raw materials.
Is there a difference between recycled aluminum and aluminum produced from ore?
From a materials science perspective, the mechanical performance of aluminum is not determined by whether it is recycled, but by alloy composition, impurity control, microstructure, and processing methods. When composition control and processing conditions are the same, recycled aluminum and primary aluminum produced from ore can achieve essentially the same levels of strength, elongation, hardness, and fatigue performance; therefore, there is no inherent performance difference between the two.
Core factors determining mechanical performance
The mechanical properties of aluminum mainly depend on the alloy system (such as the proportions of Si, Mg, Cu, and Zn), whether impurity elements are properly controlled, the casting or deformation processing method, and subsequent heat treatment conditions (such as T4 or T6). As long as these key factors are consistent, the source of the material itself does not change its mechanical performance.
Is recycled aluminum inferior in performance?
If sorting and composition control are insufficient, recycled aluminum may show performance fluctuations. In addition, recycled aluminum is more commonly used in medium- and low-risk applications such as structural parts and housings, while high-end fields tend to favor primary aluminum, creating the impression that differences in application are differences in performance.
How can recycled aluminum achieve performance comparable to primary aluminum?
When recycled aluminum maintains stable alloy composition, impurities are controlled within standard limits, and the same processing and heat treatment routes as primary aluminum are applied, its key properties—such as tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, and fatigue performance—can match those of primary aluminum. In most industrial and CNC machining applications, the two are almost indistinguishable.
Application scenarios of recycled aluminum and primary aluminum
Applications of recycled aluminum：Recycled aluminum is widely used in automotive parts, industrial equipment housings, structural components, architectural profiles, and general CNC-machined parts. These applications focus more on overall performance, cost control, and supply stability, and with proper control of alloy composition and impurities, recycled aluminum can meet most industrial requirements.
Applications of primary aluminum：Primary aluminum is more commonly used in aerospace, high-safety structural components, and applications with extremely strict requirements for batch consistency, traceability, and certification. These fields usually require tighter material control and standardized systems, making primary aluminum the preferred choice.
Main Aluminum Alloy Systems Suitable for Recycled Aluminum
Al–Si System (Casting Aluminum Alloys)
The Al–Si system is the most mature and widely used alloy system for recycled aluminum, with relatively high tolerance to impurities. Common grades include ADC12, A380, AlSi9Cu3, and AlSi12. These alloys are mainly used for automotive housings, motor housings, and die-cast structural parts, and represent the highest proportion of recycled aluminum applications.
Al–Si–Mg System (Heat-Treatable Casting Alloys)
By adding Mg to the Al–Si system, strength and toughness can be improved through T6 heat treatment. Typical grades include A356, A357, and AlSi7Mg, which are widely used in automotive structural components and load-bearing castings. With proper impurity control, recycled aluminum can be used reliably in these alloys.
Al–Mg System (5xxx Series)
The 5xxx series is known for good corrosion resistance and formability. Common grades such as 5052, 5083, and 5754 are widely used in shipbuilding, chemical equipment, and automotive body parts. Industrial-grade products typically allow a controlled proportion of recycled aluminum under strict impurity control.
Al–Mg–Si System (6xxx Series)
إن 6xxx series is the main alloy system for architectural and industrial profiles, including 6061, 6063, and 6082. Although it requires higher composition consistency, recycled aluminum can be used stably within a mature recycling system. These alloys are commonly used for profiles, equipment supports, and CNC-machined parts.
Al–Cu System (2xxx Series)
The 2xxx series offers high strength but is sensitive to impurities. Typical grades include 2011 and 2024, and they are mainly used for high-strength mechanical components. Aerospace-grade applications usually require primary aluminum, while industrial-grade applications may use recycled aluminum in a controlled manner.
Al–Zn–Mg System (7xxx Series)
The 7xxx series consists of ultra-high-strength alloys such as 7003 and 7075, which require very strict control of composition and impurities. Recycled aluminum is mainly used in non-critical and non-safety-related structural components, and its application range is relatively limited.
What Industrial Products Can Aluminum Scrap Be Recycled Into?
Many people understand recycled aluminum as a “low-end substitute,” but in industrial systems, recycled aluminum has been widely used. The key lies in whether impurities can be controlled through sorting and refining, and whether the alloy composition can be stabilized, so that it has industrial attributes that are verifiable and can be supplied in batches.
Secondary Aluminum Ingots
Secondary aluminum ingots are one of the most common circulation forms, facilitating standardized trading, transportation, and inventory management, and also facilitating downstream batching and batch control. They usually serve as the basic raw material for processes such as casting, die casting, extrusion, and rolling, connecting the recycling end and the manufacturing end.
Aluminum alloy materials for die casting and casting
Automobiles, motorcycles, motor housings, pump bodies, and various housing structural parts use a large amount of recycled aluminum. For these applications, “whether it is primary” is not the only indicator; enterprises pay more attention to whether casting performance, dross and porosity control, strength, and consistency meet standards. As long as the quality control system is mature, recycled aluminum can fully meet the demand.
Re-extruded aluminum profiles and industrial structural parts
For high-quality, re-extrudable scrap (especially clean extrusion types), recycled aluminum can enter the profile route and be used for industrial equipment frames, building structures, door and window systems, photovoltaic brackets, etc. Because extrusion requires higher raw-material consistency, raw materials that can enter this route usually have stronger price support.
Aluminum plates/rods for CNC machining (with a recycled proportion)
On the premise that alloy composition is stable and impurities are controlled, recycled aluminum can also be used for semi-finished products such as aluminum plates and aluminum rods, and further enter CNC machining. For many non-aerospace-grade applications, recycled aluminum provides a better overall balance between performance and cost, while also reducing the carbon footprint related to the material.
How to Remove Impurities in the Aluminum Scrap Recycling Process?
To make aluminum scrap qualified as industrial raw material, it must go through a systematic purification process. Impurity control not only determines whether recycled aluminum can enter high-requirement process routes, but also directly affects recovery yield, stability, and final product consistency.
Multi-stage physical sorting: remove non-aluminum components as much as possible first
Use magnetic separation to remove iron and steel, use eddy-current separation to separate aluminum from other metals, and then cooperate with screening and particle-size grading to reduce losses caused by uneven processing; when conditions allow, density or optical sorting can also be used to further reduce the mixed-material ratio and reduce the burden of subsequent refining.
Cleaning and pre-treatment: remove oil, remove water, remove organics
For CNC chips/turnings, pre-treatment is especially valuable: degreasing can reduce smelting fumes and inclusions, and drying can reduce moisture to avoid smelting splash risks; removing organic materials such as coatings and adhesive layers helps reduce non-metal impurities and improve finished-product qualification rates and appearance stability.
Smelting refining and composition correction: make the material “stable”
In the smelting stage, dehydrogenation is often used to reduce porosity defects, dross removal and filtration are used to reduce oxide inclusions and impurity particles, and then alloy compensation is carried out according to the target grade (such as silicon, magnesium, and other elements), and batch control is used to ensure controllable performance fluctuations. Whether this step can be done well often determines whether recycled aluminum has industrial-grade usability.
Can Aluminum Scrap Be Used as Industrial Raw Material?
Recycled aluminum can not only be used as industrial raw material, but in many scenarios it is very “cost-effective.” A simple comparison makes it easy to understand: primary aluminum comes from bauxite and needs to go through alumina production and electrolytic smelting; the process is long, energy consumption is high, and the cost structure is heavier; whereas recycled aluminum is obtained by recycling existing aluminum materials, purifying, smelting, and adjusting composition for reuse, with a shorter overall process path and lower energy consumption. Also, because aluminum’s material properties determine that it can be recycled multiple times with very little performance degradation, recycled aluminum has long-term recycling value.
In practical applications, as long as impurity control, composition stability, and batch consistency are done well, recycled aluminum can fully and stably enter manufacturing links. Many international customers also no longer dwell on “whether it is primary,” but instead place more emphasis on traceability, verifiability, and stable delivery, which is more practical for industrial procurement.
Common applications include automotive and transportation (housings, brackets, structural parts), industrial equipment (housings and frames), construction and profile systems, some new-energy structural parts, and general CNC-machined parts. How far it can be used mainly depends on the target grade, impurity limits, and the performance and appearance requirements of the product.
Main Industrial Processing Methods of Recycled Aluminum
The value of recycled aluminum lies not only in recycling itself, but more in whether it can enter higher value-added processing routes. Different processing methods have different requirements for raw-material purity, composition stability, and defect control, and will in turn affect the price level and grading of upstream aluminum scrap.
1) Casting and Die Casting
Casting/die casting is one of the most common downstream destinations for recycled aluminum, suitable for complex shapes and mass production. The industry pays more attention to fluidity, dross/porosity control, and impurity limits, because these factors directly affect casting strength, surface quality, and scrap rate.
2) Extrusion
Extrusion is more “picky” about raw materials and requires higher alloy-system and batch consistency. Unstable raw materials can easily trigger surface defects, performance fluctuations, and die wear, so high-quality scrap that can enter the extrusion route (such as clean extrusion) often has better price support.
3) Rolling: sheet/strip/foil route
Rolling is used to produce semi-finished products such as aluminum sheet and aluminum strip, and it is more sensitive to inclusions, pinholes, and surface quality, so raw-material purification and batch control requirements are stricter. When controlled properly, recycled aluminum can provide a stable source for industrial sheet/strip; while packaging-grade applications usually have higher thresholds for impurities and surface defects.
4) CNC Machining
Recycled aluminum is usually first made into aluminum ingots, aluminum plates, or aluminum rods, and then enters CNC milling, turning, drilling, and tapping processes, for general industrial parts, automation equipment components, and structural parts. This route focuses more on material batch consistency and defect control (such as inclusions/hard spots, porosity, surface quality), because they directly affect machining stability, tool life, and the appearance consistency of subsequent anodizing/coating.
5) Forging
In scenarios with higher requirements for density and fatigue resistance, some recycled aluminum (after composition and microstructure control) can also enter forging processes. Forging can significantly improve microstructure and reliability, but it has stricter requirements for raw materials and heat-treatment systems, and belongs to a higher-threshold route.
6) Powder metallurgy and additive manufacturing (Powder / AM)
A small number of high-end applications will prepare aluminum materials into powder for powder metallurgy or additive manufacturing. This route has extremely high requirements for purity, particle-size distribution, and oxygen-content control, and is more suitable as a trend supplement direction to cover future process development and high-end application needs.
7) Remelting & alloying and customized grades (Remelting & Alloying)
Through alloy proportioning and refining control, recycled aluminum can be redefined as an engineering material that meets specific performance requirements, serving systems such as automotive casting alloys, industrial structural-part alloys, and general machining alloys, achieving an upgrade from “scrap” to “verifiable industrial raw material.”
International Market Aluminum Scrap Price Reference Range (USD)
Understanding international price ranges helps judge whether local quotes deviate from a reasonable level, and also facilitates benchmarking for exports or cross-regional procurement. The following are common trading ranges in the international market (they fluctuate with LME, regional supply and demand, batch size, specifications, and quality grades):
| النوع | Price Range (USD/MT) |
|---|---|
| Clean Aluminum Extrusion | $1,600 – $2,200 |
| Aluminum UBC (Used Beverage Cans) | $1,300 – $1,900 |
| Cast Aluminum Scrap | $1,100 – $1,600 |
| Aluminum Turnings | $800 – $1,300 |
| Mixed Aluminum Scrap | $700 – $1,100 |
| Secondary Aluminum Ingots | $1,900 – $2,400 |
From a regional perspective: North America and the EU often have higher compliance costs and standardization, so high-quality material is more likely to carry a premium; Southeast Asia and India are more price-sensitive and more volatile; the Middle East, due to energy structure and smelting cost advantages, may show different cost and pricing logic for certain categories.
الخاتمة
Overall, aluminum scrap price is a key supply-chain signal linking recycling, secondary smelting, and manufacturing: it moves with primary aluminum market conditions while also reflecting scrap usability, processing difficulty, and downstream demand. If you work in recycling, trade, or procurement, look beyond today’s quote by tracking changes in recovery yield and processing costs, shifts in demand across major routes (casting, extrusion, rolling, CNC), and potential supply disruptions from policy, logistics, or capacity—so you can connect price, grade, and end use to make more stable, accurate decisions.
