skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Automobile shredder residue: Treatment options

Journal Article · · Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Materials; (United States)
;  [1]
  1. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)

The single largest source of recycled ferrous scrap for the iron and steel industry is obsolete automobiles. The process of recovering reusable metals from obsolete automobiles leaves the automobile shredder operator with nonmetallic automobile shredder residue (ASR), termed fluff,' that must be disposed of. The disposal cost affects the viability of the automobile shredder industry and, in turn, the supply and price of high-quality scrap for the iron and steel industry. Rising disposal costs are further exacerbated in that the percentage of fluff that must be disposed of, compared with the percentage of marketable recovered metals, is increasing because of the increasing content of plastics in automobiles. Argonne National Laboratory, in cooperation with the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, is systematically assessing alternatives for recycling ASR. The objective is to reduce the escalating costs of metals recycling. In the absence of a commercially viable automobile shredder industry, the outcome would be increased environmental insult and a decreased supply of quality scrap, which would result in the production of finished metals from primary ores. This paper discusses the available technologies for the treatment of ASR.

DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
5289929
Journal Information:
Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Materials; (United States), Vol. 8:3; ISSN 0882-5696
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English