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

Title: Reducing copper and tin impurities in ferrous scrap recovered from incinerated municipal refuse

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5270467

The purpose of this research was to develop a method to remove copper and tin from the magnetic fraction of incinerated municipal refuse, as recovered by the Bureau of Mines pilot plant in College Park, Md. Copper, present in the scrap in a metallic form bonded to ferrous objects, was amenable to leaching in cupric ammonium carbonate solution. Copper levels in small 5- to 10-pound lots of treated scrap were reduced from the initial level, 0.5 to 0.6 percent, to 0.1 to 0.2 percent. Larger lots of scrap (100 lb) were treated less effectively because of poor contact of solution and scrap. Oxidation in the air or in aerated aqueous solution was applied to liberate tin from the dilute solid solution present on the surface of incinerated tinplate. Shredding of air-oxidized scrap or caustic leaching of scrap oxidized in solution reduced tin levels from the initial 0.25-percent level to about 0.1 percent.

Research Organization:
Bureau of Mines, Washington, D.C. (USA)
OSTI ID:
5270467
Report Number(s):
BM-RI-7776
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English