New Ecological Cast Bronzes for Fittings Manufactured from Recycled Waste

Abstract

The article presents tests on a new lead-free bronze CuSn4Zn2PS, intended for fittings for contact with drinking water, in which the addition of lead was replaced with sulphur. The subject of the experimental work was the production of semi-finished products from this alloy based on the charge coming entirely from waste generated after machining. A specialized pilot line was used for the tests, and after cleaning, the waste was melted and then were continuously cast in the form of rods and hollow rods. The cleaning efficiency was assessed, and the manufactured semi-finished products were subjected to tests, including the assessment of the chemical and mechanical homogeneity and the structure of the test batch of the semi-finished casting products in terms of the possibility of manufacturing products meeting the requirements of technical specifications. The obtained results, both in terms of a stable chemical composition, homogeneous and reproducible mechanical properties, fully compliant with the specifications for fittings bronzes (CC499K), as well as the lack of faults of the obtained semi-finished products, despite a very large share of waste material, indicate the possibility of using the tested recycling method for the production of semi-products of sulphur bronze, which is an alloy that is relatively difficult to manufacture.

Keywords

• wastes
• recycling
• continuous casting
• free machining bronze
• lead free copper alloy