Multiphase modelling of the continuous metallurgical purification process for impurity removing of recycled aluminum

Abstract

With the vigorous development of the electronics industry today, study on the recycling of electronic waste has become an important and urgent subject nowadays. However, more work should be done on purification of recycled metal, especially metallurgical approaches which are more environmentally friendly. This study proposed a continuous metallurgic purification method to remove impurities from recycled aluminum. Numerical study via multiphase modelling was conducted to evaluate and optimize the purification efficiency of this metallurgic method. Parametric study was carried to analyze the influence of mold temperature and casting speed on purification efficiency. The simulation results showed that the method has great potential for purification of recovered metals, refining the aluminum from 2 N to 3 N within three cycles. The formation mechanism of Si macrosegregation region in the outer region of the rod has been discussed in detail, which indicates the key factor of the melt flow at the solidification front. The problem of purification process purely via thermal-solutal flow was stated and traveling magnetic field was introduced to further increase the purification efficiency. In general, this work provides a verified promising continuous metallurgical purification method for impurities removal from recycled aluminum.

Keywords

• Solidification modelling
• Impurity
• Macrosegregation
• Recycled aluminum