New facility allows for in-house testing for lead acid and lithium-ion battery recycling processes.

London-based Technology Minerals Plc says it has opened its first laboratory suite at its new battery processing facility in Wolverhampton, U.K., that will enable Recyclus Group Ltd., a 49 percent Technology Minerals-owned company, to test lead acid and lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery recycling processes in-house. 

The testing facility features an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) unit used for measuring the elemental composition of the various battery products, which is important for examining the lead content of the lead oxide paste and the levels of sulphur. It also houses a gas chromatograph with an auto sampler that, when used in conjunction with wet chemical analysis, is crucial in establishing lithium levels and monitoring the in-process products to avoid any potential contamination, the company says. The facility also has fire-safe, lockable cabinets for housing all the essential analytical chemicals used in the monitoring of the lead and lithium recycling processes.

Robin Brundle, chairman of Technology Minerals, says the opening of the lab corresponds with the company’s strategy and development program for commissioning the first of its lithium-ion plants. “It is another step towards our goal to significantly increase our recycling capacity in 2022 for lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries and ultimately help enhance the U.K.’s capabilities for battery recycling.”

Ineos will participate in two-year project that will inform the building of a demonstration plant to produce 10,000 metric tons of food-grade recycled PP annually.

Ineos Olefins & Polymers says it has joined the NextLoopp project, which is collaborating to create circular food-grade recycled polypropylene (PP) from postconsumer packaging in the U.K.

Ineos will participate in a two-year project that will inform the building of a demonstration plant in the U.K. that will produce 10,000 metric tons of food-grade recycled PP annually.

NextLoopp was formed in 2021 by Nextek Ltd., a London-based firm that provides expertise in the design, optimization, processing and recycling of plastics. The global multipartipant project made up of organizations from the PP supply chain is designed to address PP recycling by using commercially proven technologies that include markers to separate food-grade PP and decontamination to ensure compliance with food-grade standards in the EU and the USA.

Ineos has a manufacturing base in Grangemouth, Scotland, and product and technical expertise across its European operations. The company will help tailor food-grade recycled PP to converter specifications by blending the material with virgin PP. It also will introduce processing aids to help converters to meet the exacting requirements of brand owners, according to a news release about the initiative issued by Ineos.

The project seeks to validate the food-grade recycled PP manufacturing process and its commercial viability, with the aim of receiving acceptance from the U.K.’s Food Standard Agency (FSA) and European equivalent (EFSA).

Graham MacLennan, polymer business manager Ineos O&P UK, says, “Polypropylene is one of the most versatile plastics in the world—it is also missing from our recycling streams in food-contact applications. In the U.K. alone, we use over 210,000 [metric tons] of PP in our food packaging every year. It is found in pots, tubs and trays. However, the absence of food-grade recycled polypropylene means that all PP food packaging is currently made from virgin plastics. This isn’t unique to the U.K. but a large global issue that Ineos and its partners are determined to change.”

Professor Edward Kosior, founder and CEO of Nextek Ltd. and NextLoopp, says, “We are delighted to welcome the participation of Ineos in helping recycle PP food packaging. Ineos’ commitment to reducing the world’s reliance on virgin plastics and closing the loop on such a prolific polymer as food-grade PP will help create a more circular economy, reduce CO2 emissions and create new materials for brand owners.”

Kosior adds, “NextLoopp looks forward to achieving the goal of creating a long-term solution for PP packaging, enabling all stakeholders to confidently participate in recycling and contributing to a better outcome for all.”

Scrap processing and steelmaking firm grows its revenue by more than 60 percent from one year ago.

Portland, Oregon-based Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. has announced results for its fiscal year 2022 first quarter, reporting robust revenue and profit figures. The company’s fiscal 2022 first quarter ended Nov. 30, 2021.

The scrap processing company, which also operates an electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mill in Portland, saw its revenue grow by some 62 percent compared with one year ago, rising from $492 million in the quarter ending Nov. 30, 2020, to $798 million in the recently completed quarter.

Schnitzer’s net income more than tripled—from $15 million in the first quarter of its 2021 fiscal year to $47 million in the quarter that ended late last year.

The company says its first-quarter performance “benefited from the strong global demand for recycled metals and a robust West Coast market for finished steel products.” Continues the firm, “The results reflected average selling prices at or near multi-year highs for ferrous, nonferrous and finished steel products [and] benefits from higher year-over-year ferrous and nonferrous sales volumes.”

Comments Tamara Lundgren, chair and CEO of Schnitzer, “Our results this quarter are our company’s best first-quarter earnings on record. Our strategic initiatives related to volume growth and productivity contributed to our expanded profitability, with higher ferrous and nonferrous sales volumes benefiting from our recent acquisition of the Columbus Recycling assets. We also benefited from positive market conditions supported by cyclical and structural trends, including the global focus on decarbonization and the increased use of recycled ferrous metals in steelmaking.”

In the company’s most recent quarter, Schnitzer says it handled nearly 1.15 million tons of ferrous scrap. That represents a 9 percent increase from the 1.05 million tons in the year-ago quarter. Its nonferrous scrap volume rose by nearly 11 percent, from 69,000 tons to 76,500 tons.

Average quarter-on-quarter scrap selling prices for the firm rose even higher. Ferrous scrap gained 66 percent in value (from $269 to $446 per ton). Nonferrous scrap sold at 64 percent higher on average, rising from 64 cents per pound in late 2020 to $1.05 one year later.

Aluminum producer points to high recycled-content can sheet mill as emissions-reduction friendly.

California-based Kaiser Aluminum has just released its 2020 sustainability report, which mentions its purchase of a smelter and rolling mill in near Evansville, Indiana, as a positive factor on its sustainability scorecard.

“Our Warrick rolling mill is one of only four dedicated rolling mills in North America for beverage and food packaging and is the first facility of its type in this market to achieve Aluminium Stewardship Initiative Performance Standard certification for responsible sourcing and stewardship of aluminum,” writes Kaiser president and CEO Keith A. Harvey.

In the section of the report on its Warrick mill-based packaging sector, Kaiser Aluminum writes in part, “Customers and their customers have established sustainability targets to increase the recycled content from the industry-leading 73 percent to ensure aluminum beverage cans and bottles remain the most sustainable packaging on the market.”

The company also portrays closed-loop aluminum scrap processes it is implanting in its aluminum facilities that supply the automotive industry. “Recycled aluminum and other metals make up more than half of all material used in our remelt/casting operations,” states Kaiser in that section.

Increased recycling has been part of a wider effort to reduce Kaiser’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 21 percent since 2010, the company adds.

Kaiser Aluminum completed the purchase of the Warrick facility from Alcoa in April 2021. Harvey said at that time, “The acquisition provides us with a strategic re-entry into the attractive aluminum packaging industry with excellent opportunities for further growth and significantly enhances, diversifies and reduces the cyclicality of our portfolio.”

First full week of January saw 82.3 percent mill capacity rate, AISI says.

Activity at steel mills in the United States perked up in the first full week of January, rising by 1.6 percent compared with the week that included the period between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

According to the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), in the week ending Jan. 8, raw steel production in the U.S. was 1.81 million tons while the capability utilization (mill capacity) rate was 82.3 percent.

That represented a 1.6 percent rise from the previous week, ending Jan. 1, when production was 1.79 million tons and the mill capacity rate was 80.9 percent.

Output in the first full week of 2022 also was higher by 4.4 percent from the 1.74  million tons produced by U.S. mills in the first full week of 2021. In that week ending Jan. 8, 2021, the mill capacity rate was just 76.6 percent.

Regionally, in the first full week of the new year, the most steel was made in the AISI’s Southern region, with 735,000 tons produced. Mills in the Great Lakes region produced 620,000 tons; in the Midwest region 200,000 tons were made; the AISI’s North East region produced 179,000 tons; and the Western region made just 79,000 tons of steel in the first week of the year.