What are Aerosols?
Aerosols (short for aero-solutions) are tiny solid or liquid particles typically below 1 µm diameter floating in air or gas. Larger particles make the mixture a suspension, but the distinction is not always obvious. Can sprays typically deliver aerosols such as consumer products, pesticides, medicines for respiratory illnesses, and combustion products.
Types of Aerosol Cans
Aerosol cans are packaged as:
1. Propellant type
2. Non Propellant type
Propellant type allows contact between the consumer product and the propellant and releases the propellant during use.
Consumer products and propellants are distinct in non-propellant packaging. Triggering the can releases only the consumer product. Aerosol cans are further classified based on their manufacturing material, either Steel or Aluminium. The article focuses on the recycling and disposal methods of aluminium cans commonly used for deodorants.
Components & Working of an Aerosol Can
Can, valve, and actuator or button are the three main components of a modern aerosol spray. The can is usually made of two or three metal pieces by various manufacturing processes. Internal can surface is lacquered with polymers to prevent the base metal from reacting with the product. Valve configuration, which is crimped to the inside of the can, determines the product spray rate. The user opens the valve by pressing the actuator, causing the spray to exit the nozzle. When the user releases the actuator, a spring closes the valve and stops the flow of pressurized aerosol. Shape and size of the nozzle in the actuator regulate size and spray distribution of aerosolized particles.
Knowledge of aerosol cans helps comprehend the actions involved in recycling them.
Sorting
Be it deodorant or beverage cans, they are sorted from other wastes. Initial sorting is manual, either by the consumer or labour. Automated sorting lines segregate plastics and glass using infrared sensors and air jets. Magnets often separate steel waste.
Sorting removes the crimp plate and spray valve. This also helps eliminate the remaining propellant gases and formulation. Empty aluminium cans are often the output of the sorting phase.
Washing
Washing the cans inside out in a container eliminates various residues and impurities.
They are usually compressed into huge bails after washing. Each bail weighs up to 1000kgs and may contain up to 65,000 aluminium cans.
Generally, these bails are shipped across the globe to different foundries and aluminium manufacturers.
Shredding
Raw aluminium manufacturers load the bails onto conveyors for shredding in 350 HP shredders.
Heating
Aluminium does not melt till 650deg C. Heating the shreds well below 500deg C instantly vapourizes paints, lacquers, or any other décor. Now we have clean aluminium shreds ready for the next stage i.e. melting.
Melting
Clean aluminium shreds are fed into furnaces at 600 to 700deg C. Approximately, each furnace melts about 100 tonnes of aluminium.
Liquid aluminium flows like a river in these channels. Moulds are located flat or below the level of furnaces.
Tilting the huge hold furnace pours the molten aluminium into the moulds. Upon cooling the mould for 2-3 hours, giant aluminium monoliths or ingots are formed. The size of ingots depends upon the foundry. Some are made up to 10m long and weigh up to 27tonnes. Such huge ingots consist of around 1.5 million recycled cans and are ready for various applications, including aerosol or beverage cans.
Slug Forming
Ingots are shipped to slug manufacturers, where they are heated and passed through rollers to form thinner slabs depending on the requirements. They are then punched to form slugs, which, in turn, are used for aerosol/beverage can manufacturing.
On an average, it takes 60 days for a can to transform from waste to packaging product.
Why Recycle?
It saves energy: Making aerosol and other cans from recycled aluminum require only 5% of the energy necessary to create a can from raw materials. Steel made from recycled cans utilizes a fraction of the energy used to steel cans from scratch.
It reduces greenhouse gas emissions: Recycling one ton of aluminum prevents the release of over 20 kilos of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
It conserves resources: Both steel and aluminum are non-renewable materials hus recycling cans allows these other resources water to be put to better use. Aluminum and steel may be recycled indefinitely without los quality.
It reduces waste going to the landfill: Recycling cans prevents them from going to the landfill unnecessarily.
Follow these simple steps to recycle your empty deodorant or aerosol cans:
- Use all the product inside the can. Recycling programs do not accept cans with even non-hazardous residues. To ensure the can is empty, spray until nothing comes out.
- DO NOT pierce the can to remove residual product. The can will explode and injure you. Also, avoid removing the spray nozzle from the can’s top.
- If the items are recyclable, detach any loose or easily removable parts (lid for example), and dispose of them with the remaining recycling material.
- Dispose the deodorant or aerosol canister in your recycling bin.
- Visit the Recycle Now website to check if your local government recycles aerosol cans.
Efficient Innovations comes armed with 5+ years of Can Management experience along with the 10+ in injection moulding. Go Green today and allow us to place our versatile knowhow at your fingertips! Get in touch with us at https://www.efficientinnovations.in/
– By Vasu Vara
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