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Resource Recovery and Recycling from Waste Metal Dust (II): Waste Copper Dust

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Resource Recovery and Recycling from Waste Metal Dust

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Abstract

It has been suggested that South Africa (SA) prioritizes copper recycling in order to ensure that there is an adequate supply as the country’s economy becomes more energy-efficient and less dependent on fossil fuels. Based on this school of thought, this chapter discussed, among other things, the resource recovery and recycling from waste copper dust (WCD). One thing that was noticed is that SA WCD has a different chemical composition (CC) than WCD from other regions of the world. Due to the extremely low concentrations of hazardous compounds like As, Pb, and other substances, the CC of the WCD from SA complies with EU requirements for disposal in landfills. Although returning this WCD to the furnace might not be an economically viable alternative because of its fine size (5–50 μm), which harms the furnace’s refractory bricks, doing so will also result in loss of Cu value. Thus, six (6) unique proposals for resource recovery and recycling from WCD were listed in this chapter to transform this WCD into usable materials. These proposals have been published in their entirety in a number of literary works. The adoption of the ideas in these proposals is anticipated to help reduce adverse environmental consequences while also closing the copper loop (zero-waste production).

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Acknowledgments

The author wishes to express his gratitude to Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa, for allowing use of facilities.

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  1. Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa

    Daniel Ogochukwu Okanigbe

  2. Pantheon Virtual Engineering Solutions, Nigel, South Africa

    Daniel Ogochukwu Okanigbe

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  1. Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built EnvironmentTshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa

    Daniel Ogochukwu Okanigbe

  2. Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa

    Abimbola Patricia Popoola

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Okanigbe, D.O. (2023). Resource Recovery and Recycling from Waste Metal Dust (II): Waste Copper Dust. In: Ogochukwu Okanigbe, D., Popoola, A.P. (eds) Resource Recovery and Recycling from Waste Metal Dust. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22492-8_2

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