Towards Formulation of AlSi10Mg Alloy from Incinerator Bottom Ash

In this work, we aim to formulate an AlSi10Mg alloy from aluminium recovered from IBA (Incinerator Bottom Ash) towards potential applications such as Additive Manufacturing and High-pressure Die Casting. To do this, we use arc melting as a fast material screening method and controlled melting technique for alloy production. The overall aim is to develop a scientific foundation and methodology for successful addition of metal waste in the AM and HPDC process, and to establish to which extent the arc melter could serve as a partial emulator in this context. IBA Al within the size fraction 10-15 mm is analysed in this work. The effect of arc melting on (un-alloyed) IBA Al and the resulting microstructure and chemical composition is investigated using SEM and EDS analyses. We find that the major impurity elements contained in IBA Al (10-15 mm) are Si, Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn, however, there are large compositional variations between individual particles. Additionally, IBA Al contains oxides and carbides which must be handled, as these may promote nucleation of defects such as cracks if not removed. We find that arc melting does not effectively remove oxides from IBA. Thus, an additional processing step using salt to separate out most of the oxides is necessary. Finally, we show initial microstructure analysis of produced AlSi10Mg from IBA Al. This work demonstrates the initial potential as well as challenges with our procedure for alloy formulation from IBA Al.