Secondary Raw Materials & Recycling

Comminution, sample preparation and analysis at the LITech Test Center

Secondary raw materials are generated from industrial residues, production waste, end-of-life equipment, scrap metal, slag, or complex recycling streams. They are a key component of the circular economy because valuable metals, mineral phases, and other usable components can be recovered and reintroduced into industrial processes.

The LITech test center focuses particularly on the comminution, homogenization, and analytical sample preparation of such heterogeneous materials. Especially with electronic waste, slag, or metal-containing composites, proper processing determines the quality of the analysis and the reliability of subsequent recycling and recovery processes.

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What are secondary raw materials?

Secondary raw materials are recovered materials that originate from waste, by-products, or residues and can be reused as raw materials after suitable processing. Typical examples include:

Electronic waste containing copper, gold, aluminum and other valuable metals
Metal-containing production residues and scrap
Slag from metallurgical processes
mixed mineral-metallic recycling fractions

Compared to primary raw materials, secondary raw materials are often significantly more heterogeneous. Therefore, reproducible comminution, clean fractionation, and representative sampling are particularly important.

Classification of secondary raw materials

Secondary raw materials can typically be categorized in the test center according to origin, composition and processing goal:

Metallic secondary raw materials

Scrap, stamping residues, chips and alloy residues
Fractions containing iron, copper, aluminum, nickel or precious metals
high value with simultaneously highly variable grain and substance distribution

Complex recycling streams

Electronic waste, circuit boards, cables and composite materials
Mixtures of metals, plastics, ceramics and glass
require multi-stage comminution and targeted homogenization

Mineral-metallic residues

Slag, ash, metallurgical residues
Application areas range from raw material recovery to construction material application
often relevant for elemental analysis, particle size distribution and release behavior

Features and challenges in focus

The following material properties are particularly relevant for the processing of secondary raw materials:

Structural properties

heterogeneous composition
fluctuating grain sizes and material densities
Composite structures made of metal, plastic, ceramic or glass

Processing-relevant properties

Hardness differences within the same sample
ductile or brittle fracture behavior
adhering fine particles, dust formation and possible tendency to smear

Analytical requirements

representative subsamples despite inhomogeneity
defined target particle size for XRF, ICP or other laboratory procedures
Sample preparation with minimal loss and reproducibility

Especially with recycled materials, shredding is not just a mechanical step, but the basis for reliable analytical data and a dependable process evaluation.

Importance for industry and the circular economy

Secondary raw materials are gaining importance worldwide because they:

Keep valuable metals and raw materials in circulation
can reduce dependence on primary raw materials
make an important contribution to resource efficiency and security of supply
relevant for numerous industries from metallurgy to electronics

Electronic waste, in particular, is considered a resource-rich "urban mine," while scrap metal and slag play a central role in metallurgy, the construction materials industry, and recycling processes. For all these material flows, clean and reproducible laboratory preparation beforehand is crucial.

Examples from the LITech test center

Electronic waste

Safely shredding, classifying and preparing electronic waste and printed circuit boards for recycling: process, material data, parameters, machine recommendations and FAQs for WEEE recycling.

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Polystyrene

Efficient polystyrene recycling: Shredding PS, HIPS or EPS into defined granules using a cutting mill. Process, parameters, machines and FAQs at a glance.

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Coin destruction

Securely invalidating coins and tokens and preparing them for recycling: process, material data, parameters, machines and metal recovery for industry and material cycles.

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Black mass

Targeted processing of black mass from lithium-ion batteries: Flotation, magnetic-assisted flotation, process steps, parameters, machine recommendations and FAQs for graphite and CAM separation.

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Battery recycling

Pretreatment and shredding of used batteries to obtain a concentrated mixture of metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese.

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Titanium slag

Efficiently crushing titanium slag: material data, process, machines and parameters for laboratory, recycling and industrial applications.

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Catalyst

Catalyst recycling for platinum, palladium and rhodium: comminution of ceramic or metallic monoliths, defined final fineness, homogenization and sample preparation for refining.

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clay tiles

Efficiently crushing clay bricks: process, material data, target particle sizes, machine recommendations and recycling applications for laboratory, technology and industry.

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Challenges in comminution

Secondary raw materials place special demands on sample preparation and machine selection at the LITech test center:

Highly inhomogeneous composition makes representative subsamples difficult
Hard and soft components behave differently when broken.
Ductile metal components can lubricate, brittle phases produce fine particles.
Dust behavior, contamination, and tool wear must be taken into account.

Depending on the material flow, a multi-stage process chain may be useful, for example pre-crushing, fine grinding and subsequent homogenization for further analytical processing.

Technical questions about secondary raw materials & recycling

Use LITech AI for targeted questions about electronic waste, slag, metal-containing residues, target particle sizes, machine selection, dust behavior, homogenization and analytical sample preparation in the LITech Test Center.

Frequently Asked Questions about Secondary Raw Materials & Recycling

Secondary raw materials are recovered materials from waste, residues, or by-products that can be reused as raw materials after appropriate processing. Examples include electronic waste, metal-containing residues, scrap metal, and slag.

Comminution is the basis for reproducible sample preparation. It improves homogeneity, facilitates the exposure of valuable phases, and creates defined starting conditions for analyses such as XRF or ICP.

Electronic waste is a highly heterogeneous material stream containing metals, plastics, ceramics, and glass. Varying hardness, the ductile behavior of individual metal components, and the potential for dust generation make the selection of the appropriate shredding technology particularly important.

Slags are significant secondary material streams from metallurgical processes. Depending on their composition, they can be relevant for metal recovery, as raw materials in further processes, or as materials for construction applications. A reliable assessment requires careful sample preparation.

Elemental analytical methods such as XRF and ICP particularly benefit from a defined target particle size, good homogenization, and reproducible partial sampling. The more heterogeneous the sample stream, the more important mechanical preparation in the test center becomes.

Ing. Klaus Ebenauer

info@litechgmbh.com
+43 1 99 717 55

Secondary Raw Materials & Recycling

Comminution, sample preparation and analysis at the LITech Test Center

What are secondary raw materials?