Curiosity Question

How much energy does it take to make a new vs. a recycled aluminum can?

Answer

Estimate for one aluminum beverage can (ChatGPT)

  • A typical 12-oz (≈ 355 mL) aluminum can weighs about 14–15 grams.
  • Producing 1 kg of aluminum from ore requires roughly 15 kWh of electrical energy.
  • Therefore, producing 0.014 kg (14 g) of aluminum requires about:
    • 15 kWh × (0.014 kg / 1 kg) = 0.21 kWh (~ 720 kJ)
  • Making one can from virgin ore: ≈ 0.2 kWh of energy.
  • Recycling that same can uses about 5 % of the energy:
    • 5 % of 0.2 kWh = 0.01 kWh (~ 36 kJ)
  • So recycling one can requires roughly 0.01 kWh in ideal conditions.

“Aluminium recycling saves 95% of the energy needed for primary aluminium production - International Aluminium Institute”

This year Apple switched back to aluminum for the iPhone 17 after a short stint using titanium for it’s phones. So how does aluminum recycling compare to titanium recycling?

For titanium, the recycling rate and energy savings are much more modest, due to challenges such as contamination, alloying, oxidation, and difficulty in remelting or reprocessing titanium scrap to high-purity structural grade.