Environmental Beneficiation of Machining Wastes—Part I: Material Characterization of Machining Swarf

ABSTRACT

There are many industrial waste streams that currently are being deposited in landfills despite having the potential to be recycled and converted into useful products. A good example of this is automobile industry machining operations, which generate finely divided metal particles (“swarf”). Swarf has a very high iron content and great potential for re-use. However, it has a tendency to spontaneously oxidize, which leads to self-heating and obstructs recycling efforts. There is a need to limit the self-heating of swarf, but such control is difficult, because little information is available about the physical characteristics of swarf. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine the properties of swarf and to identify promising methods to prevent spontaneous heating. The properties examined were particle morphology, composition, size distribution, and surface properties.