A major portion of copper end-use is pure copper. In comparison, iron and aluminium are predominantly used in their alloyed forms.
So, what is the percentage of pure copper in final use? The end-use dataset provides us a basis for an estimate. Out of the total 27.6 million tonnes of copper input into semis production, all lines represent pure copper with the exception of:
- Alloy tube - 0.3 million tonnes
- Alloy rods, bars and sections - 2.1 million tonnes
- Alloy plates, sheets and strips - 1.7 million tonnes
- Mechanical wire - 0.4 million tonnes
- Castings - 1.1 million tonnes
This yields 22.0 million tonnes of copper in its unalloyed form and 5.6 million tonnes of copper alloy products, representing respectively 80% and 20% of the copper market. In comparison, over 90% of all metals are used in the form of alloys - largely alloys of iron, aluminium, nickel or titanium.
In addition to the metal wheel and copper's by-products, copper's predominant use in its unalloyed form help to define its contribution to circularity.
Like other metals, copper recycling also has some key challenges that we'll develop elsewhere in this section.
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References
W. H. Dresher and D. R. Poirier, Metal Alloys and Mixtures: Definitions, Behaviour and Characteristics, ICME, 1997, page 1.
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Last update: March 3, 2022
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