Can we turn aluminium chips into new products without melting them?
immc | Louvain-la-Neuve
It’s the Energy Transition Week at UCLouvain!
At iMMC, sustainability is not a slogan — it’s our daily scientific reality.
Every day this week, discover one of our researchers whose work drives real change toward a sustainable future.
Can we turn aluminium chips into new products without melting them?
Traditional aluminium recycling requires melting at temperatures around 700–900 °C, which generates a lot of CO₂ and consumes energy. Moreover, melting causes a 20% loss of material due to dross and oxidation, and it reduces the material quality.
To contribute to the ecological transition, we are developing a system able to recycle aluminium chips in solid-state thanks to friction — and directly build new parts, a kind of recycling 3D printer.
Inside the system, a rotating screw moves the chips along and presses them against the walls of a static housing. Pressure and friction heat and soften the metal, making it soft enough to bond.
Layer by layer, we build new parts — saving energy, reducing CO₂ emissions, and giving aluminium a second life.
This work is part of the RESSusCItAM project from WEL Research Institute, carried out within Prof. Aude Simar’s team. Learn more about the project here.
"The future of recycling isn’t warmer, it’s smarter."