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Energy used for recycling paper: roughly 1000 kWh/short ton (Wikipedia). Savings of about 60%. Energy used for recycling aluminum: 700 kWh/short ton. (Various
by morsch 14y ago
Energy used for recycling paper: roughly 1000 kWh/short ton (Wikipedia). Savings of about 60%.
Energy used for recycling aluminum: 700 kWh/short ton. (Various websites.) Savings of about 95%!
I knew aluminum recycling was crazy efficient compared to refining it in the first place, but I'm surprised it's the same or even cheaper per ton as paper.
- jlgreco 14y agoSidenote: Recycling aluminum really makes sense when you consider the energy you need to make it in the first place: "Large, modern cells operate with a specific energy consumption of 5.9 to 6.4 kWh/lb of aluminum. The energy required to produce aluminum from scrap metal is approximately 5% of that required for primary production" - http://www.eia.gov/emeu/mecs/iab/aluminum/page2e.html http://www.eia.gov/emeu/mecs/iab/aluminum/page2e.html The differential there is fascinating I think.