This is correct for most uses however as I understand it aerospace applications always require virgin (ie not recycled) aluminum because during the recycling process a small amount of iron will contaminate it and because iron is soluble in melted aluminum is practically impossible to remove. This is not a problem for aluminum cans and most other uses but for aerospace applications that use very high-grade aluminum this is not acceptable.
Aluminum is one of the few things it is 100% unquestionably better to recycle.
nspitzer t1_j66ym3t wrote
Reply to comment by HockeyCookie in ELI5: Is aluminum common enough that it’s not a concern, or are we just really good at recycling it? by RestrictedCervical
This is correct for most uses however as I understand it aerospace applications always require virgin (ie not recycled) aluminum because during the recycling process a small amount of iron will contaminate it and because iron is soluble in melted aluminum is practically impossible to remove. This is not a problem for aluminum cans and most other uses but for aerospace applications that use very high-grade aluminum this is not acceptable.
Aluminum is one of the few things it is 100% unquestionably better to recycle.