India's aluminium recycling sector has matured significantly over the past decade. Secondary aluminium, produced by remelting and refining scrap, now accounts for a growing share of the country's total aluminium consumption.
Recycling aluminium requires up to 95 per cent less energy than smelting primary metal from bauxite, and that energy advantage flows directly into pricing: secondary alloy ingots are consistently priced below equivalent primary material, often by a meaningful margin, without compromising performance for most industrial applications.
The Indian market has a wide spread of recycled-aluminium suppliers, from fully integrated, ISO-certified recyclers operating multi-location facilities and supplying global customers, to informal remelters working from single furnaces without process controls or consistent scrap sourcing. The material coming off both looks like an ingot.
Understanding secondary aluminium starts with one question: what scrap is going into the furnace. The grade and mix of scrap determine the alloy chemistry, impurity levels and, ultimately, how reliably that ingot will perform in casting, extrusion or rolling.
Scrap grades and their impact on output quality
Secondary aluminium is not a single material. It spans a range of alloy grades and quality levels, depending on the scrap input used and the refining process applied. In India's secondary-aluminium market, four broad scrap categories dominate: UBC, Taint Tabor, Tense/Twitch and mixed Zorba. Each has distinct characteristics and typical end uses.
UBC scrap (Used Beverage Cans)
UBC scrap consists of sorted, post-consumer beverage cans with a highly uniform 3000/5000-series alloy composition. That consistent input chemistry makes for predictable, low-contamination output and enables stable secondary-alloy production.
In India, UBC-based secondary aluminium is widely used for can-to-can recycling, sheet-ingot production for packaging and general rolling, and as feed for certain automotive casting alloys. Because UBC commands a premium as scrap, recyclers using a high share of UBC tend to produce more consistent alloy chemistry, which is valued by can-stock converters, packaging converters and quality-sensitive casters.
Taint Tabor (clean sheet scrap)
Taint Tabor is clean, unpainted or lightly painted aluminium sheet scrap, typically from old siding, signage, cladding and other flat products. It has relatively low iron content and cleaner chemistry than mixed scrap.
Indian foundries and rolling mills use Taint Tabor to produce sheet ingot for packaging, construction panels and roofing, as well as general-purpose casting alloys. The grade is also used in higher-purity applications such as electrical conductors, food-contact equipment and certain automotive and aerospace components where tighter chemistry control is required.
Tense / Tale (cast aluminium scrap)
Tense and Tale refer to cast aluminium scrap, often from automotive parts such as engine blocks, transmission housings, wheels and other die-cast components. These grades have higher silicon content, which suits die-casting alloy production.
In India, Tense/Tale scrap is a key feedstock for LM series and ADC series die-casting alloys such as LM6, LM2/A380 and LM24, which are widely used for automotive components, electrical housings, pumps, valves and general engineering castings. Quality varies with contamination levels, so suppliers with better sorting and pre-processing can deliver more consistent chemistry for high-volume die-casters.
Mixed / Zorba (mixed non-ferrous scrap)
Zorba is mixed non-ferrous scrap after shredding, containing aluminium along with copper, brass, zinc, stainless steel and other metals. It requires more extensive sorting and refining, and output alloy chemistry is harder to control tightly.
Indian secondary smelters use Zorba as a broad feedstock for ingots and sows destined for construction, transport and packaging applications. Die-casting foundries also use cleaned fractions of Zorba, often blended with other scrap types, to produce automotive parts, engine components and transmission housings.
A recycler sourcing predominantly UBC and Taint Tabor scrap, especially through a controlled, certified procurement network, will consistently produce better-spec alloy than one working predominantly from unsorted Zorba.
Note: This article is published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel and AL Circle.
