Green Practices

At CANEX Aluminum, we prioritize sustainability through our upcycling initiatives. We efficiently manage aluminum scrap by upcycling it into valuable die casting products. Through advanced techniques, collected scrap is meticulously sorted, processed, and transformed into high-quality aluminum products. This practice not only reduces waste but also conserves natural resources and minimizes environmental impact. By integrating upcycling into our operations, we uphold our commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices, ensuring that every resource is utilized responsibly and efficiently.

Why Upcycling?

Upcycling involves transforming waste materials into new, high-value products rather than simply recycling them into lower-quality materials. At CANEX Aluminum, upcycling is central to our sustainability efforts. Unlike traditional recycling, which often results in diminished material quality and increased energy consumption, upcycling allows us to maintain the superior properties of aluminum while minimizing waste and reducing environmental impact. Our upcycling process enhances the value of scrap aluminum by turning it into premium-grade products, preserving its quality and performance.

How We Implement Upcycling

Our process begins with the precise extrusion of aluminum, during which we generate scrap. Instead of discarding this scrap, we upcycle it by using it as raw material for our die casting operations. We employ advanced techniques like molten salt electrolysis to purify and reuse this scrap, ensuring that it meets the highest standards of quality and efficiency. By adopting state-of-the-art technology and rigorous processes, we ensure that every upcycled product is as sophisticated and high-quality as our new aluminum creations.

Why Upcycling is Better than Recycling?

Upcycling is superior to conventional recycling in several ways. Traditional recycling often leads to a decrease in material quality and requires additional energy to process. In contrast, upcycling maintains or even enhances the quality of the material, reducing energy consumption and conserving resources. By integrating scrap aluminum into our production cycle through advanced techniques such as molten salt electrolysis, we produce high-quality, custom-made products that retain the material's original integrity. This process minimizes waste, lowers environmental impact, and avoids the degradation of material properties that typically occurs with traditional recycling methods. Upcycling not only supports sustainability but also ensures that every piece of aluminum contributes to the creation of sophisticated and premium products.

For more information and research on upcycling, please visit the following links:

• Upcycling - Read Here

• Upcycling vs. Recycling - Read Here

• State-of-the-Art Upcycling Research and Practice - Read Here

Upcycling is a crucial step in our commitment to sustainability, setting the stage for our broader efforts towards decarbonization and reducing our overall environmental footprint.

As energy efficiency is paramount at CANEX Aluminum, we are committed to saving energy at every step of our production process. We cure the paint on aluminum products using advanced powder-coating ovens, which rapidly raise the powder coating temperature in a short amount of time compared to traditional convection ovens. We also employ energy-efficient furnaces to heat aluminum billets, which have been proven to save significantly more energy than traditional furnaces. In addition, we use state-of-the-art pumps and inverters to optimize our energy consumption and improve operational efficiency.

Aluminum itself offers inherent advantages over other materials in terms of energy efficiency throughout its lifecycle: it is lightweight, strong, and can be infinitely recycled using minimal energy.

In our plant, we use LED lights, which provide the most efficient illumination and lighting. LEDs are estimated to be 80-90% more energy-efficient compared to conventional lighting.

Furthermore, we installed a new solar power energy station, which aims to increase our reliance on renewable solar energy, thus reducing our dependence on solar fuel.

Aluminum finishing processes involve several physical and chemical treatments that produce wastewater. This wastewater is treated using advanced water treatment systems. To minimize our environmental impact, we have invested in a wastewater treatment plant that converts wastewater into reusable effluent for industrial purposes. Reducing waste is a top priority on CANEX Aluminum’s agenda, and we are continually working to improve in this area.

In its endeavor to reduce its environmental impact, CANEX Aluminum follows a chrome-free aluminum pre-treatment process that is environmentally harmless. Conversion coatings containing chrome have been used for a long time as an effective means to treat aluminum surfaces. However, due to the human and environmental toxicity of chrome, alternative chrome-free technologies have been developed.