Design and Construction from Local Materials of an Aluminum Recycling Foundry

In the low-carbon global aluminum cycle actual perspective, the need of remelting aluminum is in constant increase. The objective of this work was to build a portable aluminum foundry based on local materials. This foundry can be used to make small spare parts in complete safety and/or as practical melting equipment. The foundry is made up of a butane combustion Furnace and various tools for handling molten aluminum. The Furnace was manufactured by recycling a defective gas cylinder. After removing the top of the bottle, we lined the inside with a layer of local clay which serves as a 5-centimeter thermal insulator. The crucible was made by recycling a waste hermetic compressor, and the tools by recycling scrap metal. The tests carried out allowed to melt used cans and other parts of motorbikes and cars defective in aluminum. Liquid aluminum was cast to obtain cylindrical and prismatic blanks for machining, as well as other small mechanical parts. The cost of carrying out the project has been estimated at nearly 150,000 XAF.