Different grades and varieties of stainless steel scrap is used for recycling purposes and to recover pure metal from the scrap. Given in the table below are some of the important grades / types of stainless steel used in recycling.

Recycling of stainless steel requires sophisticated technology and specialized expertise to separate and prepare each type of alloy for remelting. A recycling processor feeds the scrap into a large size shredder to break it into small size pieces. The scrap is then analyzed chemically and stored by type. The recycling process may include – blending the scrap into nickel alloys, chrome steels and other types of stainless steels. After blending into piles for particular customer requirements the scrap is then loaded into boxes for export to overseas mills.

Stainless steel scrap along with other raw materials, such as ferrochromium (chrome/iron), nickel and ferro moly (molybdenum/iron) are blended into an electric furnace. After melting, the impurities are removed, the molten metal is refined and the chemistry is analyzed to ascertain what final adjustments are required for a particular type of stainless steel being manufactured. The molten metal is then casted into billets or slabs before final production of sheet, plate, coil, wire and other forms in formulation for use by industrial manufacturers.

Industrial manufacturers produce stainless steel items, which you see in your everyday products, including – cutlery, pots and pans, kitchen sinks and various industrial, architectural and other components. At every stage of the production and application process, the metal retains its basic characteristics and utility value. Unlike various industrial and engineering materials, stainless steel can be returned to its actual quality in the supply chain without any degradation.