Nickel-containing materials play a major role in our everyday lives – food preparation equipment, mobile phones, medical equipment, transport, buildings, power generation – the list is almost endless. They are selected because - compared with other materials - they offer better corrosion resistance, better toughness, better strength at high and low temperatures, and a range of special magnetic and electronic properties.
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Nickel use is growing at about 4% each year while use of nickel-containing stainless steel is growing at about 6%. The fastest growth today is seen in the newly and rapidly industrializing countries, especially in Asia. Nickel-containing materials are needed to modernize infrastructure, for industry and to meet the material aspirations of their populations.
Most important are alloys of iron, nickel and chromium, of which stainless steels (frequently 8-12% nickel) are the largest volume. Nickel based alloys - like stainless steel but with higher nickel contents - are used for more demanding applications such as gas turbines and some chemical plants. In addition, iron and nickel alloys are used in electronics and specialist engineering, while copper-nickel alloys are used for coinage and marine engineering. (http://www.nickelinstitute.org/NickelUseInSociety/AboutNickel/WhereWhyNickelIsUsed.aspx)
There are about 3000 nickel-containing alloys in everyday use. About 90% of all new nickel sold each year goes into alloys, two-thirds going into stainless steel. Nickel is a key ingredient in many catalysts used to make chemical reactions more efficient.
Most nickel-containing products have long useful lives. Average life is probably 25-35 years, with many applications lasting much longer. Nickel containing products frequently can provide optimum solutions to practical challenges at a lower total cost and with more efficient use of resources, including energy. Nickel is a key part of several rechargeable battery systems used in electronics, power tools, transport and emergency power supply. Most important today are nickel-metal hydride (NiMH).
At the end of their useful life, nickel-containing products can be collected and recycled for future use and re-use. Nickel is one of the most recycled materials globally. It is collected and recycled, mostly in the form of alloys. About half of the nickel content of a stainless steel product today will have come from recycled sources. For more information on nickel recycling go to Recycling. Nickel scrap is of considerable economic and strategic importance to many countries, as can be appreciated from the wide diversity of end-use industries which it serves. It is traded on the London Metal Exchange.
The International Nickel Study Group, based in Lisbon, Portugal, is an inter-governmental body which publishes monthly statistics on nickel supply and demand, and acts as a forum for the exchange of information and views on nickel trends.
In the nickel industry's view, significant risks are not normally associated with the use of nickel, nickel-containing alloys or nickel-containing products, with the exception of the use of nickel and some nickel alloys in jewellery.
Nickel use makes a very high practical contribution to improvements of health, safety and protection of the environment. Society will lose a lot more than it will gain if it adopts an excessively precautionary approach to the assessment and management of the risks associated with nickel.
When thinking of nickel scrap (Ni Scrap) and nickel alloy Scrap (Ni Alloy Scrap) many people don’t think of it past the American currency of a nickel. Nickel scrap and nickel alloy scrap plays a key role in chemical and aerospace industries and well as constituting a vital role in the making of stainless steel.
Along with iron and cobalt, nickel is known as ferro-magnetic. When combined with the other metals and scrap metals, nickel scrap and nickel alloy scrap produce an unusually strong magnet. Nickel scrap and nickel alloy scrap can also be combined with other metals to conduct heat and electricity. (http://www.monicoalloys.com/Nickel.html)
Close to 90,000 tons of nickel is recovered by recycling stainless steel and other nickel-iron alloys such as nickel scrap and nickel alloy scrap. Nickel scrap and nickel alloy scrap recycling at Monico Alloys plays a vital role in the recycling process of nickel since close to 40% of the nickel used each year is from recycled nickel scrap, nickel alloy scrap and scrap metal products.
Today there is a global trade in the buying and selling of high temperature scrap alloys in which Monico Alloys plays an active part. The forecasts are that the volume for both buyers and sellers will continue to increase, albeit, the global market price shows negligible oscillations.
Studying the various market prices in China, U.S.A & India, Iam very optimistic that nickel scrap market is having a great scope as it would be an uncompromising player to innovate & modernize infrastructure, industry and to meet the technological aspirations of the people.