1 Aluminum cans are first divided from municipal waste, usually through an eddy current separator, and cut into equally sized pieces to make it easier for the machines that separate them.

2 Pieces are cleaned chemically/mechanically and blocked to minimize oxidation losses when melted.

3 Blocks are loaded into the furnace and heated to 750 °C to produce melted aluminum.

4 Doss is removed, and the dissolved hydrogen is degassed. This is typically done with chlorine and nitrogen gas. Hexachloroethane tablets are normally used as the source for chlorine. Ammonium perchlorate can also be used, as it composed mainly of chlorine, nitrogen, and oxygen when heated.

5 Samples are taken for spectroscopic analysis. Depending on the final product, high purity aluminum, copper, zinc, manganese, silicon and/or magnesium is added to alter the melted composition to the proper alloy specification.

6 The furnace is tapped, the melted aluminum poured out, and the process is repeated again for next batch. Depending on the end product, it may be cast into ingots, billets or roads, formed into large slabs for rolling, atomized into powder, sent to an extruder or transported in its melted state to the manufacturing facility for further processing.