Component Analysis of Defects in Secondary Special Brass Alloy

The direct smelting of scrap copper to produce high-quality brass alloy not only solves the problem of municipal solid waste, but also realizes the reuse of valuable metals and alleviates the problem of copper shortage. However, impurities are not easily controlled, and there are occasional defects in the surface of secondary brass products such as door handles and mechanical parts. In this paper, microstructure of the defective samples was studied with scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA). The investigation findings suggest that defects can be attributed to the formation of γ phase brass, the wrapped of refining agent or slag, and the unremoved of impurity elements.