Dr. Mark Schlesinger, professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla, has authored a new book called “Aluminum Recycling.”

The book, published by CRC Press, is the first integrated treatment of the aluminum recycling process. Schlesinger details the collecting, sorting and separating of scrap aluminum as well as the processing and upgrading equipment used.

Schlesinger describes aluminum alloys, the various “mines” where aluminum scrap is found, and the procedures that separate scrap aluminum from other materials. Subsequent chapters survey the furnaces used for re-melting the recovered scrap and the refining techniques that improve its purity and quality. The book also discusses the economics of scrap recycling and outlines the structure of the recycling industry. The final chapter addresses unique environmental and safety challenges of recycling operations.

Dr. Greg Gelles, professor and chair of the economics department at UMR, contributed a chapter to “Aluminum Recycling” on recycling economics.

Schlesinger received a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from UMR in 1980. He later earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. He joined the UMR faculty in 1995.

At UMR, Schlesinger’s research interests include high-temperature thermochemistry and kinetics, thermal analysis, and pyrometallurgical process development.