What is Aluminum Twitch scrap?
Twitch is the ISRI designation for shredded aluminum fragments recovered from automobile shredder residue and white-goods shredding lines, then upgraded by sink-float (heavy-media) separation to remove heavy metals, glass and stone. The remaining aluminum-rich fraction typically runs 95–98% aluminum by weight, with the balance split between light plastics, small copper wire tails and residual zinc. Twitch is the natural upstream of Zorba (mixed non-ferrous shred) — once Zorba is density-sorted, the aluminum-rich fraction is Twitch. Buyers value Twitch because it delivers a consistent, high-recovery aluminum feed for secondary aluminum smelters and die-casting alloy producers without the alloy sorting overhead of clean UBC or extrusion.
ISRI Twitch specification (buyer contract language)
Our Twitch ships to written ISRI Twitch specification: minimum 95% aluminum by weight, particle size 20–100 mm typical, sink-float density-sorted at ≥ 2.0 SG cut. Contaminants capped at: ≤ 2% zinc, ≤ 1% copper, ≤ 1% iron (magnetic), ≤ 1% organics (rubber/plastic/paper), ≤ 1% free moisture. Free of steel weights, foundry sand, lead, brass fittings, and radioactive material. Every container ships against a spec sheet countersigned by the buyer, with XRF chemistry summary from a representative bulk sample.
Applications: which buyers use Twitch?
Twitch is a workhorse feedstock for three industries. Secondary aluminum smelters use it to produce ADC12 and LM6 die-casting ingots because the chemistry averages out predictably across a rotary furnace charge. Deox-ingot makers press Twitch into notched bars for the steel industry, where the aluminum-silicon mix acts as a deoxidiser in ladle metallurgy. Master-alloy producers blend Twitch with clean pure aluminum to hit target Al-Si compositions cheaply. Buyers who require a specific alloy (6063, 6061, A356) source clean segregated scrap instead — Twitch is chosen for cost per recovered kilo, not chemistry precision.
How Twitch is produced at European shredder plants
The processing chain is: end-of-life vehicle or white-good enters the shredder → ferrous fraction extracted by overband magnet → non-ferrous fraction lifted by eddy-current separator (this is Zorba) → Zorba fed to a sink-float plant where a heavy medium (ferrosilicon slurry at 2.0 SG) floats the aluminum and sinks copper, brass, zinc and stainless. The floated aluminum stream, dried and sometimes air-classified, is Twitch. Our European supply chain sources Twitch directly from licensed shredder operators in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium — never from unlicensed informal shredders — so origin documentation satisfies EU waste-shipment law and destination-country import regimes.
Container loading and shipping specs
Twitch loads loose into 20GP containers at 22–24 MT net (density ~1.0 t/m³ after light compaction). Containers are floor-lined with PP fabric to prevent fine loss, filled by conveyor or wheel loader, weighed on our calibrated 60-tonne weighbridge, and photographed in sequence. High-security bolt seals are applied with the seal number printed on the packing list and bill of lading. Weekly direct sailings from Rotterdam reach Nhava Sheva in 18–22 days, Port Klang in 24–28 days, Ho Chi Minh in 26–30 days, Mersin in 14–18 days and Jebel Ali in 20–24 days.
Quality control and third-party inspection
Inbound Twitch is sampled at the gate (composite 30 kg per truck), XRF-tested for aluminum content and heavy-metal contamination, and moisture-checked. Rejected lots are returned to the shredder operator at their cost. Accepted lots are lot-numbered and photographed. Every export container can be inspected by SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek or CCIC at the loading yard — the inspector observes stuffing, draws representative samples, verifies seals and issues the inspection certificate before bill-of-lading release. Buyers in India (BIS), China (CCIC) and Turkey (TSE) receive the destination-country mandated certificate before vessel departure.
LME-linked pricing for Twitch
Twitch is quoted as a discount to the LME Aluminium High Grade (P1020A) cash settlement. A typical 2026 trading band is 70–78% of LME CIF Nhava Sheva — wider than clean UBC (78–84%) and clean 6063 (88–93%) because recovery yield is lower and chemistry variability is higher. Every quotation shows the exact LME date used, the discount applied, and the resulting USD per metric tonne. Spot RFQs receive a written CIF or FOB quote within 24 hours, valid 48 hours subject to LME.
Documentation and export compliance
Every Twitch shipment includes commercial invoice, packing list, weighbridge tickets, container-interior photographs, bill of lading, EUR.1 (where applicable), and the EU Annex VII waste-shipment movement document required under Regulation (EC) 1013/2006 for non-OECD destinations. India-bound shipments carry BIS-1; China-bound carry CCIC; Bangladesh accepts SGS/BV pre-shipment certificate. We are Basel Convention compliant and do not export to countries that have notified an import ban on aluminum shredder fractions.