Floated fragmentiser aluminium from shredded autos and appliances — dense and furnace-ready. Must be free of pressurised / airbag items.

ISRI Grade Name: Twitch

ISRI Description and Specification

Twitch is aluminium scrap recovered from automobile and appliance shredder residue through wet or dry media separation (float-sink or air-table separation), after magnetic removal of ferrous material and eddy-current separation of larger non-ferrous pieces. The resulting Twitch fraction consists predominantly of small aluminium pieces — fragments of auto body sheet, cast parts, interior fittings, and similar components — mixed with varying amounts of other shredder-derived material at low levels. The ISRI specification for Twitch sets strict limits on free zinc (from zinc-coated or die-cast components), magnesium (from structural automotive magnesium parts), and free iron remaining after magnetic separation. Critically, Twitch lots must be free of pressurised items — particularly airbag inflator canisters and other pyrotechnic devices — which pose serious explosion hazards in furnace charging.

Who Uses Twitch Scrap

Secondary aluminium smelters capable of handling mixed-alloy small-fragment scrap, with appropriate furnace technology (rotary tilting or reverberatory with flux management), are the primary consumers of Twitch. Twitch is lower in value than cleaner shredded grades (Zorba) due to higher residual contamination, but is produced in large volumes from shredder operations. In India, the growth of organised automotive shredding facilities — following the Vehicle Scrappage Policy (2021) and the network of Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs) being established under the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways — is expected to create significant domestic Twitch supply over the coming decade, potentially reducing import dependency for this grade.