What Counts as Inconel Scrap, and Why Is It Sold Grade by Grade?
Inconel is a trade name, not a single chemistry. Nine grades on this site carry it, and a melt shop treats them as nine different raw materials. A useful way to hold the family in your head is to split it into four working groups. The heat and corrosion grades with no refractory additions: Inconel 600, Inconel 601 and Inconel 690, told apart mainly by chromium. The molybdenum-bearing solid-solution grades: Inconel 625 with niobium, and Inconel 617 with cobalt. The age-hardened wrought grades that carry real iron: Inconel 718 and its disc-forging cousin Inconel 706. And the cast superalloys: Inconel 713C and IN-939, which turn up as turbine wheels, vanes and foundry revert.
Those groups matter because the payable content moves a long way from one grade to the next. Inconel 600 is roughly three-quarters nickel with chromium and a little iron, and nothing else of note. Inconel 718 brings about 5% niobium but also around 18% iron. IN-939 carries 19% cobalt plus titanium, tantalum and tungsten. Put two of them in one bag and neither the 600 buyer nor the 718 buyer can use the lot as it stands.
The mixes that cause the most trouble are predictable. 625 and 718 look identical and often share a machine shop. Cast 713C or IN-939 revert dropped into wrought solids brings aluminium, titanium and cobalt that a wrought melt did not plan for. Inconel 690 tubing from nuclear service has its own paperwork and should never be pooled with anything. Material sold as "Inconel 825" or "Inconel 925" is actually Incoloy and belongs on the Incoloy scrap page.
Inconel is a registered trademark of the Special Metals group. On this site the name describes scrap of those alloys, whoever melted them.
Inconel Scrap Grades We Buy and Sell
Inconel Chemical Composition
| Grade | Ni | Fe | Cr | Co | Mo | Al | Nb | Ti | W | Ta | Mn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inconel 600 | 76 | 8 | 15.5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0.5 |
| Inconel 601 | 61.1 | 14 | 23 | – | – | 1.4 | – | – | – | – | 0.5 |
| Inconel 617 | 54 | 1 | 22 | 12.5 | 9 | 1.2 | – | 0.3 | – | – | – |
| Inconel 625 | 61.9 | 4 | 21.5 | – | 9 | – | 3.6 | – | – | – | – |
| Inconel 690 | 62 | 9 | 29 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Inconel 706 | 41.7 | 37.5 | 16 | – | – | 0.2 | 2.9 | 1.8 | – | – | – |
| Inconel 713C | 73.4 | 1 | 12.5 | – | 4.2 | 6.1 | 2 | 0.8 | – | – | – |
| Inconel 718 | 53 | 18.5 | 19 | – | 3.1 | 0.5 | 5.1 | 0.9 | – | – | – |
| IN-939 | 48.6 | – | 22.4 | 19 | – | 1.9 | 1 | 3.7 | 2 | 1.4 | – |
Nominal weight per cent. Specification ranges vary by product form and standard.
How to Tell Inconel Grades Apart
Separating Inconel grades is mostly a matter of reading five elements in the right order. A handheld XRF covers four of them; aluminium needs a light-element setup or OES, as explained in XRF vs OES vs lab analysis.
| Check | What it shows for Inconel |
|---|---|
| Iron first | Under 10% iron leaves 600, 617, 625, 690 and the cast grades. About 14% suggests 601. Around 18% means 718. Above 35% with 16% chromium means 706. |
| Molybdenum | About 9% molybdenum narrows a reading to 625 or 617. 718 carries about 3%, 713C about 4%, and the 600-series grades none. |
| Niobium and cobalt | Niobium with no cobalt points to 625, 718 or 706. Cobalt at about 12.5% means 617; 19% with 3.7% titanium means IN-939. |
| Chromium | 15.5% for 600, 23% for 601 and 29% for 690. Chromium alone separates the three plain grades. |
| Aluminium | High aluminium (about 6%) with no cobalt is 713C. 601 carries about 1.4%. Both need a light-element method to confirm. |
| Cast or wrought | Blades, vanes and wheels with an as-cast surface are 713C or IN-939 territory. Plate, sheet, bar and turnings are wrought grades. |
| Paperwork | Mill certificates, heat numbers and part numbers often settle the grade before a reading is taken. See reading mill test certificates. |
Grades Most Often Confused with Inconel
- Incoloy 825: often sold as "Inconel 825"; reads about 42% nickel, 30% iron and 2% copper, which no Inconel grade shows together.
- Hastelloy X: about 22% chromium, 9% molybdenum and 18.5% iron with no niobium; it can pass for 625 or 718 on a careless reading.
- GTD-222: a cast vane alloy close to IN-939, with 22.5% chromium and 19% cobalt but only about 2.3% titanium against 3.7%.
Iron Separates 625 from 718
Inconel 625 carries at most 5% iron; Inconel 718 carries about 18%. One XRF reading settles it. See 625 vs 718.
Chromium Separates 600, 601 and 690
15.5%, 23% and 29% chromium respectively. 601 also carries about 1.4% aluminium.
Cobalt Flags 617 and IN-939
617 has about 12.5% cobalt with 9% molybdenum; IN-939 has 19% cobalt and is a casting alloy.
Incoloy Is Not Inconel
Grades sold as "Inconel 825" and "Inconel 925" are Incoloy alloys with about 30% iron. We list them under Incoloy scrap.
Where Inconel Scrap Comes From
Each Inconel grade has a home industry, so the source of a lot is often the first clue to what is in it.
Aerospace Forging and Machining
Discs, shafts, rings and casings are machined from 718 billet and forgings, so 718 turnings and bar ends come out of these shops in volume. Sheet trim from 625 and 617 ducting and combustor work follows. See aerospace scrap.
Offshore, Refinery and Chemical Plant
625 dominates here: offcuts from fabrication, retired bellows, scrubber linings and flange turnings. Older chemical plant adds 600 from caustic service.
Furnaces and Heat Treatment
Retorts, muffles, radiant tubes, baskets and fixtures in 600 and 601 are replaced when they distort or scale. They often carry heavy oxide and need cleaning before sale. See furnace scrap.
Gas Turbine Overhauls
Hot-section repair releases 617 combustion cans, IN-939 vane segments and, from land turbines, 706 disc and spacer forgings. See power generation scrap.
Turbochargers and Casting Foundries
Scrapped turbocharger wheels and foundry gates, risers and rejected castings are the main source of 713C. Foundries also return IN-939 revert.
Nuclear Steam Generators
Replacement projects release 690 and older 600 tube bundles. This material is traded only after radiological clearance.
Source industries: heat treatment and furnaces, chemical processing, nuclear, power generation, aerospace, oil and gas, marine and shipbuilding.
Comparisons
Inconel Scrap Buyer, Importer and Exporter in India
Mipra Steel buys and sells Inconel scrap across all nine grades from Khetwadi, Mumbai, working with Indian plants and machine shops and with suppliers and melters abroad.
Sell Inconel Scrap
Selling Inconel scrap is quicker when the grade is known. Tell us which grades you hold, an approximate weight for each, the form (bar ends, plate, sheet, turnings, castings) and where the material is. Photographs of markings, XRF printouts and mill certificates all help. If the lot is mixed, say so; mixed Inconel can still be offered. We review incoming enquiries and respond with relevant next steps.
Buy Inconel Scrap
Melt shops and traders sourcing Inconel scrap should name the grade or grades, the forms they can charge, the quantity, the delivery port and the timing. Vacuum melters buying 713C or IN-939 revert should also say whether coated parts are acceptable. Lots are described by grade and UNS number where one exists.
Preparing Inconel Scrap for Sale
- Bag each Inconel grade on its own and label the bag with the grade name.
- Keep 625 and 718 apart even when they come off the same machine.
- Hold cast 713C and IN-939 pieces away from wrought solids and turnings.
- Knock loose scale off furnace parts in 600 and 601 and keep refractory out.
- Keep 690 or 600 tube from nuclear sites with its clearance documents and away from other lots.
- Pull out anything sold as "Inconel 825" or "925" and put it with Incoloy.
Inconel Scrap Price per Kg: What Decides It
People ask for an Inconel scrap price per kg as if there were one. In practice each grade is priced on its own, and the spread between the plainest and richest grades in the family is wide.
- Grade, first and foremost: 600 is valued mainly on nickel and chromium, 625 adds molybdenum and niobium, 718 adds niobium but carries iron, and 617 and IN-939 add cobalt.
- Single-grade certainty. A lot read piece by piece, or backed by certificates, is priced as that grade; a mixed Inconel lot is priced on what a buyer can be sure of.
- Wrought or cast. Wrought solids go to air or vacuum melters making the same grade; cast revert from 713C and IN-939 goes to specialist vacuum melters and is assessed separately.
- Form and cleanliness: bar ends and plate ahead of sheet, sheet ahead of turnings, and heavily scaled furnace parts behind clean material.
- Nickel and alloying-metal markets on the day, especially nickel, cobalt, molybdenum and niobium.
- Quantity, packing and where the lot sits relative to a port.
Because the grades differ so much, a quote for "Inconel" without a grade is only a starting point. The method is set out in how nickel alloy scrap is valued.
Inconel Scrap Import and Export
Importing Inconel Scrap into India
Inconel scrap reaches India from the Gulf, Europe, East Asia and Australia, where aerospace, offshore and power plant work release it. Shippers arrange inspection before loading and send the inspection certificate with the invoice, packing list and bill of lading. Nhava Sheva and Mundra handle most nickel alloy containers on the west coast; Chennai serves the south. A grade-by-grade packing list, with UNS numbers and readings, keeps customs and the buyer working from the same description. See importing nickel alloy scrap into India.
Exporting Inconel Scrap from India
India generates Inconel scrap from fabrication, overlay and machining shops serving refineries and power plants, and from furnace rebuilds. Export lots are described grade by grade on the invoice and packing list, weighed, and shipped bagged, in drums or loose in containers. Buyers in Japan, South Korea, Italy and the UAE usually ask for readings with the packing list. Our Dubai and South Korea offices help with buyers and suppliers in the Gulf and East Asia.
Customs heading: 7503.00 (nickel waste and scrap). The HS code is the international tariff heading the scrap is declared under; national tariff lines add further digits, so confirm the full line with your customs broker.
Related Reading
Inconel Scrap FAQ
Which Inconel grade is worth the most as scrap?
It depends on the metal markets on the day, but the grades with payable additions beyond nickel and chromium usually sit above the plain ones. 625 (molybdenum and niobium), 617 (cobalt and molybdenum) and IN-939 (cobalt, titanium, tantalum) normally attract more interest than 600 or 690. 718 carries niobium but also 18% iron, which pulls it back.
Can mixed Inconel scrap be sold without sorting it first?
Yes, but it is priced on what a buyer can be sure of rather than on the richest grade in the pile. Sorting with XRF into single grades, or at least separating 625 from 718 and cast from wrought, normally lifts the offer.
Is Inconel scrap magnetic?
No. Every grade in the family is non-magnetic at room temperature. A magnet will pull out carbon steel, ferritic stainless and duplex, but it will not separate one Inconel grade from another. For that you need a chemistry reading. See magnet testing scrap.
How do I know whether my scrap is Inconel or Incoloy?
Look at iron and copper on a reading. Inconel grades carry under 20% iron, except 706, and no copper. Incoloy 825 and 925 read around 30% iron with about 2% copper. Compare the two families on Inconel vs Incoloy.
Who buys Inconel turnings in India?
Mipra Steel buys Inconel turnings, along with traders and melters who take them for remelting. Turnings should be one grade, drained, dry and free of carbide tips. 718 and 625 turnings are the common ones; tell us which you have and how they were stored.
Why does IN-939 "low Zr" appear on some lot lists?
It is a trade description, not a published standard. It refers to IN-939 revert kept low in zirconium for melts that need it, with the level documented by analysis. Without that analysis, the lot is treated as ordinary IN-939.
Under which customs heading does Inconel scrap travel?
Inconel scrap is nickel-predominant, so it is typically declared under HS 7503.00, nickel waste and scrap. National tariff lines add digits. Confirm the full code with your customs broker before booking.
Does Mipra Steel supply Inconel scrap to overseas melters?
Yes. We sell and export described Inconel lots and import them into India, with offices in Dubai and South Korea. Share the grade, form, quantity, destination port and timing, and we will reply with next steps.
Published by Mipra Steel, Khetwadi, Mumbai · Updated