Inconel 690 Scrap Buyer, Importer and Exporter in India
Mipra Steel buys and sells Inconel 690 scrap from Khetwadi, Mumbai, working with fabricators, chemical plants and traders in India and overseas.
Sell Inconel 690 Scrap
Tell us the form (plate trim, forging offcuts, turnings or weld stubs), the weight and the location, with photographs. Certificates quoting N06690 or ASTM B163 to B168, or readings showing about 29% chromium, make the description easy. If any material has been inside a nuclear facility, say so in the first message and send the clearance documents with it. We review incoming enquiries and respond with relevant next steps.
Buy Inconel 690 Scrap
Melters looking for a high-chromium nickel charge with low iron and low residuals can request 690 by form, quantity and destination. Say whether you need certificate-backed fabrication scrap only, which analysis should accompany each lot, and how the material should be packed for the voyage.
Where Is Inconel 690 Used, and What Does That Mean for Its Scrap?
Inconel 690 exists because Inconel 600 cracked. Through the 1970s and 1980s, mill-annealed 600 steam generator tubes in pressurised-water reactors suffered stress-corrosion cracking in high-purity, high-temperature water, and many plants had to replace whole steam generators. Raising chromium to about 29% fixed the problem. According to the US regulator, most replacement steam generators built after 1989 use thermally treated 690, and tubes of that type have yet to show the cracking seen in mill-annealed 600. The same chromium makes 690 a good choice for nitric acid, nitric-hydrofluoric pickling and sulfur-bearing hot gas.
Two facts follow for anyone trading the scrap. First, a large share of all 690 ever made went into nuclear equipment, and nuclear-site material is only bought and sold after radiological clearance by the plant and its regulator. Without that paper, a responsible buyer will not take it, whatever the readings say. Second, the clean, easily traded 690 mostly comes from the other end of the chain: the fabricators who build steam generators and acid plant, and the machine shops that cut nozzles, tube sheet parts and bar.
Chemically, 690 is welcome in a melt shop as a high-chromium nickel unit with low iron and almost no residual elements, which reflects the strict chemistry limits nuclear buyers impose. Its matching weld metals are known in the trade as 52 (bare wire) and 152 (covered electrode), and their offcuts and stubs read close to 690. Keep it apart from Inconel 600: the two look the same, and a mixed lot loses the reason anyone wanted either.
Inconel 690 belongs to the Inconel family, part of nickel alloy scrap.
Typical Sources of Inconel 690 Scrap
Most 690 scrap that reaches the open market is fabrication or chemical plant material. Service returns from nuclear plants exist but move under a different set of rules.
Steam Generator and Nuclear Component Fabrication
Plate trim, forging offcuts, machining turnings and rejected parts from building new or replacement steam generators. This material never entered a reactor and comes with full mill traceability.
Nuclear Plant Replacements
Retired steam generators and nozzles are decontaminated, measured and cleared before any metal is released. Treat it as a special case. See nuclear plant scrap.
Nitric Acid and Pickling Plant
Vessels, heaters and exchanger parts from nitric acid production and nitric-hydrofluoric pickling lines in stainless steel mills. See chemical processing scrap.
Hot-Gas and Coal-Gasification Equipment
Components exposed to sulfur-bearing hot gases, released when units are rebuilt.
Welding Consumable Users
Wire ends and electrode stubs of filler 52 and 152 from nuclear and chemical welding shops.
Inconel 690 Scrap Specification Chart
| Grade | Inconel 690 |
|---|---|
| UNS | N06690 |
| W.Nr. / EN | 2.4642 |
| Also known as | Alloy 690 |
| Alloy type | Solid-solution high-chromium nickel alloy |
| Density | 8.19 g/cm³ (0.296 lb/in³) |
| Magnetic | Non-magnetic. |
| HS code (customs heading) | 7503.00 (nickel waste and scrap) |
Inconel 690 Chemical Composition
Nominal composition in weight per cent, used to describe and identify the grade. The governing specification sets the limits for each product.
| Element | Symbol | Nominal wt% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickel | Ni | Balance (about 62) | |
| Chromium | Cr | 29 | |
| Iron | Fe | 9 |
Inconel 690 Equivalent Grades and Other Names
| Designation | Value |
|---|---|
| Trade name | Inconel 690 |
| UNS | N06690 |
| W.Nr. / EN | 2.4642 |
| Other names in the trade | Alloy 690 |
Look up any designation in the grade name converter or the equivalent grade chart.
Inconel 690 Standards and Specifications
Inconel 690 Applications
- Pressurised-water reactor steam generator tubes, tube sheets and nozzles
- Nitric and nitric-hydrofluoric acid equipment
- Coal-gasification and sulfur-bearing hot-gas service
Source industries: nuclear, chemical processing.
How Inconel 690 Scrap Is Identified
690 is one of the easier nickel alloys to read, because its chromium sits so far above every common neighbour. The risks are in documents and in mixing, not in the analysis itself.
| Check | What it shows for Inconel 690 |
|---|---|
| Chromium about 29% | The signature. Inconel 600 reads about 15.5% and 601 about 23%. |
| Iron about 9% | Confirms a 690-type reading. Iron above 20% with high chromium suggests a stainless or Incoloy grade. |
| No molybdenum, niobium or cobalt | Anything meaningful here means another alloy, or a weld of a different filler. |
| Aluminium absent | 601 also reads well above 600 on chromium, but carries about 1.4% aluminium and 14% iron. |
| Radiological clearance | For anything from a nuclear site, the clearance certificate and survey results come before any XRF reading. |
| Mill certificates | Nuclear-grade 690 is heavily documented. Certificates quoting N06690, 2.4642 or ASTM B163, B166, B167 or B168 settle a description quickly. See reading mill certificates. |
Grades Most Often Confused with Inconel 690
- Inconel 600: is used in the same steam generators but reads about 15.5% chromium and 76% nickel.
- Inconel 601: sits between them on chromium at about 23%, with 14% iron and 1.4% aluminium.
Nominal values for Inconel 690 against its closest grades on this site.
Preparing Inconel 690 Scrap for Sale
- Keep 690 completely apart from 600, even where they came out of the same equipment.
- File the mill certificate or heat number with each bag of fabrication offcuts.
- Hold any nuclear-origin pieces aside until their clearance paperwork is complete.
- Bag filler 52 and 152 stubs separately and label them as weld consumable.
- Drain and dry turnings from nozzle and forging machining.
Inconel 690 Scrap Price per Kg: What Decides It
The Inconel 690 scrap price per kg depends first on nickel and chromium content and then, more than for most grades, on paperwork.
- Contained nickel at about 62%, with chromium at 29% useful to melt shops making high-chromium nickel alloys.
- Origin and clearance: fabrication offcuts with mill certificates are straightforward; service material from nuclear sites is limited to buyers who can accept it with clearance documents.
- Purity of the lot: any 600 mixed in drags chromium down and leaves a lot that is neither grade.
- Low residuals: nuclear-specification heats are tightly controlled, which some buyers value for sensitive melts.
- Form: plate trim, forgings and bar ends sell more readily than oily turnings or mixed weld stubs.
Nickel and chromium prices change with the market, so each offer carries a date. The general approach is in nickel alloy scrap value explained.
Inconel 690 Scrap Import and Export
Importing Inconel 690 Scrap into India
Nuclear component fabricators and chemical plant operators in East Asia and Europe release 690 offcuts and machining scrap. When importing into India, ask for the origin of each lot in writing and refuse nuclear-service material that lacks clearance documents. Imported metal scrap is inspected before shipment and carries a pre-shipment inspection certificate, commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading. Indian customs and the inspection agency look closely at scrap that could carry radioactive contamination, so a clear origin statement saves delays at Nhava Sheva or Mundra. See importing nickel alloy scrap into India.
Exporting Inconel 690 Scrap from India
India builds nuclear and chemical equipment, and the fabrication shops behind that work generate certificate-backed 690 offcuts and turnings. Export lots are described as Inconel 690, UNS N06690, on the invoice and packing list, with the origin stated, and shipped bagged or in drums. Our South Korea office is close to East Asian nickel alloy users, and we serve buyers in Japan and the UAE. Documents are covered in alloy scrap export documents.
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.
Comparisons
Other Inconel Scrap Grades
Related Reading
Inconel 690 Scrap FAQ
Why did Inconel 690 replace Inconel 600 in steam generators?
Because mill-annealed 600 tubing cracked by stress corrosion in reactor water, forcing many plant owners to replace steam generators early. 690 roughly doubles the chromium to about 29%, and thermally treated 690 tubing has so far not shown that cracking. Replacement units built since the late 1980s mostly use it.
Is scrap from a nuclear power plant safe to buy?
Only when it has been formally released. Plants decontaminate, survey and clear material under their regulator before any of it is sold, and a clearance certificate travels with the lot. Without that document, a buyer should not accept nuclear-origin 690, regardless of its chemistry.
How do I tell Inconel 690 from 600 if both are unmarked?
Read the chromium. 690 shows about 29% and 600 about 15.5%, a gap no handheld XRF will miss. Weight, colour and magnet behaviour are the same for both, so a reading on each piece is the only reliable separation.
Are filler 52 and 152 stubs worth keeping with 690 scrap?
They are close in chemistry, but keep them in a separate, labelled bag. Electrode stubs carry flux coating, and wire ends may come from different classifications. A buyer can then decide whether to combine them after reading a sample.
Is there much Inconel 690 scrap in India?
Some. Indian fabricators of nuclear and chemical plant equipment produce 690 offcuts and turnings, and chemical plants with nitric acid service release used parts at overhauls. Volumes are small next to 600 or 625, so lots are often a few hundred kilograms at a time.
What HS code do I put on an Inconel 690 scrap invoice?
Inconel 690 is nickel-base, so its scrap is typically declared under HS 7503.00, nickel waste and scrap. The full national line differs by country; your customs broker should confirm it.
Will Mipra Steel quote on a mixed 600 and 690 lot?
Yes, but it will be valued as a mixed nickel-chromium lot unless it can be separated by reading. Send photographs, the weight and any readings, and say whether sorting on site is possible before shipment.
What is Inconel 690 made of?
Nominally 62% nickel, 29% chromium, 9% iron. Specification ranges vary by product form and standard.
Published by Mipra Steel, Khetwadi, Mumbai · Updated