Patent ID: 8206486

Claim:
A method of cooling aluminum dross, comprising: placing the dross into a receptacle of a material container; and placing a cooling head on top of the dross so that a downwardly projecting portion of the cooling head engages the dross and locally deforms the dross under the weight of the cooling head; wherein: the cooling does not include the use of a dross press assembly to exert mechanical force to the dross prior to placing the cooling head on the dross; and the cooling head seals against the material container to at least partially encapsulate the dross and extinguish oxidation of the dross, and the seal is formed by engagement of an upper rim of the material container into a channel of the cooling head, wherein the channel is formed inside the upper rim of the material container by a portion of the cooling head that is thicker than a portion of the cooling head located above the upper rim.