Abstract
Keywords - Recyclability, Car Electrical & Electronic System, End-of-life scenarios, Streamlined LCA, Eco-design
Abstract - This paper will present some of the results obtained in the bilateral project developed by Ford and Lear Electrical and Electronic Division to analyse how to improve the recyclability potential of the electrical & electronic system of the car. This system is one of the first components assembled in the car and this is the reason why it is one of the most difficult to recover selectively (it is needed to dismantling other components (e.g. seats) before getting to it). However, it contains valuable materials such as copper (in the wire) or precious metals (in the printed circuit boards) that could give revenues to the recyclers.
To achieve the targets outlined by the End-of-life vehicle European Directive (2000/53/EC), it is reasonable to check into the economical and environmental conditions under which also these car components can be recovered. Also an assessment should be done to decide if it is advantageous to establish a selective disassembly and recycling loop for these components or if it is more beneficial to recover the valuable materials after the car shredding process.
The project was divided in the following tasks:
- Selection of representative components from a real car model to focus the study on them. Finally two junction boxes and the engine wire harness were selected.
- Bibliographic research about recycling options for wire harness and electronics
- Streamlined-Life Cycle Assessments of the products to identify the most important environmental impacts associated to them
- Disassembly studies to identify the most critical points that increase the dismantling labour and time
- Proposal of different recycling scenarios considering different recycling targets (copper, plastics, etc.)
- Streamlined LCA of the proposed scenarios to define the most environmentally friendly situation
- Development of some Design-for-Environmental Guidelines to improve the recyclability potential of future designs
Some of the results obtained during the assessment of the product life stages (i.e. manufacturing, use and end-of-life) and some general design questions to be taken into account to improve or facilitate the different recycling scenarios will be presented in this paper.