Assessment of end-of-life vehicle recycling: Remanufacturing waste sheet steel into mesh sheet

Abstract

The automobile industry contributes significantly to global energy use and carbon emissions. Hence, there are significant economic and environmental benefits in recovering materials from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). Here, the remanufacturing of waste steel sheet (WSS) from ELVs into useful mesh steel sheet (MSS) for metal forming applications was evaluated based on its technological, economic, and environmental feasibility. A remanufacturing plant with a dismantling capacity of over 30,171 ELV/year and a recovery capacity of 1000 m2/d of WSS was used as a case study. Remanufacturing can achieve a total reduction of ~3800 kg CO2/ELV and an economic benefit of ~775 USD/ELV compared with conventional recycling. The calculated feasibility indexes were similar to or exceeded standard feasibility thresholds, indicating that WSS remanufacturing is a viable sustainable development route and has synergistic benefits when combined with existing recycling plants, especially in developing countries as small-to-medium enterprises.