Recovery of Materials from Refrigerator: A Study Focused on Product Distribution, Recyclability and LCA Evaluation
-
Published:2024-01-26
Issue:3
Volume:16
Page:1082
-
ISSN:2071-1050
-
Container-title:Sustainability
-
language:en
-
Short-container-title:Sustainability
Author:
Paz Felipe Alejandro Garcia1, Heibeck Magdalena1ORCID, Parvez Ashak Mahmud1, Torrubia Jorge1, van den Boogaart Karl Gerald1, Raatz Simone1ORCID
Affiliation:
1. Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V. (HZDR), Chemnitzer Str. 40, 09599 Freiberg, Germany
Abstract
This study outlines a recycling initiative conducted at Rekular GmbH, focusing on the recycling of 100 refrigerators. The recycling process employed a combination of manual dismantling, depollution, and mechanical processing techniques. Manual dismantling followed a predefined protocol to extract various materials, while the mechanical and physical processes involved shredding, zigzag, magnetic, and eddy current separation (ECS) to liberate and separate different materials. The resulting ferrous, non-ferrous and polymer product fractions were analyzed and categorized, providing valuable insights into the quality of interim products in the refrigerator recycling process. Simulations were then performed using FactSageTM version 8.2 and HSC Chemistry 10 version 10.3.7.1 software to simulate the recovery of metals from the ferrous and non-ferrous fractions using pyro metallurgical and hydrometallurgical methods. An electric arc furnace (EAF) was utilized for iron (Fe), while a re-smelter process for aluminium (Al), and the black copper route was simulated for copper (Cu) recovery. The recovery rates including metallurgical, mechanical, and physical processes are as follows: Fe (78%), Al (68.4%), and Cu (52.4%). In contrast, the recovery rates through metallurgical processes are as follows: Al (99%), Fe (79%), and Cu (88%). This discrepancy is attributed to losses of these elements resulting from incomplete liberation in mechanical processing. Additionally, a product/centric approach was applied and the recycling index reached 76% for recovery the Al, Cu, and Fe metals in a refrigerator recycling process. Turning to the environmental impact evaluation within the life cycle assessment (LCA), the process unit with the highest emissions per refrigerator in the recycling process was the use of nitrogen during the shredding process, accounting for 3.7 kg CO2 eq/refrigerator. Subsequently, the consumption of medium voltage electricity from the German grid during mechanical and physical separations contributed to 0.6 kg CO2 eq/refrigerator. The EAF, and electrolytic refining stages in the metallurgical recovery process also had a notable impact, generating 10.7 kg CO2 eq/refrigerator.
Funder
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Subject
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment,Geography, Planning and Development,Building and Construction
Reference61 articles.
1. European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment (2023, November 12). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions a New Circular Economy Action Plan for a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe. 11 March 2020. Available online: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2020:98:FIN. 2. Dehoust, G., and Shuler, D. (2023, November 13). Life Cycle Assessment of the Treatment and Recycling of Refrigeration Equipment Containing CFCs and Hydrocarbons. RAL Quality Assurance Association for the Demanufacture of Refrigeration Equipment. Available online: http://www.oeko.de/oekodoc/1108/2007-226-en.pdf. 3. Circular Economy Solutions and Strategies for the Furniture Sector in the European Union;Ceconello;Diid Disegno Ind. Ind. Des.,2022 4. Challenges of the circular economy: A material, metallurgical, and product design perspective;Reuter;Annu. Rev. Mater. Res.,2019 5. Evans, J., Foster, H., and Gemmell, A. (2018, January 7–8). Evaluation of suitability of recycled domestic appliances for re-use. Proceedings of the 5th IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain, Beijing, China.
|
|