Material Flow Analysis of End-of-Life Vehicles in South Korea

Abstract

The increase in end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) has highlighted the need for more advanced ELV dismantling and recycling processes. To understand the flow of ELVs after disposal, this study conducted a material flow analysis of ELVs by dividing the ELV recycling process into the stages of discarding, collection, treatment, resource recovery, and sales/export. According to our analysis, the recycling rate of ELVs in South Korea was 88.7%. Losses in liquid waste, airbags, waste refrigerants occurred due to their destruction or releasement into the atmosphere during the recycling process, and losses in the heat energy produced by formal sectors occurred at the final stage of ELV recycling. Valuable scrap metal, reusable parts, and ferrous and nonferrous metals were relatively well-recycled, pointing to the need to promote the recycling of less valuable materials, such as plastic, glass, rubber, and sheet foam. Metals recovered through shredding and automotive shredder residue (ASR) recycling are sold to steel mills and refineries, and the heat energy recovered through ASR recycling is supplied to nearby industrial facilities. Additional material flow analysis of ELVs will help identify the obstacles hindering the improvement of Korea