Ana-Elena Nistor, 1465352

Tutor: Alex Robinson

Course: Chemical Engineering BEng H800
INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this report is to investigate the industrial process of car recycling and,
therefore, to provide not only an accurate history of its development and a precise
process overview on this topic, but also to outline innovative methods which are
presumed to contribute to the modernization of all the mechanisms involved in such a
process. As the prevention of wasting the earths limited resources has become a
matter of utmost importance, recycling is now an unavoidable issue when it comes to
analyzing the efficiency of a process. Thus, the aim of this report is to summarize a
meticulous investigation on both the old and the new procedures involved in a car
recycling process and, simultaneously, suggest competent potential solutions that could
improve its utility.
HISTORY OF RECYCLING: FROM LENDFILLS TO MODERN WASTE REDUCTION
The impact of the industrialization, the effects of polluting and the tendencies of natural
resources depletion led to the appearance of the todays well-known phenomenon,
recycling. Eager to achieve maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort and
expense, it was discovered that a critic aspect of making good use of the earths limited
resources is properly investigating the number of times they could be exploited before
reaching their end of life.
The automotive industry is currently focusing on minimizing the environmental impact of
a car, the main concern being saving energy and reserving the natural resources. The
first time when the fact that the impact of the human activities on the environment could
not be ignored anymore and should not have been downgraded in favour of the
economic, social and technologic development was outlined was in 1972 in a report of
the Club of Rome entitled Limits to Growth. It was technically an attempt to ascertain
the hazardous effects of the pollution and the consumption of non-renewable natural
resources.
The whole process of recycling a car depends on vehicle recyclers as every time a car
reaches the end of life it is given away to special centres which try to make good use of
its components. Vehicle recyclers are one of the most important factors when it comes
to the process of recycling itself as deciding which the recoverable and the recyclable
materials are is their responsibility. According to the Environmental Protection Agency,
the energy used in recycling metals is 75% less than the energy that making new steel
would use. Thus, it becomes easy to understand why vehicle recycling and shredding
industry has always been a very prospering business.
THE PROCESS OF CAR RECYCLING

Description of the processing steps

The first step in recycling a car is dismantling it. At this point, the components which
contain hazardous substances such as mechanical oils, mercury, sodium azide,
batteries and refrigerant gases are removed initially and then the salvageable parts are
collected. The second step is crushing the remaining parts of the car and transporting
them to shredding site. At the shredder, the separation of ferrous metals, such as steel,
from non-ferrous metals, such as aluminium, happens. Both the ferrous and the nonferrous metals are then recycled and reused. The materials which remain after this step
of the process are called Automobile Shredder Residue (ASR). A certain amount of the
ASR could still be recycled, thanks to the new technology of today, depending on the
shredding site the car is sent to.
Furthermore, the process of recycling is not identical in every country; the differences
that occur between countries concerning this kind of process were clearly stated in the
article An international comparative study of End-of-Life vehicle (EVL) recycling
system (2013) as it follows: In the case of Japan, the collection of refrigerant gases
and air bags are legally mandated. In the US, voluntary collection of components
containing mercury, such as switches, is operated during the dismantling stage. In
China, components collected at the dismantlers are very often re-sold or recycled as
secondary products. The weights of ELV after dismantling are reduced to 5570 % of
the original weights in the EU and Japan. An exhaustive collection of material is
significant in order to reduce the amount of ASR and to avoid hazardous substance
contamination in ASR.

Fig. 1 (source: Sakai, S. et al. (2013)

 Process flow sheet

Material content of a typical car by weight (% )

Steel sheet

Cast Iron

Plastics

4%

2%
3%2% 2%

5%
7%
10%
10%

Elastomers

Glass

Textiles and cellulose products

Non-ferous metals

Liquids

55%

Insulating materials

Paints and adhesives

Fig 2. (source: Maxwell, J. (1994)

Analyzing the chart above, it is easy to deduce that about 75% of a car is manufactured
of recyclable materials. In addition, more than 65% of a car is made of steel and iron
components. The steels quality is not affected by the recycling process, thus, it can be
recycled without suffering any kind of deterioration or any quality loss; it is magnetically
separated from the mixed non-ferrous metals, which are usually dusted off and reused,
and, once the liquids are drained, scrap processors shred the steel and the recycling
process ends with the ferrous metals of value being sold to steel mills.
Plastic and glass components go through an intensive dismantling process. Often, the
plastic is used as a fuel source in industrial processes in order to avoid the
cancerogenic risk of landfilling it. Glass, as it is a material which can be recycled
endlessly, is introduced in melting furnaces; new glass is therefore produced with
insignificant environment impacts.
Hazardous substances
One of the most crucial steps of the car recycling process is by far collecting the
hazardous substances before crushing and transporting the car to the shredding site. It
is vital to avoid these hazardous substances such as heavy metals contaminating the
landfilled ASR as they are most likely to pollute the groundwater. Hexavalent chromium,
cadmium, mercury, brominated flame retardants and phthalate compounds are few of
the substances usually found in specific car components which require meticulous
monitoring as they pose an important threat to the environment. It is indisputable that at
least a small amount of hazardous substances is impossible to dispose of while
manufacturing certain car components and fabricating an automobile. They cannot be

restricted as the development of alternative materials is still in progress. Consequently,

the best solution for the time being is ensuring a rigorous system for gathering the
hazardous substances and providing them with a suitable treatment after the collection.
EVOLUTION OF THE PROCESS AND POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS

The EU-Directive 2000/53/EC

As it was stated in the article An international comparative study of End-of-Life vehicle
(EVL) recycling system (2013), the most recent development concerning the car
recycling process was enacting the EU-Directive 2000/53/EC in 2000, which aimed to
control the generation and disposal of wastes from automobiles and to enhance
environment-consciousness among parties involved in ELV treatment. Meeting the
following rates for reuse and recovery and reuse and recycling were the targets set
by the Directive: 85 and 80 %, respectively, by 2006; and then 95 and 85 %,
respectively, by 2015. It goes without saying that such progress involves a strategy
which would consider the best ways of minimizing energy loss, water consumption, land
use, treatment cost and wasted natural resources. Therefore, after meticulously
investigating different methods of recycling, it was discovered that the European Targets
of 85% reuse and recycling rate and 95% reuse and recovery rate would be satisfied
by recycling combined with energy recovery. Furthermore, the conclusion of the
studies conducted is that the environment impact would be minimized by encouraging
material collection and energy recovery from the residues.

ASR Reduction
Currently, the research in the area focuses on reducing as much as possible the ASR;
the percentages of the Automobile Shredder Residue are estimated at the moment to
be 12-32% in the EU and 17% in Japan. Recycling the ASR is considered a difficult step
of the process, in spite of its importance, as it usually contains both heavy metals and
minuscule particles which are known to be hard to separate. As the computerization of
cars progresses, it becomes harder to minimize the ASR amount. The ASR is landfilled,
fact which pose many risks because of its potential hazardousness. The EUs target for
2015 is to reach a 95% rate of reuse and recovery out of the total mass of a car.
CONCLUSION
All in all, this report summarizes the process through which a car goes while being
recycled. The main points of this topic have been analyzed and the steps of paramount
importance are as it follows: dismantling the car and separating its materials, the energy
recovery and the resources collection from such a process, the meticulous gathering
and treatment for the hazardous substances and the investigation of the most efficient
methods of reducing the ASR and minimizing the environmental impact.

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