Assessing Environmental Impact Associated with Cyclic Use of Steels-Indirect Reduction Potential of Environmental Impacts by the Introduction of Easy Disassemble Design for Automobiles

Abstract

Promotion of recycling may cause the increase in concentration of undesirable tramp elements in steel scraps. In the future, some of the steel scraps may be unusable due to the high concentration of tramp element. So, the introduction of new technologies, such as easy disassembly design, that enhances the separation of tramp elements from steel scraps at the end-of-life of products could increase the maximum recyclable ratio of steel scraps. This could indirectly lead to the reduction of environmental impacts caused by crude steel production.
In this study, the indirect reduction potential of CO₂ emissions by the introduction of easy disassembly design for automobiles was analyzed. The dynamic model that has been developed by the authors in the previous paper was used for assessing the reduction potential of CO₂ emissions. It was found that the reduction potential of CO₂ emissions by the introduction of easy disassembly design for automobiles in 2010 were up to 0.62 t-CO₂ and 0.98 t-CO₂ per automobile, depending on scenario. There was little reduction potential of CO₂ if the concentration of tramp element (Cu) in automobile scraps was more than 0.5 wt%.