End‐of‐Life Infrastructure Economics for “Clean Vehicles” in the United States

Abstract

Summary Rising fuel prices and concern over emissions are prompting automakers and legislators to introduce and evaluate “clean vehicles” throughout the United States. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are now on the roads, electric vehicles (EVs) have been test marketed, and niche vehicles such as high‐fuel‐economy microcars are being considered for introduction. As these vehicles proliferate and mature, they will eventually reach their end of life (EOL). In the United States, an extensive recycling infrastructure exists for conventional, internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Its primary constituents are the disassembler and the shredder. These industries, as well as battery recyclers, are expected to play integral roles in the EOL processing of clean vehicles. A model of the automobile‐recycling infrastructure and goal programming techniques are used to assess the materials streams and process profitabilities for several different clean vehicles. Two‐seat EVs with lead‐acid or NiMH batteries are compared with two‐ and four‐seat HEVs and microcars. Changes to the nonferrous content in the vehicle bodies are explored and compared for the effect on processing profit‐ability. Despite limitations associated with the linearity of goal programming techniques, application of this tool can still provide informative first‐order results. Results indicate that although these clean vehicles may not garner the same profit levels as conventional ICE vehicles, they are profitable to process if there are markets for parts and if there are sufficient quantities of nonferrous materials.

Environmentally conscious manufacturing and product recovery (ECMPRO): A review of the state of the art

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Modeling and Prediction of the end of Life Vehicles Number Distribution in Serbia

“…The aim of this study was to determine the optimal level of plastics which are needed to be removed, after the shredding process, to maintain the profitability of all business areas within the infrastructure. Using the same approach, two additional studies were conducted, one to determine the increasing effect of the materials content based on aluminum in vehicle on the infrastructure [11], and other to compare the impact of electronic vehicles, hybrid vehicles and vehicles with a high content of polymeric materials on the automotive recycling infrastructure [12,13]. Optimization is the ideal approach in decision making for a given scenario, but this approach requires a precise mathematical determination of constraints and objectives.…”

A monitoring system architecture and calculation of practical recycling rate for end-of-life vehicle recycling in Korea

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