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Current recycling regulations and technologies for the typical plastic

components of end-of-life passenger vehicles: A meaningful lesson for China

Article  in  Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management · April 2014

DOI: 10.1007/s10163-013-0180-3

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J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2014) 16:187–200
DOI 10.1007/s10163-013-0180-3

REVIEW

Current recycling regulations and technologies for the typical

plastic components of end-of-life passenger vehicles: a meaningful
lesson for China
Hongshen Zhang • Ming Chen

Received: 6 January 2013 / Accepted: 17 July 2013 / Published online: 16 August 2013
Ó Springer Japan 2013

Abstract China became the largest automotive producer Introduction

and the biggest automobile market in the world in 2009,
but the scrap vehicle recycling industry is still in its In 2012, the output and sales of China’s passenger vehicle
beginning stage. Especially, the scrapped plastic parts were 15.52 million vehicles and 15.49 million vehicles,
recycling technology lags behind developed countries. respectively, an increase of 7.2 and 7.1 % compared with
Therefore, in-depth studies on the recycling of automotive those of the previous year [1]. Figure 1 shows the output
plastics are significant and beneficial for environmental and sales of China’s passenger cars for the last 5 years [2].
protection, energy conservation and the sustainable devel- From Fig. 1, it can be seen that the output and sales of
opment of the Chinese automotive plastic industry. In this passenger cars in China rapidly increased, especially after
article, automotive plastic components recycling-related 2008, when the trend rose linearly. The continuous increase
rules and regulations about developed countries and China in passenger car consumption will consequently result in an
are discussed first. According to the passenger vehicle increase in the number of scrapped vehicles in the future.
plastic part types, the recycling technologies for typical At present, the number of passenger vehicles in China is
plastic components of end-of-life passenger vehicle are over 65 million [1, 3]. Considering a scrap rate of 6 %, the
analyzed comprehensively. Based on the combination of number of scrapped annual passenger vehicles in China is
contemporary domestic and foreign plastic recycling about 3.9 million. According to an estimation of Zhou
technology and the result of the current research, the Yibing [4], a branch chairman of the China Association of
problems and future development for the ELVs plastic Automobile Manufactures, the average plastic dosage in a
recycling industry in China are deliberated, at the same middle-class car is about 130 kg/vehicles. By calculation,
time, some constructive ideas and suggestions for the the total amount of passenger vehicle plastic waste will
industry are provided. reach 507,000 tons. These plastics will negatively affect
the environment if not dealt with effectively.
Keywords End-of-life passenger vehicles
Plastic Plastic components in vehicles have changed from
components
Recycling rules and regulations
ordinary decorative pieces to structural and functional
Recycling technology
Prospects parts. Moreover, materials have evolved from ordinary
plastics to plastic alloys, composite materials with greater
strength and better impact resistance. Main plastic mate-
rials include polypropylene (PP), polyurethane (PU),
polyethylene (PE), polycarbonate (PC), polyvinylchloride
(PVC), polyphenylene oxide (PPO), polyformaldehyde
(POM), polyamide (PA), acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene
H. Zhang
M. Chen (&) (ABS), thermoset composites, thermoplastic polyester
School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong
[polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polyethylene tere-
University, 800 Dongchuan RD, Minhang District,
Shanghai, China phthalate (PET)] and others, the proportions of them are
e-mail: [email protected] shown in Fig. 2 [5]. The primary plastic components in a

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vehicle include the bumper, grilles, lights, instrument panel China are deliberated, at the same time, some constructive
(including the sub-dashboard), seats, inner door panels, ideas and suggestions for the industry are provided.
roof, glove compartment, fuel tank and so on.
As the increase in the number of end-of-life vehicles
(ELVs) occurs, automotive plastic recycling has become Importance of automotive plastic recycling
one of the most important issues in the world today. from the viewpoint of law
Studying automotive plastic recycling technology is sig-
nificant to energy conservation and to the promotion of the After several years of automotive industry development,
sustainable development in the Chinese automotive the United States (US), European Union (EU), Japan,
industry [6, 7]. In the following sections, automotive Korea, and China—top countries in automotive production
plastics recycling-related rules and regulations about and consumption—have been fully aware that the disposal
developed countries and China are the first ones to be of scrapped vehicles cannot be ignored, and that recycling
discussed. Then, the recycling technologies for typical must be enforced. Therefore, these countries have gradu-
plastic components of end-of-life passenger vehicles are ally enacted relevant laws and regulations on dealing with
analyzed comprehensively according to the part types. abandoned vehicles and have established a number of
Based on the results of analysis, the problems and future requirements for vehicle recycling.
development for the ELVs plastic recycling industry in The EU proclaimed an act for ELV recycling numbered
2000/53/EC on September 18, 2000. This act was amended
in 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2010. The act had a number of
18 objectives for scrapped vehicle recycling, estimating that
Output and sales/(million vehicles)

16 the actual reuse and recovery rate will increase to 95 % by

2015 [8, 9]. The reuse and recovery rates of most EU
14
members are over 85 % in 2009 [10]. This regulation also
12 highlighted several targets, including the production of
10 reusable and recyclable cars, and establishment of the
management for the recyclable certification of new vehi-
8
Sales cles, which made the responsibility and obligation of auto
6 manufactures more explicit [11, 12].
Output
4 In September 2002, the International Trade and Industry
Ministry of Japan formulated the ‘‘Auto Recycling Law’’,
2
which was officially implemented in January 1, 2005 [13].
0 This bill proposed a long-term goal of increasing the ELV
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Date/(year)
recycling rate to 88 % by 2005, 92 % by 2010(the recy-
cling rate has already reached 95 % in 2010 [14]), and
Fig. 1 China passenger vehicle output and sales from 2006 to 2010 95 % by 2015. On the other hand, the auto residue

Fig. 2 Varieties and Thermoplastic

proportions of the plastics used Thermoset polyester, 1.5% Other,
in automobile composites, 7.1% PP, 21.1%
10.4%

ABS, 8.0%

PA, 7.8% PU, 19.6%

PVC, 12.2% PE, 6.0%

POM, 1.8%

PPO, 1.9% PC, 2.6%

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J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2014) 16:187–200 189

(obtained through the removal of metal, plastics, and other Automotive Recycling’’ was enacted into law in 2001. This
useful substances after grinding) recycling rate should have law outlined a 95 % ELV recovery target for 2015 [24]. In
increased to 30 % in 2005, 50 % in 2010 (actual recycling the United States today, more than 95% of vehicles are
rate in 2010 is 70.5 % [14]), and must exceed 70 % after recycled in a process that is market-driven rather than
2015 [15]. government-mandated. Of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs),
The Korean government promulgated the ‘‘Act for more than 75% of material, by weight, is recycled [25].
Resource Recycling of Electrical/Electronic Products and It can be seen that most countries have very high ELV
Automobiles’’ on April 27, 2007, which was officially recovery requirements from the above mentioned regula-
implemented on January 1, 2008 [16]. This legislation tions. The US, EU, Japan and Korea have set the ELV
aimed to improve the ELV recycling rate to 85 % in 2008, recycling rate to be 95 % by 2015, and that in China should
and to more than 95 % by January 1, 2015 [17, 18]. More increase to 95 % by 2017. However, automotive plastic
than 85 % of the vehicle is recycled in Hyundai [19]. components account for 10–15 % of the whole vehicle
Moreover, the new law indicated that all related industries weight. In order to reach the recycling rates in the future,
must comply with its requirements. every country must devote much more energy to automotive
China promulgated the ‘‘Act for Recycling Technology plastic recycling, and develop more advanced technologies
of Automotive Products’’ on February 6, 2006. This law for ELV plastic recycling. Therefore, enhancing the effec-
targets three phases in China’s ELV recycling [20, 21]. The tiveness of ELV plastic recycling to meet the requirements
first stage requires that all domestic and imported vehicles of these regulations and to promote the development of the
in the M21 and M3 and in the N2 and N3 categories must automotive industry is urgently necessary [26, 27].
achieve a recycling rate of approximately 85 % by 2010
with a material re-utilization rate of\80 % [22]. Similarly,
the recycling rate for all domestic and imported M1 and Current local and international status of the passenger
N12 vehicles should increase to 80 %, with a material vehicles plastic recycling
recovery rate of \75 % (Up till the present moment, the
recycling rates have not been reached).The second stage The environmentally friendly and financially feasible
requires that the recovery rate for all domestic and methods used in the automotive plastic recycling industry
imported cars should increase to 90 % by 2012, with a are usually reuse, remanufacturing, physical recycling, and
material re-utilization rate of \80 %. The third stage chemical recycling. Reuse refers to the direct installation of
requires that the recovery rate for all domestic and a number of recycling components into a new vehicle. This
imported vehicles should increase to 95 % by 2017, with a recycling method is considered the most environmentally
material re-utilization rate that must not be \85 %. friendly among the four approaches. Plastic part remanu-
The US has no national rule for ELVs recycling, but the facturing is also an environmentally friendly recycling
related laws on the joint and multiple liability of production, method wherein recyclable plastic parts are remanufac-
along with a sound environmental regulation system, tured by adopting some plastic manufacturing methods,
strictly limited waste landfill activities and minimized the such as repairing and mending rather than destroying the
environmental contamination attributable to ELVs. As early parts. This method can not only reduce resource waste, but
as 1991, three large American automobile firms—General also maintain or restore the appearance and performance of
Motors, Ford, Daimler Chrysler—have set up a vehicle products. If an automotive plastic part is made of a single
recycling alliance (VRP) aiming to regulate the ELV plastic component with no paint on its surface, it can be
recycling process, to establish a joint venture for research recycled using the physical method. Chemical recycling
on ELV recycling technology, and to share technologies in a refers to the breaking down of waste plastics into mono-
non-competitive field [23]. With the leadership of these mers through chemical decomposition. These monomers
large companies, the US ‘‘Guidelines for Future are then used as raw materials for polymer synthesis. This
method is particularly suitable for mixed plastics. How-
1
ever, this approach requires an excessive amount of energy
Category M: Motor vehicles with at least four wheels designed and
during the decomposition process. The energy recovery
constructed for the carriage of passengers. M1 is comprised by no
more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat, M2 and M3 are method utilizes combustion or other processes to recover
comprised by more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat. energy and is considered the last acceptable method for
M2 has a maximum mass not exceeding 5 tons and M3 is exceeding 5 automotive plastic recycling [28, 29]. The often-used and
tons.
2
basic automotive plastic recycling methods include melt
Category N: Motor vehicles with at least four wheels designed and
processing, direct forming, dissolve recovery, modification,
constructed for the carriage of goods. N1 has a maximum mass not
exceeding 3, 5 tons, N2 exceeding 3, 5 tons but not exceeding 12 tons, gasification, chemical depolymerization, oil generation by
and N3 exceeding 12 tons. pyrolysis, catalytic cracking, hydrogenation, etc. [30].

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Collecting and dismantling most problematic processes in the management system of

plastic waste [37].
Recycling costs are closely related to dismantling methods, According to whether there is the need to add water or
through the four main stages of identification, cleaning, other liquid medium in the separation process, the tradi-
separation, and pelletizing. In developed countries, auto- tional plastic separation methods can be divided into two
motive plastics are collected by dismantlers along with the categories, wet separation and dry separation. Wet separa-
whole car. Only some relatively new parts will be dis- tion techniques include gravity separation, heavy medium
mantled by hand and sold in the second-hand market. Most separation and the froth flotation method; and dry separa-
of the other plastic components are shredded with car tion methods including air classifier, melting separation,
bodies [31]. Along with the whole car, automotive plastics mechanical separation, electronic sorting and artificial
in China are collected by dismantlers stipulated by the separation [38]. In addition to the traditional methods,
government. For lower labor costs, the plastic parts are plastic electrostatic separation technology with its simple
dismantled by workers rather than shredded with the car equipment structure, easy operation, no pollution and high
body, which makes scrap automotive plastics easier to separation efficiency, obtained fast development. In recent
recycle and lowers recycling costs. years, the researchers developed some combinatorial sepa-
ration technology, by means of the combination of various
Labeling the traditional sorting methods and the electrostatic sepa-
ration method, such as electrostatic separation of the
The labels on scrapped automotive plastic components shredded plastic mixtures using a tribo-cyclone [39], flota-
directly influence their recycling. Both the SAE J1344 and tion with ozone treatment [40] and using air tabling and
the ISO 1043 labeling standards outline the necessary triboelectric separation for separating a plastic mixture [41].
information that manufacturers are required to mark on In order to explain the passenger vehicle plastic parts
plastic components [32, 33]. The information should include recycling technology according to the China’s actual
hazardous materials, weight, type, flame retardants and so plastic recycling conditions, the following section will
on. However, in spite of the standards, the current marking discuss the current status of typical passenger vehicle
scheme is not conducive to plastics identification for the plastics recycling by part types: interior, exterior, and
ELV plastics recycling process. Having labels and markings functional parts.
that are easy to interpret serves to dramatically improve the
ability to identify plastic type and further enables opportu- Recycling technologies for passenger vehicles typical
nities to sort and, therefore, recycle ELV plastics. plastic components
In the EU, the Extended Producer Responsibility
Directive requires all automotive manufacturers to take Exterior trim parts
necessary measures to facilitate downstream identification
of automotive sub-components for the purposes of reuse, The typical exterior parts of a passenger vehicle include
recovery, and recycling [34]. Incorporating this holistic bumpers, radiator grilles, headlights, and so on. Table 2
way of thinking in the North American market serves to shows the primary components, characteristics, and
shift the paradigm from the practice of automotive sup-
pliers labeling plastics as needed for their own activities, to
Table 1 Plastics used in a typical car
a practice where parts are labeled following a format that
can be leveraged by all supply chain partners [35]. China Component Main types of plastics
also should do that to make the identification of plastic Bumpers PP, PC, PS, ABS
materials easier for dismantlers and recyclers. Seating PUR, PVC
Dashboard PP, ABS, SMA, PC/ABS
Separation Fuel systems HDPE, POM, PA, PP, PBT
Body (incl. panels) PP, PPE, PU
There are more than ten different polymers that may be Under-bonnet components PA, PP, PBT
used in a single car, Table 1 lists the main types of pas- Interior trim PP, ABS, PET, POM, PVC
senger vehicle plastics [36]. As the passenger vehicle Exterior trim ABS, PA, PBT, POM, PP
plastic mixture usually includes various kinds of waste
Lighting PP, ABS, PC, PMMA
plastics, this makes the separation an important process that
Liquid reservoirs PP, PE, PA
should be carried out prior to recycling. However, sepa-
Electrical components PP, PE, PA, PVC
ration of mixed plastics encounters many problems (due to
Upholstery PVC, PUR, PP, PE
the characteristics of plastics) and represents one of the

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J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2014) 16:187–200 191

Table 2 Information for typical

Vehicle Part Materials Weight percentage Recycling developmental highlights
passenger vehicle exterior parts
of total vehicle
recycling
Bumper PP, PC About 0.8% Removing the surface coating
Radiator grille ABS About 0.1% Removing the surface coating
Headlight ABS, PMMA About 0.2% Separating the lens, housing and wire, etc.

principal development aspects in recycling of these typical Aside from chemical methods, foreign automotive
exterior parts. bumper recycling enterprises adopt the physical recovery
method to separate different plastic materials, based on
Bumper Figure 3 shows an ELV bumper dismantled from translucency, density, or solubility. The efficient removal
a scrapped passenger vehicle. As a result of the dismantling of the coatings on bumper surfaces presents a technical
process, the bumper was dismantled. Hence, the dismantled difficulty in the bumper recycling procedure. Numerous
bumper cannot be used on a new car and must be processed foreign institutions are engaged in related research on this
using others recycling methods. Figure 4 shows the bum- issue. The use of a modifier allows the ether linkage in the
per recycling process under general conditions. A large paint film to be stripped from the bumper surface [43].
proportion of the domestic ELV recycling enterprises Plastic recycling firms are attempting to employ a number
recycle bumpers using the melt method. Soaking the of chemicals in the pyrolysis process to alter the material
bumper in a chemical solvent removes the coating on the properties of the bumper so that they can be used in bumper
bumper surface. The obtained polypropylene (PP) or remanufacturing or other industries [44]. In order to
polycarbonates (PC) then undergo a simple or complex remove the coatings, Hyundai Motor Company uses water-
regeneration process, and are utilized to produce compo- jets to generate a strong impact on bumper surfaces [45].
nents that do not require good appearance or performance. After paint removal, the adoption of twin-screw extruder
This method has a low capacity for coating removal, and processing on recycled bumper materials yields new plastic
the resulting waste liquid is extremely harmful to the granules that meet the manufacturing requirements of a
environment. A number of local companies recycle bum- new bumper [46]. Scrapped bumpers are crushed into
pers using the pyrolysis method, in which bumpers are used 0.8 mm thick piles [47], and then a high-speed shot peeling
to refine oil or gas. The scrap materials produced after method is applied to the plastic surface to peel the paint off.
pyrolysis are difficult to handle, and the recycling process In other studies, an apparatus employing the differential
easily produces secondary pollution [42]. roller velocity method is used to remove the coatings
during the ELV bumpers recycling process [48]. The
comparison of different bumper coating removal technol-
ogies is shown in Table 3 [49].
Besides, pyrolysis can be used in the bumper recycling
progress. Pyrolysis refers to a form of treatment that
chemically decomposes organic materials by heat to pro-
duce fuel oil, gas or raw materials for chemicals.
In our current study, a high pressure abrasive water jet is
used to remove paint from scrapped passenger vehicle
bumpers. To use the recycled bumper materials in the new
Fig. 3 Bumper of scrapped passenger vehicle bumper manufacturing process and to achieve the high

Fig. 4 Bumper recycling

process under general Simple regeneration
conditions Remove paint Melt
Compound recovery
Bumper Separation
Produce chemical
raw materials
Pyrolysis
Produce fuel
and gas

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Table 3 Comparison of different bumper coating removal technologies

Technical Name Mechanism Technical characteristics
classification
Effecta Capacityb Toxicity Environmental
pollution

Mechanical File grinding method Friction/wear A X No No

method High pressure water jet Impact C–B X No No
Sandblasting method Impact/friction B–A X No No
Dry classification method Air separation/flotation C–B D No No
Wet classification method Density difference B D–O No No
Filtration method Melted filtration C–B D No No
Physical Organic solvent method (using aromatic, Dissolved, interfacial C–B X Yes Yes
method halogenated, ketone and ester solvents) saturation
Chemical Alkali boiling method, acid boiling method Chemical decomposition C–B X Yes Yes
method Organic salt method (using organic salt/ Chemical decomposition, B–A O No No
alcohol/water mixed solution) dissolved, interfacial
saturation
a
Removal effect: A removal coating/priming paint; B removal coating; C no effect
b
Processing capacity (kg/h), O high ([50); D ordinary (20–50); X low (\20)

Scrapped pas-
application of recycled radiator grille and lamp materials
senger vehicle depend on whether the films on the grille surface can be
bumper effectively removed and whether the lamp materials can
Remove paint by be separated well.
New bumper high pressure
At present, no special reports on the recycling technol-
abrasive water jet
ogy for radiator grilles and lamps in China have been
published. In addition to direct landfill disposal and
Separate PP incineration, most of the materials are used to produce low-
Bumper recycling Preliminary
and PC by level plastic products or are modified for other areas. For
process crushing
density method
example, PMMA can be added to an acetone
(CH2COCH2) solution after cleaning, drying, and grind-
Separate em- ing. This mixture can also be used as an adhesive for glass,
Fine crushing bedded metal ceramics, stone, and other materials.
parts
A large number of international studies on radiator grille
Cleaning and and lamp recycling problems are being conducted. The
drying difficulty within the radiator grilles recycling process is
how to remove coatings from the grille surface. Foma
Fig. 5 End-of-life passenger vehicle bumper recycling process Engineering Company [50] developed a centrifugal sepa-
ration system for the separation of PMMA and ABS, which
value-added recycling of bumper materials, a preliminary is also capable of yielding fine separated plastics. This
bumper recycling technology has been developed, as system lays a good foundation for high value-added radi-
shown in Fig. 5, and further related experiments are under ator grille and lamp recycling. The mechanical, thermal
study. and chemical properties of ABS products are evaluated
after two types of recycling process; a recycling process
Radiator grilles and lamps Figure 6 shows a photo- involving grinding and extrusion is compared to a chemical
graph of a radiator grille and lamp. An automotive recycling process that uses a solvent [51]. The fluidized bed
radiator grille is made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene thermal decomposition method can decompose PMMA to
(ABS) and is difficult to recycle because of its complex methyl methacrylate (MMA), increasing the recovery rate
shape and surface coating. The primary ingredients of PMMA up to 90–98 % [52]. After the lamps are crushed
comprising lamps are ABS and polymethylmethacrylate and after the metal ingredients in the crushed materials are
(PMMA). The lamp housing is made of ABS, and the separated, GARAMTECH utilizes the recycled and the
lamp mask is made of PMMA. Moreover, glass and new ABS materials to manufacture new lamp housings
metals are also utilized in lamps. The quality and [53].

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J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2014) 16:187–200 193

Fig. 6 The radiator grille and lamp of an end-of-life passenger vehicle

Pure ABS
ABS Air
Drying
(not pure) separation
PMMA
ELVs Cleaning Remove Magnetic Electrostatic
radiator grille and Grinding Flotation
and lamp drying coating separation separation
Pure PMMA
PMMA Air
Drying
Remove Remove (not pure) separation
ferrous nonferrous ABS
metal metal

Fig. 7 End-of-life passenger vehicle radiator grille and lamp recycling process

The authors are working with recycling companies to Significant effort has been made in the study of instru-
conduct related research work on the high value-added ment recycling by scholars from abroad. PP-type dash-
recycling of automotive radiator grilles and lamps. Figure 7 boards are crushed and mixed with an additive comprising
shows the developed preliminary road map for the recycling 70–92 % wax polymer and 8–30 % of an inorganic filler
of radiator grilles and lamps. Experiments on the recycling mixture. The mixture is then melted and milled to produce
procedure have been performed, and the details of the synthetic resin, which is composed of 45–65 % PP,
recovery process will be described in subsequent articles. 10–20 % ethylene rubber, and 20–40 % inorganic filler.
The obtained resin materials are used to produce a new
Interior trim parts dashboard matrix [54]. A recycling technology for a multi-
layer hydrocarbon poly-vinyl dashboard was also devel-
The typical interior parts in a passenger vehicle includes: oped. In this method, the ethylene-propylene copolymer
instrument panel, seat, inner door panel, roof headliner, and and PP are added into the recycling materials during the
the trunk. Their main components, characteristics and remanufacturing process to improve its performance. The
principal aspects under development in recycling typical remanufactured plastics can be used to produce a new
interior trim parts are shown in Table 4. dashboard or similar plastic parts [55].The instrument
panel components and all-polyurethane instrument panels
Instrument panel Most soft dashboards consist of three can be recycled by the glycolysis method (a metabolic
parts: the surface, the buffer layer and the skeleton. Most process that breaks down carbohydrates and sugars through
surfaces are made of polyvinylchloride (PVC), the buffer a series of chemical reactions) [56]. Several design-for-
layers are made of polyurethane (PU) foam by reaction recycling rules(for example, removal of usable parts as
injection molding, and the skeletons are composed of ABS used parts, rebuilding used parts, shredding the remaining
or PC. The automotive dashboard is an important func- hulk and separating steel and other high-value materials,
tional and trim part, as shown in Fig. 8, and the composi- and discarding the residue to an incinerator or landfill) are
tion and shape of a dashboard is extremely complex, presented in the paper and integrated with the cost-benefit
making it difficult to recycle. In China, most dashboards analysis model (obtain the maximum economic benefits in
are recycled through energy recovery and thermal decom- recycling), which can reduce the cost of recycling of
position methods, which are also employed for fuel tanks. dashboards and other plastics [57]. Using a life cycle

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Table 4 Information for typical passenger vehicle interior trim parts recycling
Vehicle Part Materials Weight percentage Recycling developmental highlights
of total vehicle

Dashboard PU, PP, ABS/PVC alloy About 0.5% Separating different plastics
(including sub-dashboard)
Seat PU, PVC About 0.5% Removing external dirt, cutting and sorting
Inner door panel ABS, PP About 0.35 % Crushing and sorting
Roof headliner PP, PU, ABS/PVC About 0.6% Separating different plastics
(Including the rear window trim plate)
Trunk PP, soft PVC, rubber About 0.45 % Separating different plastic, cleaning
(Including luggage compartment
mat and floor mats)

Fig. 8 The dashboard of a passenger vehicle

assessment (LCA) approach (an important tool for assess-

ing the environmental impact of products and services from
cradle-to-grave); it was found that the greenhouse gas Fig. 9 The inner door panel of an end-of-life passenger vehicle
(GHG) emissions from conventional instrument panels
(IPs) made out of steel, plastic and bio-plastic are, ABS or reinforced PP. A number of composite textiles are
respectively, 15, 29 and 37 % lower than magnesium [58]. also present in the inner door panel of the intermediate and
In addition, many enterprises use incineration or com- lower class vehicles. The crushed fabric will be filtered out,
bustion to recycle energy from the plastic parts that are and a single component of the PP, PVC, ABS, and TPO
difficult to recycle, such as the dashboard. However, a plastic can be obtained using the floatation method and
number of environmental concerns will be produced in the electrostatic separation, which is performed several times.
incineration of scrapped plastic parts, mainly emission of Only a limited number of local and international studies
certain air pollutants such as CO2, NOx and SOx. The on the recycling of inner door panels have been conducted.
combustion of plastic is also known to generate volatile In most developed countries, inner door panels are shredded
organic compounds (VOCs), smoke (particulate matter), with the body and then processed as automotive shredder
particulate-bound heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic residue (ASR). However, related recycling technologies for
hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans inner door panels have not been reported in China.
(PCDFs) and dioxins. Besides, carcinogenic substances The current research examines the recycling issues for
(PAHs, nitro-PAHs, dioxins, etc.) have been identified in dashboards and inner door panels confronting an automo-
airborne particles from incineration or combustion of tive recovery company. A preliminary recovery process
synthetic polymers such as PVC, PET, PS and PE [59]. route (shown in Fig. 10) was obtained based on the present
work, and the relevant experimental work is still in
Inner door panels Figure 9 shows an inner door panel of a progress.
passenger vehicle. Such panels are generally composed of
three layers, namely, the epidermis, middle layer, and Seats The plastic parts in seats are comprised of the skin,
skeleton. The epidermis is primarily comprised of thermo- skeleton, and cushioning pad. Scrapped passenger seats are
plastic olefin (TPO) and PVC materials, the middle layer is shown in Fig. 11. Skin materials are typically comprised of
made of either PP or PU foam, and the skeleton is made of PVC leather, chemical fiber textiles, leather and artificial

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J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2014) 16:187–200 195

TPO

PP foam
Float Floating Electrostatic
Floatation
materials material drying separation
Inner PU foam
door Crushing Filtering Flotation
panels
PP
Submerged Magnetic Electrostatic Electrostatic
Remove material drying separation separation separation
fabrics ABS
Interior Remove
PVC
trim parts metallic
materials

ABS/PC

Cleaning Magnetic Electrostatic Air separa- Electrostatic

Dashboard Crushing Grinding
and drying separation separation tion separation

Remove Remove PVC

PU
ferrous nonferrous
metal metal

Fig. 10 The recycling route for a scrapped passenger vehicle dashboard and inner door panel

Fig. 11 Seat of scrapped passenger vehicle Fig. 12 Roof headliner of a passenger vehicle

leather. The skeleton is mostly made of thermoplastic that the recovery of waste PU seat has a high economic
reinforced PP materials. Cushioning pads are usually made value.
of soft flexible PU materials. Recycled seat cushioning pad
materials can be used in energy absorbance applications, Roof headliner The roof headliner of the vehicle is an
such as vibration and sound damping, sports ground sur- important part of the vehicle interior, functioning not only
facing, and carpet underlay. The granulated polyester PU as decoration, but is also for heat insulation, noise reduc-
foam and foam/fabric laminates are made into new foam by tion, and comfort and safety enhancement. Figure 12
adding diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) in the gran- shows the roof headliner of a vehicle.
ulation process [60]. Some researchers have presented a The roof headliner is produced by bonding different
novel design for recycling (DFR) strategy-extended pro- composites, such as PU, PP, and ABS/PVC. The roof mate-
ducer responsibility—these were incorporated in a new rials are complicated, so separating the different layers is very
software tool, combining the use of emerging technologies difficult. No specific recycling technology for roof headliner
dedicated to automobile shredder residue recycling, toge- has been proposed locally and abroad. Most roofs are made
ther with a design for dismantling strategies [61]. The into fuel and gas through pyrolysis, similar to other plastic
recovery costs in various recycle stages and the values of materials that are difficult to reuse. In addition, some roof
the finished products are analyzed in the study, showing materials that cannot be recycled are processed by landfill.

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Trunk and mats Most trunks of passenger vehicles are New recycling technologies for fuel tanks have been
mostly made of PP, and their recovery process is relatively recently discovered in foreign countries. In the US, a scrap
simple compared to that of other parts. Cleaned trunks are fuel tank recovery system has been established [62]. The
recycled with other PP materials or are used to refine oil recycled HDPE material was found to have good perfor-
and gas through pyrolysis. mance and can be used for the reproduction of fuel tanks.
Trunk cushions and floor mats are mostly made of rubber The steam explosion method is also used for HDPE fuel
and soft PVC. The recycling methods for rubber are already tank recovery [63]. In this method, the HDPE post-con-
well developed. Cushions and mats are not processed sep- sumer automotive fuel tanks are combined with wood fibers
arately because of the low density and light weight of soft to create a new material suitable as an automotive substrate.
PVC materials, but are rather reused with other refractory The scrap fuel tanks and other plastics are made into
materials through pyrolysis and combustion. hydrocarbons, which can be used as raw material by
numerous industries [64], through thermal decomposition, a
Functional parts series of catalytic reactions, and a distillation process.
BASF uses distillation to remove oil and highly explosive
The typical functional parts in a passenger vehicle include materials from the tank surface. The company adopts the
the fuel tank, water radiator room, some pipes, and so on. method of extending the heating time to prevent plastic
Their main components, characteristics and principal performance degradation [65]. The possibility of mechani-
development aspect for recycling typical functional parts cal recycling of the polyethylene (PE) from post-use auto-
are shown in Table 5. motive fuel tanks is performed by some extrusion tests [66].
Special methods for processing the fuel tank are consid-
Fuel tank The main material of a fuel tank is high-density ered in the crushing process because of the remaining gas-
polyethylene (HDPE). The recycling methods currently oline in the tank. Relevant businesses cooperated with our
used for a scrapped fuel tank are main energy recovery and laboratory to develop a recycling route for HDPE fuel tanks.
thermal decomposition. Figure 13 shows a scrapped pas- Figure 14 shows the initially developed route. The detailed
senger car fuel tank. The energy recovery method refers to research results will be reported in subsequent papers.
the utilization of heat during the incineration process of a
waste fuel tank mixed with coal in cement kilns. Thermal Radiator recycling technology The radiator tank is usu-
decomposition refers to the generation of fuel and gas ally made of glass fiber-reinforced nylon 66 (PA66-GF).
using some processing methods, such as pre-processing, The water radiator room will be disposed by landfill when
thermal cracking, pyrolysis, cooling, and other processes. scrapped because polyamide tanks continuously age with
The recovery efficiency of the two methods is low, and the usage (long-term molecular decline in a working environ-
recycling process produces secondary pollution. ment at 90 °C with cooling fluid).

Table 5 Information for typical passenger vehicle functional parts recycling

Vehicle part Materials Weight percentage of total vehicle Recycling developmental highlights

Fuel tank HDPE About 0.1% Removing oil pollution and metal impurities
Radiator room PA66-GF About 0.1 Removing impurities

Fig. 13 End-of-life passenger vehicle fuel tank

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Retired fuel Cleaning Magnetic Electrostatic Air separa-

Crushing Grinding Flotation Drying Deoiling Drying Granulation
tank and drying separation separation tion

Remove Remove
ferrous nonferrous
metal metal

Fig. 14 The recycling route for a retired passenger vehicle fuel tank

The technology called ‘‘Nylon Composite Recycle’’ was resources and serious environmental problems. There-
developed in 2003, providing a new recycling technology for fore, no matter from the point of view of resource
polyamide using one of the largest automotive applications, consumption or the environmental pollution, the
the radiator, and the tank, which has been previously viewed government agencies should strengthen the supervision
as degraded material because of hydrolysis and was deemed for automotive plastics recycling. In addition, almost
as shredder residue. The process of the technology includes everyone is polluting the environment, but do not want
the collection of post-consumer radiator end tanks that are to clean the earth voluntarily. Too many people only
then reground, dissolved, filtered for glass fiber removal, consider their own economic interests, irrespective of
precipitated, recovered, and compounded into a usable resin environmental protection. Even a considerable number
[67]. According to the research, the physical and mechanical of local leaders only care about their political career
properties of the recycled radiator tanks made of PA66-GF and GDP (gross domestic product) growth and rarely
equivalent to the new PA66-GF can be obtained using this consider how to reduce waste generation, waste
method. Satisfactory physical–mechanical properties of recycling and processing, resulting in China‘s very
recycled glass fiber reinforced polyamide composites are serious environmental problems. If not as soon as
attained after they are dried for 3, 6 and 9 h before repro- possible, something must be done to enhance environ-
cessing [68], because polyamides in equilibrium with the mental education, wake up the Chinese people to
environment contain a small amount of moisture and the environmental awareness, or Chinese people will
probability of hydrolysis occurring in these materials will breathe polluted air and drink contaminated water in
change their properties. The recycling technology for the the near future, resulting in many diseases.
radiator tanks has not been reported in China. 2. The information flow in China’s ELVs recycling
process is blocked, which further complicates the
current situation in the automotive recycling industry.
Especially, the information exchanges in the recycling
Problems and future development for the ELVs plastic
process of automotive plastics are not effective
recycling system in China
enough. For example, according to our research,
Shanghai East China Vehicle Dismantling Co., Ltd.
Europe, the US, Japan, and other developed countries have
has no idea how to identify the different plastic parts
established several comprehensive laws and regulations
because the parts manufacturers are unwilling to share
relating to ELV plastics recycling, and a more effective
their information with them. At the same time,
recovery and reuse system have been established in these
dismantlers don’t know how to deal with the disman-
countries. The relevant laws and regulations on the auto-
tled plastic parts and who will take over the plastics.
motive plastic recycling industry are imperfect in China,
As a result, most plastic parts are landfilled with other
and the comprehensive recovery system has not yet been
wastes. Therefore, the national information exchange
built. The reason for the slow development of China’s ELV
platform for automotive plastic recycling should be
plastics recycling industry is very complicated, and the
established and the sub-centers in each provincial area
fundamental reasons are the following:
should be developed as well. It should have a lot of
1. China’s relevant government agencies have slowly interfaces that connect plastic parts manufacturers,
supervised the ELV plastics recycling, and there is a distributors, scrap car collection points, vehicle dis-
lack of awareness of automotive recycling in the public mantlers and plastic material processing units. Plastic
view. At present, the dismantling enterprises just parts manufacturers upload manufacturing information
recycle some single material parts for selling, such as and dismantling technologies. Distributors upload
bumpers; other ingredient complicated components are sales information. Scrap car collection points upload
usually treated as waste for landfill, such as the collecting information. Dismantlers upload disman-
multilayer dashboard, which brings the waste of tling information, including the collection information

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of plastic materials. Plastic material processing units Conclusions

receive and deal with the plastics from dismantlers in a
timely manner. If the platform were to be built, the Since 2009, China has become first in the world of auto-
information exchange in different departments for motive producers and has had the biggest automobile mar-
plastic components recycling could be unimpeded and kets for four consecutive years, but the scrap vehicle
the plastic parts could be recycled by the greatest recycling industry is at its infancy. Especially, the scrapped
extent. plastic parts recycling technology lags behind developed
3. The recycling technology and equipment for ELV countries, such as Japan, America and the EU. Therefore, to
plastic parts are still backward, and the costs in the research the plastic parts recycling technology is very
recycling process are very high. For example, there are important for the sound development of China’s automotive
no advanced technologies for plastic parts paint plastic components industry. In this article, automotive
removal in the recycling process. Current methods plastics recycling-related rules and regulations about
have their flaws. The traditional chemical coating- developed countries and China are discussed. Besides, the
removal method has a low processing capacity, and the recycling technologies for typical plastic components of end-
generated liquid waste seriously harms the environ- of-life passenger vehicles were analyzed comprehensively
ment. The conventional mechanical method is ineffi- according to the part types, include collecting and disman-
cient, expensive and unsuitable for large-scale tling, labeling and different recycling technologies for typ-
production. Hence, new, clean, and efficient methods ical passenger vehicle plastic parts. It can be seen from the
for removing the paint or coating of automotive plastic analyses, developed countries have been studying end-of-
parts must be developed. Among the challenges the life vehicle plastic parts for years, and have developed seri-
plastic parts dismantling industry must overcome ous relative recycling technologies; by contrast, plastic
include lack of professional equipment and manage- components recycling technologies in China is just begin-
ment specifications, small production scales, low ning now. Based on the analyses, the problems and future
dismantling efficiency, low recycling rates, and envi- development for the ELVs plastic recycling system in China
ronmental pollution. In addition, effective separation are deliberated. The results show that only by the united
technology for different plastic materials is still in the action of the relevant government agencies’ supervision,
rough. Some plastic separation technologies have been effective information exchange in different departments
researched, such as flotation, gravity separation, tribo- and the development of recycling technology for typical
electrostatic separation, and so on. However, more plastic parts in scrapped passenger vehicles, can promote
specific techniques concerning polymer properties are the development of China’s automotive plastic parts
not well developed, particularly the technique related recycling.
to the concentration of plastic fractions included in a
product as well as the technique concerning plastics Acknowledgments The author expresses sincere thanks to the
Ministry of Science and Technology, P.R. China for financing this
sorting. China should strengthen its support for the
research within the project ‘‘The Key Technique Investigation and
research and development of new technologies in the Equipment Development of ELV Green Dismantling and Recycling’’
automotive plastic recycling industry. Moreover, under the label 2011BAF11B05, and sincere thanks to the National
China should ensure that such an advanced, reliable, Natural Science Foundation of China for financing this research
within the project ‘‘Fundamental Research on Automobile Shredder
and environmentally friendly plastic recycling tech-
Residues (ASR) Pyrolysis/Gasification Mechanism and Its Recovery
nology can be used in the actual recovery process to in China’’ under the label 51175342.
ensure that plastic parts can be recycled efficiently.
To sum up, only by the united action of the relevant
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