Management of End-of-Life Vehicles and Characterization of Automobile Shredder Residue in Korea

About 3.2 million vehicles were locally produced and 1.8 million vehicles were exported from Korea in 2003. Currently 14 million cars are registered, and 0.55 million end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are generated every year in Korea. 184,000 ELVs are exported as second-hand cars, and the remainder are collected at junkyard facilities. The present ELV recycle rate and management status during the dismantling stage were investigated in order to aid the establishment of policies for the management of ELVs by surveying the information and using the results gained from the questionnaires given to dismantlers. The average recycle rate in the dismantling stage showed a value of 44% and the rest of an ELV was then compressed and transported to shredding companies to recover mainly the iron content, which averaged 38.7% of the mass of a new vehicle. The non-ferrous metals such as copper, antimony, zinc and aluminum accounted for only 1.5%. The automobile shredder residues (ASRs) were composed of light and heavy fluffs and soil/dust and amounted to 15.8% based on the mass of a new vehicle. Dumping of fluff and inorganic residues into a landfill site, however, will be restricted when new regulations are implemented to reduce the disposal amount to less than 5% of a new car as done in European countries and Japan. The detailed characteristics of ASR were investigated to suggest appropriate means of treatment such as volume reduction or the utilization of thermal technologies in order to meet future expected enforcement. Also some concerns on hazardous pollutant release such as dioxins while utilizing such thermal treatment methods were considered.