Browse Topic: Circular economy

Items (12)
Sustainability remains a dominant trend in packaging and processing, continuing to attract the attention of the life sciences industry and inspire its new initiatives. Although pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers must prioritize patient safety and product protection, concerns about climate change, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, plastic waste, and pressure to move toward a circular economy are prompting a greater focus on improving the sustainability of their products and packaging
Automotive industry is a major contributor to global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and waste generation. Not only do vehicles produce emissions during usage, but they also generate emissions during production phase and end of life disposal. There is an urgent need to address sustainability and circularity issues in this sector. This paper explores how circularity and CO2 reduction principles can be applied to design and production of automotive parts, with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of these components throughout their life cycle. Also, this paper highlights the impact of design principles on End-of-Life Management of vehicles. As Design decisions of Component impacts up to 80% of emissions [1], it is important to focus on this phase for major contribution in reduction of emissions. Various factors such as material selection, quantity and weight of materials used in parts, design for durability, aerodynamic characteristics, design strategies, design for recycling
Ali, Rifat FahmidaHarel, SamarthShaikh, TahaChakraborty, Pinka
A general automotive car is majorly composed of high strength steel (6%), other steel (50%), Iron (15%), Plastics (7%), Aluminum (4%) and others (Rubber, Glass, Textile) about 18%. End-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are a significant source of waste and pollution in the automotive industry. Recycling ELVs, particularly their plastic components, Li-ion batteries, catalytic converters, and critical technology components such as alternators, semi-conductor chips, and high tensile strength steel can reduce their environmental impact and conserve valuable raw materials. The paper conducts a SWOT analysis and a life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the long-term viability and potential of ELV recycling, environmental impact, and carbon footprint. This paper examines the current state and challenges of ELV recycling in India and proposes a sustainable recycling solution for waste bumpers that includes paint removal, modification, reprocessing & recovery of precious metals from xEV Li-ion batteries
Baviskar, AjayKhera, PankajTelgote, AshishDhuria, HimanshuSharma, Amit
In the current scenario, manufacturing of heavier products generates colossal waste, generates more CO2 emission, and negatively affects the environment. Customers not only pay higher product costs but also higher operational costs. This in turn demands the need for more recycling. Advanced high strength materials are a key solution to applications demanding higher strength, stiffness, durability & wear requirement, whereas low density materials like aluminium and magnesium won’t be a sustainable choice. With more and more battery electric & fuel cell vehicles, “light weighting” is a key priority. Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) has a great advantage of superior mechanical properties compared to conventional ductile iron, aluminium alloys and even some steel forgings. Typically, ADI is used for high wear applications, whereas this paper will demonstrate the potential of using ADI for Structural applications. To display ADI’s potential on “light weight design”, an example of ‘Front
Nalawade, DinkarArcot, PramaanKhajure, Rahul
Sustainability extends beyond just decarbonization. A term popping up more and more in executive and engineering-focused presentations is “circular economy,” referring to a closed-loop production cycle that seeks to minimize resource inputs and reduce or eliminate waste and emissions. Case in point: Rob Zemenchik, CNH Industrial's Sr. Manager for Product Sustainability, said at the SAE COMVEC conference in September that the company specifically seeks projects that deliver on circularity in the product life-cycle. CNH Industrial's roadmap to hit its 2030 and 2050 climate targets includes more than 150 specific projects, ranging from powertrains to hydraulics, he said. One of the “early success stories” is its work with British company Bennaman on an on-farm liquid fugitive biomethane production process
Gehm, Ryan
The second-life use of batteries from electric vehicles (EV) represents an excellent and cost-effective option for energy storage applications, including the control of fluctuations in energy supply and demand or in combination with solar photovoltaic and wind turbine. Indeed, these batteries are normally replaced from EV use before the end of their service life, when they still have 70-80% of the original capacity. Depending on the cell chemistry and the specific design, such batteries can still be employed in less stressful applications than the automotive one, including commercial, residential, and industrial applications. With the aim to promote the transition to a circular closed-loop economy for spent traction batteries, this study consists in a systematic literature review of available options for reusing EV batteries as a storage system in a factory environment, highlighting benefits and critical aspects
De Luca, CristinaSilvestri, LucaForcina, AntonioSilvestri, CeciliaBella, Gino
Sustainable and sustainability are words that are fast becoming industry vernacular. They're woven into executive speeches, press releases, marketing, and engineers' messaging. That's because a gospel of sustainable practices is spreading fast among the leading automotive OEMs and their supply base. And as such a paradigm-setting trend deserves, we're focusing on it in this month's Automotive Engineering. “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs,” is one definition of the term. In my view, sustainability is analogous to efficiency - of the product, of manufacturing and of human resources - the equitable treatment of employees and the community. At its heart is a circular economy that's not just about EVs and climate change
Brooke, Lindsay
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