Browse Topic: Circular economy
This research paper offers a comprehensive evaluation of lithium-ion battery recycling methods, tracing the entire journey from global demand to the practical challenges and solutions for sustainable battery recycling. It starts with the analysis of worldwide LIB demand growth alongside the exponential growth in volumes of spent batteries and recycling rates. The study focuses on the imbalance in production and recovery of critical battery components and its environmental and economic effects. The paper then systematically examines six major recycling methodologies: mechanical, pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical, biotechnological, direct, and ion-exchange recycling. It goes into detail about their advantages, limitations, and roles in maximizing the recovery of valuable metals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Traditional techniques like hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical methods, and emerging approaches including bioleaching and ion-exchange, are evaluated for their
This study explores the application of reverse engineering (RE) and digital twin (DT) technology in the design and optimization of advanced powertrain systems. Traditional approaches to powertrain development often rely on legacy designs with limited adaptability to modern efficiency and emission standards. In this work, we present a methodology combining 3D scanning, computational modeling, and machine learning to reconstruct, analyze, and enhance internal combustion engines (ICEs) and electric vehicle (EV) drivetrains. By digitizing physical components through RE, we generate high-fidelity DT models that enable virtual testing, performance prediction, and iterative improvement without costly physical prototyping. Key innovations include a novel mesh refinement technique for scanned geometries and a hybrid simulation framework integrating finite element analysis (FEA) and multi-body dynamics (MBD). Our case study demonstrates a 12% increase in thermal efficiency for a retrofitted ICE
The purpose of this research is to examine the fundamental principles of a circular economy (CE) in relation to the automotive industry in India, which plays a vital role in the country's economy. As a result, energy consumption and environmental impacts also pose significant challenges. CE provide a transformative approach through the life cycle of a vehicle, guiding the automotive industry toward a more sustainable transportation system. In order to decarbonize this industry, the global automotive commission recommends that recycled plastic content in vehicles be increased to 20-25% by 2030. This target necessitates the recovery of plastics from end-of-life vehicles, though these materials are rarely integrated into compounds today. The automotive industry's reliance on plastics has grown substantially due to their lightweight properties, which enhance fuel efficiency, reduce CO₂ emissions, and improve versatility and mechanical performance. polypropylene polymer and several other
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have consolidated their place in the technology market for the energetic transition, with global manufacturing capacity exceeding 1 TWh in recent years and costs falling in this competitive environment. At the same time, the number of end-of-life LIBs is increasing, stimulating the recycling industry to process battery streams, thus promoting the circular economy to meet the increased demand for strategic raw materials and decarbonization. Vehicle electrification is the main driver of battery production, but their end-of-life will take some time to be significant in volume in the next years. Consumer electronics such as smartphones, laptops and power tools are now available at an appropriate volume enabling the preparation of recycling industry for the moment. In this scenario, recyclers are looking for sustainable routes to absorb all these streams and the different LIBs chemistries (LFP, NCA, NMC, LCO, LMO) to recover the critical metals (Ni, Co, Cu, Mn
Why smart electrical distribution is the new frontier in sustainable manufacturing. From transitioning to renewable energy, embracing the circular economy and pursuing carbon offsets, today's automakers are actively working to become more sustainable. Many OEMs have big goals to become fully carbon-neutral by 2050. Some believe they can get there even earlier. But look past the cars and sources of energy right into the factories in which the vehicles of today and tomorrow are born and focus on a key question: how can carmakers make significant strides inside their plants to cut waste and improve sustainability?
The next generation of mobility, driven by shared, driverless, connected, and electrified vehicles, holds strong potential to advance sustainability through lower emissions and improved resource efficiency. However, critical questions remain regarding their true environmental impact, including battery lifecycle management, material consumption, and circular manufacturing practices. Sustainable Circular Future Mobility: Environmental Impact of Next-gen Vehicles explores these unresolved issues, focusing on the shift from internal combustion to electric vehicles, supply chain challenges, regulatory gaps, and the operational realities of sustainable productization. It also critically examines the risks of greenwashing, the need for consistent standards, and the role of intersectoral collaboration—with energy, urban planning, information and communications technologies, and waste management sectors—in building resilient, scalable solutions. The report provides strategic recommendations and
Letter from the Guest Editors
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.
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.
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.
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