Integrated Consideration of Data Flows and Life Cycle Assessment in Vehicle Dismantling processes

Abstract

The pursuit of environmental sustainability and resource conservation has underscored the growing significance of the circular economy paradigm across industries. This transformation is particularly pertinent within the automotive industry, necessitating a profound restructuring of the value chain, with a specific focus on end-of-life considerations. Significant potential for circular economy arises from the thorough examination of end-of-life vehicles and processes, involving strategies such as component reuse, material recycling and primary resource reduction. Providing process-, product-, component-, and material-specific information at the end-of-life of automotive vehicles can improve decision-making regarding circular strategies. It also demands for new digital solutions. This paper addresses an integrated approach of data flow analysis and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to enable a comprehensive monitoring of the environmental impact of these processes. First, the use case of end-of-life dismantling processes is presented - including pyrotechnics neutralization, vehicle dehydration, disassembly of reuse components as well as vehicle compaction. Secondly, the data demand respective information and material flows is depicted. As a main result, the LCA data flow model specifically tailored to the end-of-life vehicle dismantling processes is described. This model serves as a fundamental basis for analyzing the environmental impact of end-of-life processes combined with the underlying data flow.