Life cycle assessment of different recycling scenarios of aluminum car body sheet

摘要

In accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO/FDIS 14041, different recycling scenarios of aluminum car body sheet have been examined by an LCA study, including: - shredding, sink-float sorting and remelting; - dismantling and remelting; - combination of both techniques. The study was based on the aluminum car body of an Audi A8. For benchmarking reasons, these different life cycle scenarios were compared with a conventional steel car body fulfilling the same functions and with a lightweight steel body with 25% weight reduction. It was found that for most of the selected impact categories, the aluminum car body life cycle which ends in shredding, sink-float sorting, and remelting compares favorably even with lightweight construction. On the other hand, dismantling and remelting and the more realistic combination of both techniques show advantages in comparison with the shredding and sink-floating technique.