TransForum Vol. 4, No. 3

ARGONNE AND INDUSTRY LEVERAGE RESOURCES TO TURN "SHREDDER RESIDUE" FROM JUNKED VEHICLES INTO MARKETABLE MATERIALS

AUTO RECYCLING AGREEMENT - Richard T. Gutowski of DaimlerChrysler Co. pours auto-shredder residue that has been cleaned and sorted for recycling. Watching are (left to right) Ed Wall of the U.S. Department of Energy, Harvey Drucker of Argonne National Laboratory, and James Kolb of the American Plastics Council. They are celebrating a five-year cooperative research agreement that will build on recycling technology developed at Argonne to create a cost-effective process for recycling end-of-life vehicles.

White signs placed along the roads at the Argonne site on December 2, 2003, directed visitors to the "Vehicle Recycling Event." Although the signs were small and unremarkable, they pointed the way to something fairly momentous: the future of plastics recycling.

At the Vehicle Recyling Event, the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, the Vehicle Recycling Partnership of USCAR (a partnership of DaimlerChrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp.), and the American Plastics Council announced the signing of a five-year, multimillion-dollar cost-shared Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) designed to enable cost-effective recycling of end-of-life vehicles.

"This project brings together the American Plastics Council's knowledge of polymers and recycling processes, Argonne's research expertise, and USCAR's understanding of the marketplace," said Harvey Drucker, Argonne's Associate Laboratory Director. "Together as a team, we can lead the development of viable solutions to the vehicle recycling challenges of today and the future."

With greater demands for better fuel economy and lower emissions, manufacturers are incorporating increasing amounts of lightweight and nonmetallic material into vehicles. At the end of their serviceable lives, about 15 million vehicles annually are discarded and sent to recycling companies for shredding. Much of the nonmetallic material in these vehicles cannot be recycled because it is too hard to separate and sort the materials and because there is no real market for the recycled plastics. This leftover "shredder residue," comprising about 25% of every junked vehicle, must then be landfilled at a significant cost to the vehicle recycler. Together Argonne, the American Plastics Council, and USCAR will pursue an aggressive research program to develop and demonstrate technologies to recover and recycle automotive materials within the existing recycling infrastructure. The CRADA team will solicit help from all the key stakeholders.

"Vehicle recycling can be a self-sustaining process that pays for itself in the United States," said Mike Fisher, Director of Technology for the American Plastics Council. "The headway we make in boosting vehicle recyclability will be a boon to the American recycling industry, and the American Plastics Council is pleased to be actively involved in the search for optimal, sustainable solutions to the management of end-of-life vehicles."

A new pilot recycling facility already operating at Argonne will serve as a focal point for the broader research that will be conducted by the CRADA partners.

Argonne's pilot facility begins with bulk separation of all shredder residues into four categories: fines (iron oxides, other oxides, glass, and dirt), polyurethane foams, polymers (polypropylene, polyethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene [ABS], nylon, polyvinyl chloride [PVC], polyester, and other materials), and ferrous and nonferrous metals.

Plastic-rich streams, iron oxides, and polyurethane foam can each separately be recycled to other uses. Tests show that the resulting polyurethane foam meets performance criteria for new-material carpet padding and for reuse in automotive applications. The process is fully continuous, minimizing materials handling and labor costs.

"The CRADA allows Argonne, the American Plastics Council, and USCAR to leverage significant technical resources," said Pat Flaherty, Executive Director of USCAR. "Together, we have the potential to make a substantial positive impact on the recycling of materials from end-of-life vehicles in the United States."