1) Introduction
Vehicles are basics to societies and are constantly expanding in use. However, for the duration of their life cycle, vehicles affect the nature in a few different ways such as energy and resource consumption, waste generation, toxic substance emission during production and use and transfer toward the finish of their useful lives (Kanari, Pineau and Shallari, 2003). That is why vehicles ought to be recycled to preserve natural resources. The dismantling of cars for their spare parts means vehicle recycling. The parts of a car and all it’s maintenance items should be appropriately castoff in order to keep toxic substances, radioactive compounds, and metallic dust out of the environment and to reuse existing sources.
Recycling a car is one of the recycling procedure of vehicles. As it is considered an industrial process, there are so many different steps to complete. Also, there are many dangerous materials to displace. The car is now a standout amongst the most viably recuperate and reused purchase items, with its parts being utilized again in vehicles or for different purposes. The metals utilized in its making are routinely recouped, reused and recycled to abnormal states. The parts of the car should be comminuted, separated in ferrous and non-ferrous metals. In general, the cars are shredded and the metal substance is recouped for recycling, while in numerous territories, the rest is additionally arranged by machine for recycling of extra materials, for example, glasses and plastics. And the rest of the car, as car shredder buildup, is put into a landfill.
Approximately all the parts of an auto can be recovered, with a recycling of more noteworthy than 90% of the vehicle (The Balance Small Business, 2016). Generally, cars are made from metals and alloys that are recyclable and usually, the recycled parts of a car incorporate batteries, steel, iron, windshield glass, tires, radiators, wheels, transmissions, elastic hoses, rugs, auto seats, belts, oil channels, and tangles.
2) Process Overview
As the car arrives into a recycling yard, firstly it is checked regardless of whether the auto is more profitable to repair than reuse. On the off chance that the repairing looks unrewarding, the recycling process at the point continues with disassembling and recycling (The Balance Small Business, 2016).
The all process of recycling a car starts with stocking the parts. First of all, the tires and wheels, battery and catalytic converter are evacuated manually. After that, fluids like motor coolant, transmission fluid, oil, cooling refrigerant, antifreeze for windshield washer, brake fluid and fuel are drained, filtered and removed for reuse. Every used car contains oils and industrial fluids so holes are drilled to safely dispose of the environmentally harmful liquids once that’s done the breakers get on with stripping anything that can be sold on to another motorist. This recycling saves valuable energy and natural resources. After this step, certain high esteem parts of cars, for example, alternators, starter engines, electronic modules like stereo and infotainment frameworks – even total motors and transmissions – might be evacuated on the off chance that they are as yet workable and can be gainfully sold on; either in “as seems to be” utilized condition or to a remanufacturer for reclamation. So in brief, the usable parts of a car are taken off and they are refurbished to be sold back to the public as a cheaper alternative.
Overall, once all the suitable parts are salvaged, it is time for the car to meet its maker. A heavy duty crane places the junk car into the jaws of the crusher and then, the car is flattened. After that, the sliding walls reduce the vehicle to scrap metal with a huge force. The crane that heaved up a hatchback now lifts a heap of crushed metal onto another step which is the most important: recycling yard. A cutter chops them into bite-sized pieces so they’ll fit into the shredder. Scrap metals come out at the other side of the shredder. Steel and iron are separated from other materials by magnetic drum after the aluminium has also been sifted out the only thing left is junk. Here, magnets are used to separate the ferrous (iron and steel) from non-ferrous (aluminium) metals. Metals and alloys such as steel and iron from waste cars are generally used to produce a wide range of items. The main thing that remains is the auto body which incorporates diverse metal. This auto body is then smashed and comminuted into a metal chunk and will be buried in a landfill site. All the metals that have been saved fall onto a vast pile, this is the field of the recycling plant. Enormous tractors load scrap metal onto containers as the last step and it’s then taken off to a processing plant. There the scrap metal will be turned into various wares or used in constructions or maybe just back into a new car.
The main parts of the car that can be reused, resold or recycled (MNN – Mother Nature Network, n.d.) (Scrap Car Comparison, 2018):
1. Oil Filters: Used oil filters can likewise be recycled.
2. Engines and Transmissions: These parts can be dismantled, rebuild and reconditioned thanks to new mechanics who can make them greener.
3. Tires: They are reused depending on their visual inspection or thread depth evaluation. On the other hand, consuming old tires results in air contamination and a harmful, combustible oily runoff. It means that tires should be recycled instead of burning them. Recycled tires are used in rubberized asphalt bases to make new roadways, football grounds, shoes, and playgrounds for children.
4. Batteries: Batteries contain very toxic chemicals inside. So, they are the most common part of a car which is needed to be recycled because they contaminate the environment the most. Normally, they are recycled to produce new batteries.
5. Water Pumps: Water pumps are one of the car parts that can be remanufactured and reused.
6. Starters and Alternators: These parts can be remanufactured as well. They are usually removed and resold because these parts are actually very expensive when brand new.
7. Belts and Car Seats: Seatbelts are usually made from webbed fabric, nylon or polyester it means that they are produced from a durable, however adaptable material. They can be reused especially in home furnishing and fashion such as pillows, cushions, hammocks, bags, shoes, and belts. Car seats are usually resold if they are in good condition.
8. Catalytic Converters: Catalytic converters consist of very precious metals such as platinum. These metals are evacuated and reused in different gadgets, pharmaceuticals, and jewelers. On the other hand, they can be reused in the creation of new catalytic converters.
9. Air Bags: They are safely ignited and disarmed. This step is done because reusing air bags is considered as not safe.
10. Plastics: Plastics such as gas tanks, dashboards, lights and other plastic parts from cars are isolated from different segments and comminuted for conversion into new items. Moreover, plastics in a car are usually reused for carpet glue, trash cans, and different applications. Whereas, most polyamide plastics are not recovered.
11. Scrap Metal: Aluminium auto rims, door handles and other scrap metal from harmed and decommissioned vehicles can be sold at scrap metal yards, where they will be melted down for reuse in different designs such as new cars, bridges and tin cans. Parts from, steel and iron are recycled at a very high rate.
12. Auto Glass: Normally, glass windows are shredded down to sand before being changed to tiles. Moreover, recovered auto glass can be changed into fiberglass insulation, solid blocks, and glass bottles. They are also used to make porcelain, jewelry, tile flooring, ledges, and glass beads. However, recycling windshields is very hard because the glass is sandwiched between two layers of plastic.
13. Used Engine Oil: Engine oil never destroys; it just gets dirty. Inappropriately discarding engine oil prompts polluted soil, streams, waterways, and groundwater. Used engine oil should be cleaned and then, it can be reused properly. Or, it is just converted into fuel used in container ships.
3) Main Processing Step Overview
In a car recycling, the most important process step is separating ferrous and non-ferrous metals and then turning the scrap metals into new items because steel is the most common metal in a car.
First of all, shredders are utilized to squash the car and diminish it into the little pieces. When the comminution is finished, large and powerful magnets are used to separate the ferrous (iron and steel) from non-ferrous (aluminium, copper) metals. The recovered ferrous metals are recycled to produce new steel. Collected ferrous metals are pressed for ease of transportation and storage. Thus, their volume is reduced. As a result of this process, metals are brought to the plant (steel mills) where they will be processed. First, physical milling is done here. Following the milling process, these scrap metals are melted down in high-grade furnaces. With the high temperature, steels are poured into casters and rolled into new flat sheets. Or metal blocks are formed. These metal blocks are pressed to the desired thickness and turned into “rebar” which is used in the construction industry for building bridges, buildings, and highways. (Rebar is actually a material used in the construction industry to reinforce and outline concrete structures.) Or just transformed into new cars, bicycles, and cans.
4) Discussion & Future Perspective
Recycling a car means recycling the steel and the iron which contributes to the contamination of the environment. Recycling end-of-life vehicle is required not just by financial and mechanical aspects yet in addition by social and natural concerns. So, automotive industry is moving toward sustainable waste administration (Kanari, Pineau and Shallari, 2003). Recycling the parts from a car helps nature and its resources to be protected and then energy is saved. Most important thing is to be able to obtain profitably raw material sources from end-of-life vehicles.
5) Conclusion
To conclude, the goal of this process is to recycle car parts as much as possible. It should not be forgotten that protecting the environment is essential nowadays because the world is struggling with climate change and global warming. All living creatures need natural resources and if recycling processes develop and carry out more in general, at least the current problems can be faced. New treatment processes should have the potential to give waste a new value. A change of thinking has taken place away from seeing waste as an inconvenient towards seeing waste as a valuable resource which can transform to a raw material.