SDG 12 | Responsible production and consumption
European regulations require that 95% of the vehicle must be reused
More than 4,000 pieces, this is the composition of a vehicle that also carries fuel, oils and other liquids inside. In its assembly, a modern car can mix almost fifty different materials ranging from glass, rubber tires or plastic bumpers.
Thus up to 60,000 unions that after 18 years, that is the average age of the mobile fleet in Spain, end up in the scrapyard. An end of the journey with thousands of kilometers traveled through streets and national highways, but which, by law, must not end up in a car ‘cemetery’.
Since 2015, European legislation requires recycling 95% of the total mass of the vehicle out of use. “Plastics still reach us that are very difficult to recycle and that is why we do not reach 100%,” explains Alicia García-Ferrero, general director of the Spanish Federation for Recovery and Recycling (FER). “Although, manufacturers are investing in better plastics and everything will be reusable for years to come,” she adds.
In Spain, nearly 700,000 vehicles are recycled in more than 1,300 Authorized Treatment Centers (CAT)
Thus, “about 700,000 vehicles are recycled,” says García-Ferrero, which arrive at the Authorized Treatment Centers (CAT), also known as scrap yards. It is in these facilities that the ‘reincarnation’ of these cars begins in new cars, washing machines, shopping carts, swings or asphalt.
From scrap to new life
Spain has nearly 1,300 CAT, which are not only the last destination for out-of-use cars, but are also large hypermarkets for the almost 4,000 parts that make up these vehicles. Before being converted into scrap, the headlights; alternators; the EGR valves; front or starter motors are saved to be sold independently to users who need them.
Recycling of vehicles out of use
AUTHORIZED TREATMENT CENTER (CAT)
Processing of the administrative leave of the Vehicle Registry of the DGT
issuance of certificate of destruction
Decontamination: extraction of liquids, fluids and hazardous materials
disassembly: parts that are likely to be reused or recycled
Parts recycling and sale as salvaged parts
light suction: separation of textiles, foams, plastics, etc.
magnetic separation: ferrous metals (iron-based) are separated from non-ferrous material (copper, aluminium, rubber, plastics)
manual sorting: manual examination and separation of non-ferrous elements
POST-FRAGMENTATION TECHNOLOGY DENSE MEDIA
they separate metals by different processes (screening, induction currents, densimetric masses, optical systems, etc.)
ENERGY RECOVERY AS FUEL
Fractions no alternative management
Sources: Spanish Federation of Recovery and Recycling and vecteezy.com
Recycling of vehicles out of use
AUTHORIZED TREATMENT CENTER (CAT)
Processing of the administrative leave of the Vehicle Registry of the DGT
issuance of certificate of destruction
Decontamination: extraction of liquids, fluids and hazardous materials
disassembly: parts that are likely to be reused or recycled
Parts recycling and sale as salvaged parts
light suction: separation of textiles, foams, plastics, etc.
magnetic separation: ferrous metals (iron-based) are separated from non-ferrous material (copper, aluminium, rubber, plastic, etc.)
manual sorting: manual examination and separation of non-ferrous elements
POST-FRAGMENTATION TECHNOLOGY DENSE MEDIA
they separate metals by different processes (screening, induction currents, densimetric masses, optical systems, etc.)
ENERGY RECOVERY AS FUEL
Fractions no alternative management
Sources: Spanish Federation of Recovery and Recycling and vecteezy.com
However, before going on to be cut up or, directly, to be pressed, “every vehicle that arrives at these facilities has to be decontaminated”, highlights the general director of FER.
After verifying that the car is registered with the General Directorate of Traffic and that all the administrative procedures are correct, the deguaces workers remove the elements and liquids that can harm the environment. “In this case, we are talking about oils, gasoline or the battery itself,” says García-Ferrero.
Once separated, these fluids are taken to separate tanks to analyze their impurities. If they cannot be reused, they are discarded, but they can have a second life, they are converted into new fuels or lubricating oils for engines or gearboxes.
Next comes the actual disassembly of the vehicle’s more than 4,000 parts. Engine, hood, wheels, headlights, mirrors, doors. All of them are stored for later “use, repair or reuse,” he reveals. Thus, the metal skeleton of the vehicle is practically bare to reach the press.
It is in these machines where the car is reduced to a metal cube or “sold to a fragmentation facility,” García-Ferrero replies. In these facilities, the body of the car that has not been dismantled is crushed, “to get an idea, it is a giant grinder that crushes everything.”
Inside this huge, “fully mechanized” crusher, the metallic compositions are separated from the rest by means of magnets. “70% of a car is ferrous material”, highlights the general director of FER. The rest of the materials such as copper, bronze or aluminum are also destined for other foundries, “this is usually around 5%”.
If car tires cannot be reused, they become artificial grass or fuel for industrial plants.
The most modern cars are increasingly technological and the wiring inside them is hundreds of meters long and weighs around 10 kilos. “They are reused to make new cables, bicycles or return to cars,” says García-Ferrero.
For their part, the tires are the ones that have the easiest exit. If your state allows it, they are reused. On the other hand, if they are damaged, on the other hand, they are crushed to become a granule with multiple applications: from serving as fuel for industrial plants, such as cement or steel mills, to the manufacture of artificial grass.
And the plastics?
Despite the disassembly upon arrival at the Authorized Treatment Centers, “the cars have a lot of plastic and recycling is still not possible.” Plastics, along with textiles, are the most difficult to find a second life for, but when they can be reused, they become insulators or return to the automotive world as interior linings. “Manufacturers have invested a lot and now make polymer-only plastics to facilitate recycling,” says García-Ferrero.
The R&D&i laboratories of the large automotive firms work to be greener and leave less of a footprint on the environment. Thus, brands such as Audi, Renault, Fiat or Ford reuse plastic bottles to make mats. In addition, since 2020, the latter company has been working with McDonald’s to reuse the fast food giant’s coffee waste to be used in the headlight housings of Ford vehicles.
The ‘problem’ of electric cars
Last year in Spain, a total of 27,769 electric vehicles were sold, which is 37.76% more than in 2020. An increase that is sustained over time and that raises a question: can these cars be recycled?
“The process is the same, only you have to remove an electric battery,” explains Alicia García-Ferrero, general director of the Spanish Federation for Recovery and Recycling (FER). “Right now, we send them out of Spain, but we have two research projects to recycle them here,” she adds.
The most common batteries are lithium-ion batteries that are made up of lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese. “In addition, they have a structure made of aluminum and other metals,” adds García-Ferrero.
Due to its recent incorporation in the automobile market, “there is still time for its reuse or recycling”, explains the general director of FER. The possibilities that the industry is considering are several, but “they can be used to recharge various things such as wind turbines.”
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