The CRADA Team for End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling

For the Cost-Effective and Sustainable Recovery and Recycling of Current and Future Automotive Materials

Argonne's flotation separation pilot plant for separating plastics from shredder residue. Download high-resolution image.

Today's cars are made of increasing shares of innovative, lightweight materials. While these materials enhance fuel efficiency and contribute to reduced emissions, they can present challenges at the vehicles' end of life, when the materials transition to recycling.

In the United States today, more than 95 percent of vehicles are recycled in a process that is market-driven rather than government-mandated. Of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), more than 75 percent of material, by weight, is recycled. The U.S. ELV Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) team — composed of Argonne, major automakers and the plastics industry — is leveraging the resources of government and industry to boost that percentage.

The CRADA partners are:

• The United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) Vehicle Recycling Partnership (Chrysler LLC., Ford Motor Company, and General Motors Corporation)
• Argonne National Laboratory
• The American Chemistry Council-Plastics Division

The group's goal is to cost effectively separate and recover valuable materials from ELVs for recycling.

Argonne's dry mechanical separation plant for separating polymers and metals from shredder residue. Download high-resolution image.

Since its inception in August 2003, the CRADA team's impact has been broad. The CRADA team has:

• Developed a process to separate and recover plastics and residual metals from shredder residue, including the polyolefins, styrenics and rubber. The process is ready for field testing and validation.
• Built and tested a 2-ton/hr pilot plant and processed more than 100 tons of shredder residue, recovering more than 90% of its polymer content and more than 90% of its metals content.
• Confirmed the technical feasibility of recovering and reusing polymeric fractions from shredder residue.
• Developed a modular life cycle analysis model for the evaluation of alternative "post-shred" recycle technologies.
• Confirmed the technical feasibility of converting shredder residue to liquid hydrocarbons.
• Confirmed the technical feasibility of converting polyurethane foam from shredder residue to polyol initiators.
• Advanced the technology for the control of Substances of Concern (SOCs).
• Developed a Web site for information dissemination.

The CRADA team is also working to anticipate and meet the recycling needs for components of emerging and future vehicles, such as hybrids and fuel cell vehicles.

Mold tests were conducted with recovered plastics to make battery trays (left) and a knee bolster (right).

In 2007, for its work in the development of processes and procedures to facilitate the recovery of plastics from ELVs, the CRADA team received the Society of Plastics Engineers Global Plastics Environmental Conference "Enabling Technologies in Processes and Procedures" award.

The CRADA team's research is funded by the Vehicle Recycling Partnership, the American Chemistry Council-Plastics Division, and U.S. DOE Vehicle Technologies Program.

May 2008