Are scarce metals in cars functionally recycled?

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Engineering
• Circular Economy

Background:

• Global demand for scarce metals is rising, increasing resource security risks.
• End-of-life vehicles (ELVs) contain valuable scarce metals, but their recycling pathways are not well understood.
• Effective ELV recycling is crucial for sustainable resource management and mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the input of 25 scarce metals into Swedish ELV recycling.
• To assess the extent to which these scarce metals are functionally recycled within ELV waste streams.
• To identify pathways and challenges for improving scarce metal recovery from ELVs.

Main Methods:

• Mapping scarce metals to their applications in new Swedish car models.
• Utilizing material flow analysis of ELV waste streams.
• Assessing the functional recycling of metals based on their identified pathways and applications.

Main Results:

• Only platinum demonstrates consistent functional recycling in its primary application within ELVs.
• Cobalt, gold, manganese, molybdenum, palladium, rhodium, and silver show variable functional recycling potential based on specific applications and recycling routes.
• Seventeen scarce metals are not functionally recycled, often being lost to lower-value material streams or landfills.

Conclusions:

• Current ELV recycling practices result in significant losses of scarce metals, despite high overall material recycling rates.
• There is a substantial risk of scarce metals being downgraded or lost during ELV recycling, undermining resource circularity.
• Targeted strategies are needed to enhance the functional recycling of scarce metals from ELVs, addressing specific applications and material flows.