The current trends of waste present a global challenge pursuing sustainability. In response, recy... more The current trends of waste present a global challenge pursuing sustainability. In response, recycling is broadly recognised as a solid strategy and the proper approach to attenuate the impact on the environment and human society. However, despite the current strides in recycling the remaining amounts of disposed products keep on increasing. Reversal of this trend is challenging, given the available recycling technology requires both, materials and energy, thus contributing to the depletion of resources. Therefore, for one aiming to cope with waste through recycling, efficient processes must be carefully selected. The current literature reveals a series of strategies , terminologies, processes and technologies, which may be confusing. The adopted methodology uses a bibliometric literature review to assess the available treatment of waste coming from End of Life (EoL) products, pointed out as successful strategies by recognised literature. The findings will deliver a framework of processes covering the different EoL strategies, their steps and processes. Thus, promoting a more sustainable waste handling due to the adoption of strategies and processes found more efficient, but yet reliable and available. In this sense, disruptive technologies are glimpsed as promising substitute solutions. The main contributions are. First, presents an approach for assessing diverse literature. Second, it identifies, clarifies, prioritises and delivers revised concepts and definitions to cope with waste more efficiently. Finally, summarises a vast amount of recycling processes along the EoL, revealing their precursors, constraints and also, the more efficient recycling processes with opportunities for future research.
Systematic reuse of parts is not often achievable in a sustainable way. The methods associated wi... more Systematic reuse of parts is not often achievable in a sustainable way. The methods associated with the available disassembly technology rarely addresses non-destructive disassembly approach that favor reuse as an end-of-life (EoL) strategy. In this sense, this paper aims to propose a method able to identify best opportunities and thus, focus on the designers' efforts during the early stages of product development , with major repercussions during the product EoL. To build the method, the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) is adopted. The method scope relies on material and energy flows measured in terms of exergy that ultimately depicts for energy efficiency, environmental impact, cost and technical efficiency. By means of a case study, findings challenge common sense by quantitatively showing how small subsystems with 3% of mass can hold nearly 200 times more embodied exergy than another with 50% of the mass and thus, may greatly affect product design and EoL results. Therefore, the adoption of the method may prove useful for establishing easy-to-use design practices that favor green engineering, circular economy and environmental policies. An exergy-based approach would unbiasedly drive Reuse EoL that facilitate Design for the Environment (DfE) as well as focus efforts on specific disassembly technologies.
The increase of waste presents a challenge for organizations and societies pursuing sustainable d... more The increase of waste presents a challenge for organizations and societies pursuing sustainable development. In this context, recycling is widely recognized for being a friendly strategy to the environment and the proper approach to effectively manage waste and minimize the negative impact on the environment and the economy. However, since the available recycling technology requires both raw materials and energy, it ultimately contributes to the depletion of natural resources. Therefore, it is vital to assess the energy efficiency of recycling processes to determine their real benefit. The scientific literature suggests a series of approaches , requirements and practices, which may be, at first sight, confusing. The present study focuses on efficiency evaluation of recycling processes by means of exergetic analyses. It performs a systematic review, based on nine significant factors in recycling processes, of the relevant literature concerning the evaluation of recycling processes through the exergetic approach. The review makes two important contributions. First, it presents an approach for assessing such diverse literature by means of a single structure. In addition, it allows the identification of improvement opportunities and reveals future research opportunities.
The current trends of waste present a global challenge pursuing sustainability. In response, recy... more The current trends of waste present a global challenge pursuing sustainability. In response, recycling is broadly recognised as a solid strategy and the proper approach to attenuate the impact on the environment and human society. However, despite the current strides in recycling the remaining amounts of disposed products keep on increasing. Reversal of this trend is challenging, given the available recycling technology requires both, materials and energy, thus contributing to the depletion of resources. Therefore, for one aiming to cope with waste through recycling, efficient processes must be carefully selected. The current literature reveals a series of strategies , terminologies, processes and technologies, which may be confusing. The adopted methodology uses a bibliometric literature review to assess the available treatment of waste coming from End of Life (EoL) products, pointed out as successful strategies by recognised literature. The findings will deliver a framework of processes covering the different EoL strategies, their steps and processes. Thus, promoting a more sustainable waste handling due to the adoption of strategies and processes found more efficient, but yet reliable and available. In this sense, disruptive technologies are glimpsed as promising substitute solutions. The main contributions are. First, presents an approach for assessing diverse literature. Second, it identifies, clarifies, prioritises and delivers revised concepts and definitions to cope with waste more efficiently. Finally, summarises a vast amount of recycling processes along the EoL, revealing their precursors, constraints and also, the more efficient recycling processes with opportunities for future research.
Systematic reuse of parts is not often achievable in a sustainable way. The methods associated wi... more Systematic reuse of parts is not often achievable in a sustainable way. The methods associated with the available disassembly technology rarely addresses non-destructive disassembly approach that favor reuse as an end-of-life (EoL) strategy. In this sense, this paper aims to propose a method able to identify best opportunities and thus, focus on the designers' efforts during the early stages of product development , with major repercussions during the product EoL. To build the method, the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) is adopted. The method scope relies on material and energy flows measured in terms of exergy that ultimately depicts for energy efficiency, environmental impact, cost and technical efficiency. By means of a case study, findings challenge common sense by quantitatively showing how small subsystems with 3% of mass can hold nearly 200 times more embodied exergy than another with 50% of the mass and thus, may greatly affect product design and EoL results. Therefore, the adoption of the method may prove useful for establishing easy-to-use design practices that favor green engineering, circular economy and environmental policies. An exergy-based approach would unbiasedly drive Reuse EoL that facilitate Design for the Environment (DfE) as well as focus efforts on specific disassembly technologies.
The increase of waste presents a challenge for organizations and societies pursuing sustainable d... more The increase of waste presents a challenge for organizations and societies pursuing sustainable development. In this context, recycling is widely recognized for being a friendly strategy to the environment and the proper approach to effectively manage waste and minimize the negative impact on the environment and the economy. However, since the available recycling technology requires both raw materials and energy, it ultimately contributes to the depletion of natural resources. Therefore, it is vital to assess the energy efficiency of recycling processes to determine their real benefit. The scientific literature suggests a series of approaches , requirements and practices, which may be, at first sight, confusing. The present study focuses on efficiency evaluation of recycling processes by means of exergetic analyses. It performs a systematic review, based on nine significant factors in recycling processes, of the relevant literature concerning the evaluation of recycling processes through the exergetic approach. The review makes two important contributions. First, it presents an approach for assessing such diverse literature by means of a single structure. In addition, it allows the identification of improvement opportunities and reveals future research opportunities.
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