The discussion about recycling end-of-life vehicles is having major reverberations at present. And, as usual, no one is prepared to bear the costs. The pressure to achieve closed cycles, however, is leading not only to political plotting but also to attractive new developments. The Belgian company, Salyp NV (Zwaanhofweg 8, B-8900 Ieper) is thus concentrating on assuring high-grade mechanical recycling of plastics fractions from end-of-life vehicles by means of intelligent sorting and treatment methods. As the first step, the company has taken out a licence for an American process for separating and cleaning foamed PU. The process, developed by Argonne National Laboratory, a joint venture of the University of Chicago and the American Ministry of Energy, recovers PU in such a high quality that it can be re-used in material form for acoustic damping applications in the engine compartment. This is confirmed by a study carried out by the Society of Automotive Engineers and taking in companies such as General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, BASF,Woodbridge and Lear.

Every year, 14 million cars reach the end of their life in Europe alone. While a number of functioning recycling channels have already been built up for big plastic parts, such as bumpers and radiator grilles, the extremely heterogeneous shredder material mix (Auto Shredder Residue = ASR) constitutes a particular challenge. More than 3.5m t of ASR are obtained in Europe each year. Most of the proposed solutions have so far involved segregation of the metals, followed by chemical recycling or incineration with energy recovery of the organic component. According to figures from Salyp, foamed PU accounts for approximately 5% by volume of European ASR. For the considerably greater share of thermoplastics, at 31%, the Belgian technology company has announced a further innovative separation and treatment technique to be presented at “Recycla Europe 99” (21.-24.9.1999 in Stuttgart). This European development, for which a licence has been taken out, is claimed to exploit the softening temperature of thermoplastics. The method gives single-sort, clean thermoplastic granules, says Salyp. The ASR problem fraction, which often occasions high disposal costs for the 222 shredder companies in Europe, can thus be made into an economically positive material basis. It will be interesting to see what impact this development has on the willingness of all those involved to assume responsibility.

READER SERVICE: Brochure presenting the recycling technology and application studies (German): PIE-No. 43875.