Analyzing the environmental impact of copper-based mixed waste recycling-a LCA case study in China

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125256

	Analyzing the environmental impact of copper-based mixed waste recycling-a LCA case study in China
	Zhang, Wenbiao 3; Li, Zehong 1,3; Dong, Suocheng 1,3; Qian, Peng 2; Ye, Shufeng 2; Hu, Shuhan 3; Xia, Bing 3; Wang, Chunying 1,3
刊名	JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
	2021-02-15
卷号	284 页码:12
关键词	Copper recovery Ecological efficiency Life cycle assessment Recycling industry Metal recycling
ISSN号	0959-6526
DOI	10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125256
通讯作者	Li, Zehong(lizehong@igsnrr.ac.cn) ; Qian, Peng(pqian@ipe.ac.cn)
英文摘要	Copper-based mixed wastes include copper-containing wastes from the chemical, metallurgy, copper processing, printing, electronic component manufacturing, and other industries. Copper-based mixed wastes have high humidity and a significantly lower copper content than general waste copper, pose serious environmental hazards, and are very difficult to recover. The recycling of copper-based mixed wastes has important economic and environmental significance. Chinese companies have started extracting copper and other metals from copper-based waste mixtures and have achieved a high economic efficiency. This paper assesses the environmental impacts of copper-based mixed waste recycling and suggests possible optimization measures for the production process with respect to environmental impacts. The life cycle assessment (LCA) method is adopted to evaluate the effects of different production processes and to compare the environmental impacts of copper recovery from copper-based mixed waste recycling to the environmental impacts of primary and secondary copper production. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to estimate and evaluate the effects of possible production process optimization measures on environmental impacts. The results show the following: 1) The environmental impact of the copper-based mixed waste recovery process is generally superior to that of primary copper production in China on average, while it is inferior to that of secondary copper production. For example, the fossil energy consumption in primary copper production accounts for 74.9% of the impact of this process. 2) Smelting is the production process with the greatest environmental impact throughout the life cycle of copper-based mixed waste, accounting for 64.5% of the normalized index of the total environmental impact; and electrolysis and zinc recovery reach 19.8% and 12.1% of the total normalized index, respectively. 3) The raw materials and emission components with the largest environmental impacts are the carbon emissions from coal use and carbon dioxide emissions during smelting, the use of electricity during electrolysis, and the use of heavy oil and lime as raw materials during refining; these five items account for 69.7% of the total environmental impact. Thus, efforts at process improvement should focus on the full life cycle of energy utilization in the smelting process and on energy and material depletion in the refining and electrolysis processes. Specific process improvements and simulation analyses are important directions for further research. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
资助项目	Key Deployment Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences[ZDRWZS201812] ; Project of Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, Chinese Academy of Sciences[IAGM-2019-A16]
WOS关键词	LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT
WOS研究方向	Science & Technology - Other Topics ; Engineering ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
语种	英语
出版者	ELSEVIER SCI LTD
WOS记录号	WOS:000609033000002
资助机构	Key Deployment Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences ; Project of Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, Chinese Academy of Sciences
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://ir.igsnrr.ac.cn/handle/311030/136336]
专题	中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所
通讯作者	Li, Zehong; Qian, Peng
作者单位	1.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, 380 Huaibeizhuang, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China 2.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Proc Engn, 1 North Second St, Beijing 100190, Peoples R China 3.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geog Sci & Nat Resources Res, 11A Datun Rd, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Zhang, Wenbiao,Li, Zehong,Dong, Suocheng,et al. Analyzing the environmental impact of copper-based mixed waste recycling-a LCA case study in China[J]. JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2021,284:12.
APA	Zhang, Wenbiao.,Li, Zehong.,Dong, Suocheng.,Qian, Peng.,Ye, Shufeng.,...&Wang, Chunying.(2021).Analyzing the environmental impact of copper-based mixed waste recycling-a LCA case study in China.JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,284,12.
MLA	Zhang, Wenbiao,et al."Analyzing the environmental impact of copper-based mixed waste recycling-a LCA case study in China".JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION 284(2021):12.