Another AIMPLAS project successful in reducing CO2 emissions

AIMPLAS recently finished co-ordinating the LIFE CIRC-ELV Project, which ended with the successful development of a new process for recycling plastic components from end-of-life vehicles.

A new plastic recovery process has been successfully implemented by one of the members of the consortium, the Valencian company Desguace Cortés, which involves separating the polypropylene bumpers and polyethylene fuel tanks of end-of-life vehicles due to the value of these materials, which are recycled for reintroduction in the production cycle, thus promoting the circular economy.

Two recycled demo samples were developed in the project: one a closed loop sample whereby the plastic remains in the automotive industry (in this case, wheel liners for vehicles manufactured by SIGIT; and the other an open loop sample, in which pipes and pipe fittings were manufactured at a production plant in Portugal by near project partner ISOLAGO.

The role of AIMPLAS involved optimising the pre-treatment of bumpers and fuel tanks to obtain the recycled raw material used to manufacture the new demo sample products. The result was a 20 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions generated during the manufacturing process due to the use of 30 per cent recycled plastic from end-of-life vehicles.

The use of this recycled plastic in products for this industry and others will help reduce the carbon footprint by 85 per cent, according to AIMPLAS.

The technology developed in the project can be applied in Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) to obtain recycled plastics ready to be used to produce new products.

The implementation of this part separation model in European ATFs is supported by the French company INDRA as a reference in the sector of managing end-of-life vehicles. SIGRAUTO has also helped disseminate and transfer the project results.

The LIFE CIRC-ELV Project, co-funded by the European Union LIFE Programme, is made up of partners AIMPLAS, Desguace Cortés, SIGIT and SIGRAUTO (Spain), INDRA (France) and ISOLAGO (Portugal).