| Title |
Environmental Impact Assessment of Different Strategies for the Remanufacturing of User Electronics |
| ID_Doc |
69351 |
| Authors |
Mann, A; Saxena, P; Almanei, M; Okorie, O; Salonitis, K |
| Title |
Environmental Impact Assessment of Different Strategies for the Remanufacturing of User Electronics |
| Year |
2022 |
| Published |
Energies, 15.0, 7 |
| DOI |
10.3390/en15072376 |
| Abstract |
Over the years, the innovation and development of electrical and electronic equipment have been on a steep rise. Millions of electronics are being sold or discarded every year in the form of waste. Sustainable IT (Green IT or Circular Computing) is one of the most environment-friendly methods of reusing discarded or waste user electronics. The remanufacturing of a computer refers to the disassembly, repair, and upgrade of the original computer to give it a new life, along with a warranty that is as good as a new product. The goal of this work includes studying and assessing the total environmental impact of refurbishing a computer using life cycle assessment (LCA) integrated with discrete event simulation (DES), to compare two business models: (1) a case of centralized remanufacturing where the plants are in the Middle East, which is the hub for receiving waste electronics and distributing remanufactured goods; (2) a case of decentralized remanufacturing where the plants are situated in each continent for over a range of computer models. The environmental assessment was conducted using the openLCA software in combination with the WITNESS Horizon software for the DES. The results show that decentralized remanufacturing is a much more environmentally friendly option for the remanufacturing of computers, and the decentralized remanufacturing operation has a better throughput as well as efficiency, as compared to the centralized remanufacturing operation. The centralized remanufacturing scenario has a climate change impact of 1035.19 kg of CO2-Eq, as compared to the decentralized remanufacturing scenario with an impact of 816.12 kg of CO2-Eq. In terms of the impact on the marine life, decentralized remanufacturing was found to have 0.28 kg of N-Eq impact, as compared to centralized remanufacturing (0.22 kg of N-Eq). However, this does not give us a complete picture, as the environmental impact of the computer in its previous life remains unknown. Multi life cycle assessment is the assessment process that can be used to get a clearer picture of the ecological footprint of the computer during its multiple life cycles. |
| Author Keywords |
sustainability; life cycle assessment; discrete event simulation; supply chain; remanufacturing |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) |
| EID |
WOS:000781989400001 |
| WoS Category |
Energy & Fuels |
| Research Area |
Energy & Fuels |
| PDF |
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/7/2376/pdf?version=1648171131
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