Abstract:

A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on two recycling processes: hydrometallurgical and direct recycling. Both processes showed ecological benefits compared to virgin material production, with less greenhouse gas emissions. The study combined LCA results with a dynamic material flow model to evaluate the impact of admixture limits on ecological benefits in a closed-loop recycling system. The choice of allocation methods, such as cut-off or avoided burden approach, could lead to up to 85% variation in ecological benefits. The study concluded that combining production with both recycling routes can achieve the lowest greenhouse gas emissions for closed-loop scenarios.