A process-based model of end-of-life electronics recycling - Driving eco-efficiency-informed decisions

This paper describes a model of end-of-life electronics recycling that uses process-based cost modeling and value-based metrics to determine the economic and value-recovery effectiveness of a processing operation. The process-based cost models combine engineering process models, operational models, and an economic framework to map from details of product and process to operating costs. The value-weighted mass recovery assessments, when compared against simple mass recovered, provide a better estimate of both environmental impact and retained quality. The combination of these two aspects offer several advantages over existing modeling methodologies: they consider the variety of products a recycler processes, are driven by data that a recycler collects, and can respond to rapidly changing conditions. Background on these aspects is provided, followed by a description of the modeling framework. An example case involving cathode ray tubes is presented to depict the type of analyses possible using the model.