Recycling and Material-Flow Analysis of End-of-Life Vehicles towards Resource Circulation in South Korea

The sustainable resource management of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) towards a circular economy has become an issue of concern around the world. An understanding of recycling and the quantitative flow of ELVs is important because of their potential for resource recovery as well as the environmental impacts posed by their toxic chemicals upon disposal. In this paper, the generation and recycling system of ELVs in South Korea has been discussed based on a review of the available statistics and literature and site visits to ELV-recycling facilities. A material-flow analysis (MFA) for ELVs was performed to elucidate the resource recovery from recycling, while the substance flow of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in automobile shredded residues (ASR) was also determined for proper management. Approximately one million tons of ELVs in 2020 were processed by dismantling and shredding treatment for the recovery of reusable and recyclable materials (803,000 tons), resulting in 78,300 tons of ASR. Approximately 97 tons of PBDEs as flame retardants were generated mainly from ASR in 2020 and processed via combustion, either with energy recovery (59.8%) or without heat recovery (39.2%). The monitoring of brominated dioxins and furans by unintentional release during the incineration processes of ASR is required in order to prevent the dispersion of the chemicals in the environment.