IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i13p8158-d855482.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Circular Economy for the Integration of Disadvantaged People: A Preliminary Study on the Reuse of Lithium-Ion Batteries

Author

Listed:
  • Adriano Cordisco

    (ReFuel Solutions S.r.l., 41125 Modena, Italy)

  • Riccardo Melloni

    (Department of Engineering Enzo Ferrari (DIEF), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
    Interdepartmental Research Center on Security and Safety (CRIS), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy)

  • Lucia Botti

    (Department of Engineering Enzo Ferrari (DIEF), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
    Interdepartmental Research Center on Security and Safety (CRIS), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy)

Abstract

The circular economy is attracting the attention of governments and companies who recognize the importance of promoting a sustainable approach toward social and industrial development. The European Union requires EU State members to support a sustainable approach to improving the production and consumption of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). This paper supports the conceptualization of a sustainable circular economy model, proposing the reuse of lithium-ion batteries from WEEE. The aim is to define a circular economy-based production model for the reuse of waste lithium-ion batteries and support the inclusion of disadvantaged people in the recovery process, breaking the barriers of social discrimination. The activities introduced in this paper are part of a circular economy project for the social integration of disadvantaged people. In this paper, the preliminary results of the project are introduced, proposing a methodology for the disassembly of waste lithium-ion batteries. The disassembly line balancing proposed in this paper focuses on the need to include workers with physical, psychological, sensory, or intellectual limitations, as well as people experiencing communication difficulties. Future steps of the project will focus on the design of the assembly line to produce battery packs for pedal-assisted bicycles from the recovered lithium-ion cells.

Suggested Citation

  • Adriano Cordisco & Riccardo Melloni & Lucia Botti, 2022. "Sustainable Circular Economy for the Integration of Disadvantaged People: A Preliminary Study on the Reuse of Lithium-Ion Batteries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-15, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:13:p:8158-:d:855482
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/13/8158/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/13/8158/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chiara Mussida & Dario Sciulli, 2016. "Disability and employment across Central and Eastern European Countries," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-24, December.
    2. Miralles, Cristobal & Garcia-Sabater, Jose Pedro & Andres, Carlos & Cardos, Manuel, 2007. "Advantages of assembly lines in Sheltered Work Centres for Disabled. A case study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(1-2), pages 187-197, October.
    3. T. E. Graedel & Julian Allwood & Jean‐Pierre Birat & Matthias Buchert & Christian Hagelüken & Barbara K. Reck & Scott F. Sibley & Guido Sonnemann, 2011. "What Do We Know About Metal Recycling Rates?," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 15(3), pages 355-366, June.
    4. Xiaoxu Song & Shanying Hu & Dingjiang Chen & Bing Zhu, 2017. "Estimation of Waste Battery Generation and Analysis of the Waste Battery Recycling System in China," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(1), pages 57-69, February.
    5. Mihail Busu & Carmen Lenuta Trica, 2019. "Sustainability of Circular Economy Indicators and Their Impact on Economic Growth of the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-13, October.
    6. Daniela M. Salvioni & Alex Almici, 2020. "Transitioning Toward a Circular Economy: The Impact of Stakeholder Engagement on Sustainability Culture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-30, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hilal Shams & Altaf Hossain Molla & Mohd Nizam Ab Rahman & Hawa Hishamuddin & Zambri Harun & Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar, 2023. "Exploring Industry-Specific Research Themes on E-Waste: A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-22, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bruno Michel Roman Pais Seles & Janaina Mascarenhas & Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour & Adriana Hoffman Trevisan, 2022. "Smoothing the circular economy transition: The role of resources and capabilities enablers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1814-1837, May.
    2. Guo, Tianjiao & Geng, Yong & Song, Xiaoqian & Rui, Xue & Ge, Zewen, 2023. "Tracing magnesium flows in China: A dynamic material flow analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Chen, Wei-Qiang & Graedel, T.E., 2012. "Dynamic analysis of aluminum stocks and flows in the United States: 1900–2009," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 92-102.
    4. Battaïa, Olga & Dolgui, Alexandre, 2013. "A taxonomy of line balancing problems and their solutionapproaches," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 259-277.
    5. Jan Streeck & Quirin Dammerer & Dominik Wiedenhofer & Fridolin Krausmann, 2021. "The role of socio‐economic material stocks for natural resource use in the United States of America from 1870 to 2100," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(6), pages 1486-1502, December.
    6. Michael Saidani & Alissa Kendall & Bernard Yannou & Yann Leroy & François Cluzel, 2019. "Closing the loop on platinum from catalytic converters: Contributions from material flow analysis and circularity indicators," Post-Print hal-02094798, HAL.
    7. Dhiya Durani Sofian Azizi & Marlia M. Hanafiah & Kok Sin Woon, 2023. "Material Flow Analysis in WEEE Management for Circular Economy: A Content Review on Applications, Limitations, and Future Outlook," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-22, February.
    8. G. Perkoulidis & A. Malamakis & G. Banias & N. Moussiopoulos, 2022. "Development of a Methodological Framework for the Evaluation of the Material and Energy Recovery Potential of Municipal Solid Waste Management: Implementation in Five Greek Regions," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    9. Borba, Leonardo & Ritt, Marcus & Miralles, Cristóbal, 2018. "Exact and heuristic methods for solving the Robotic Assembly Line Balancing Problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 270(1), pages 146-156.
    10. Joanicjusz Nazarko & Ewa Chodakowska & Łukasz Nazarko, 2022. "Evaluating the Transition of the European Union Member States towards a Circular Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-24, May.
    11. Alessio Franconi & Fabrizio Ceschin & David Peck, 2022. "Structuring Circular Objectives and Design Strategies for the Circular Economy: A Multi-Hierarchical Theoretical Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-26, July.
    12. West, James, 2020. "Extractable global resources and the future availability of metal stocks: “Known Unknowns” for the foreseeable future," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    13. Le Boulzec, Hugo & Delannoy, Louis & Andrieu, Baptiste & Verzier, François & Vidal, Olivier & Mathy, Sandrine, 2022. "Dynamic modeling of global fossil fuel infrastructure and materials needs: Overcoming a lack of available data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    14. Pereira, Jordi & Ritt, Marcus, 2023. "Exact and heuristic methods for a workload allocation problem with chain precedence constraints," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 309(1), pages 387-398.
    15. Lu, Bin & Liu, Jingru & Yang, Jianxin, 2017. "Substance flow analysis of lithium for sustainable management in mainland China: 2007–2014," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 109-116.
    16. Tomer Fishman & Rupert J. Myers & Orlando Rios & T.E. Graedel, 2018. "Implications of Emerging Vehicle Technologies on Rare Earth Supply and Demand in the United States," Resources, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-15, January.
    17. Minxi Wang & Ping Liu & Zhaoliang Gu & Hong Cheng & Xin Li, 2019. "A Scientometric Review of Resource Recycling Industry," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-18, November.
    18. Pérez-Sánchez, Laura À. & Velasco-Fernández, Raúl & Giampietro, Mario, 2022. "Factors and actions for the sustainability of the residential sector. The nexus of energy, materials, space, and time use," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    19. Nguyen-Tien, Viet & Dai, Qiang & Harper, Gavin D.J. & Anderson, Paul A. & Elliott, Robert J.R., 2022. "Optimising the geospatial configuration of a future lithium ion battery recycling industry in the transition to electric vehicles and a circular economy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    20. Prasanna Shrivastava & Rachana Vidhi, 2020. "Pathway to Sustainability in the Mining Industry: A Case Study of Alcoa and Rio Tinto," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-20, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:13:p:8158-:d:855482. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.