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Tackling the Downcycling Issue—A Revised Approach to Value-Corrected Substitution in Life Cycle Assessment of Aluminum (VCS 2.0)

Author

Listed:
  • Christoph Koffler

    (PE International, Inc., 344 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116, USA)

  • Julia Florin

    (PE International AG, Hauptstraße 111-113, Leinfelden-Echterdingen 70711, Germany)

Abstract

For some metals, downcycling appears when scrap is polluted with undesirable elements or mixed with lower quality scrap grades in a way that the material displays a change in inherent properties when recycled. The article recommends the use of different scrap class prices instead of a solitary secondary alloy price to represent the level of downcycling inflicted on aluminum over a product’s life cycle. The price ratio between scrap price and primary aluminum price is shown to be stable across all available scrap classes for the years 2007–2010. While the revised approach to value-corrected substitution (VCS) puts a stronger emphasis on the creation of high-quality scrap by penalizing its pollution more than the original version, its key limitation is the correct identification of the appropriate point of substitution along the scrap value chain. If relevant sorting or pre-treatment steps are omitted, the substitution factor would be overcorrected, which is why it is crucial to establish the scrap value right before the scrap is either mixed with scraps from other product systems or right before it enters the remelting step.

Suggested Citation

  • Christoph Koffler & Julia Florin, 2013. "Tackling the Downcycling Issue—A Revised Approach to Value-Corrected Substitution in Life Cycle Assessment of Aluminum (VCS 2.0)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(11), pages 1-15, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:11:p:4546-4560:d:29887
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Christoph Helbig & Jonas Huether & Charlotte Joachimsthaler & Christian Lehmann & Simone Raatz & Andrea Thorenz & Martin Faulstich & Axel Tuma, 2022. "A terminology for downcycling," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(4), pages 1164-1174, August.
    2. Slocum, Jonathan T. & Eagar, Thomas W. & Taylor, Richard & Hart, Douglas P., 2020. "Activation of bulk aluminum and its application in a hydrogen generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    3. Niero, Monia & Olsen, Stig Irving, 2016. "Circular economy: To be or not to be in a closed product loop? A Life Cycle Assessment of aluminium cans with inclusion of alloying elements," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 18-31.

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