Integrated process and system modelling for the design of material recycling systems

Recycling systems are becoming more complex as increasing material recovery is required from products with complicated material mixtures, including key-metals and rare earths, such as electronic and automotive waste. However, the design of multi-stage mechanical recycling systems has never been tackled from a system engineering perspective. This paper proposes a multi-level recycling system model that integrates process physics and system dynamics. It allows jointly configuring the system layout and setting the characteristic process parameters, to achieve desired grade and recovery levels. Results show that improved recycling rates and economic performance can be achieved by applying this approach to industrial settings. © 2013 CIRP.