Several steps toward recovery
Proof in the mixture
Despite the trend of using more lightweight, but expensive, aluminum, plastics, and structural composites—mainly with an agenda to increase fuel economy—reducing costs will continue to be the main challenge for North American automakers in choosing vehicle materials in the next decade, according to a University of Michigan study.
 A schematic of the material flow through DSM's recycling plant. Truckloads of carpet are delivered, shredded, extruded, and then depolymerized back to caprolactam. Click to enlarge |
"It is very clear that the cost of materials and processing is the most important material-selection decision criterion," said Brett C. Smith, who conducted the study for the University of Michigan Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation (OSAT). "Given several years of severe price competition, it is not surprising that cost reduction has been placed at the forefront of vehicle manufacturing purchasing strategy."
Smith, an analyst with OSAT, along with retired General Motors executive Michael DiBernado, co-authored a report on the 10th biennial University of Michigan Delphi Forecast and Analysis of the North American Automotive Industry. Based on responses of more than 200 automotive industry experts, the authors found that weight, formability, design and styling requirements, safety considerations, warranty costs, and field experience also will be important factors in material selection in the coming decade.
The respondents forecast that total vehicle weight will decrease 10% for both passenger cars and light trucks by 2009, thanks in part to expected increases in CAF requirements. Increased use of aluminum and plastics and decreased use of low-carbon steel and cast iron will produce the weight reduction. The researchers also say that the recyclability of automotive materials and related environmental concerns will continue to pose "significant challenges to the automotive industry." While currently about 75% by weight of each vehicle is recycled through the removal of resaleable parts, fluids, and metals, the remaining 25%—comprised mostly of plastics—ends up in landfills.
"At a time in which the automotive industry has become increasingly aware of the environmental impact associated with the final disposition of their product, plastics use in automobiles has greatly increased," said Smith. "Industry must proactively work to reduce the percent of the vehicle that goes to landfills, and a key element of that strategy is the increased recyclability of plastics."
