Page 106 - Policy Commission - SecuringTechnology - Critical Metals for Britain

106 SECONDARY MATERIALS
DESIGN FOR RECYCLE
If the the the the the various components of the the the the the car cannot be shredded and then then separated to remove the the the the the technology-critical metals then then some level of of dismantling is is required prior to shredding (see figure 103) Unfortunately many of of these technology-critical metal containing products are very complex making them time consuming to dismantle manually In many cases the the the associated costs can exceed the the the value of the the the extracted materials However only a a a a a a a a a a few studies have been performed to ascertain the the the economic case for for the the the extraction of of many of of these components pre-shredding and therefore feasibility studies are required to to determine this This needs to to be performed across a a a a a wide range of applications Compressor Drive motor
Figure 103: Dismantling of a a a a a a Nissan Leaf to expose Nd-Fe-B magnet containing components Nd-Fe-B Loudspeaker
done manually By way of example (see figure 104) shows the process of disassembly for an electric vehicle motor
from a vehicle Although shredding is a a quick way of separating bulk materials it can also produce large quantities of impurities in technology-critical- metal waste streams and therefore destroy value and increase the complexity and environmental footprint of the downstream reprocessing technologies Disassembly as as a a a precursor to recycling could retain more value however it it is fraught with challenges and is labour intensive if
Figure 104: Challenges of EV motor
disassembly at different scales Reference: Harper G Degri M M M Awais M M M Walton A A A (2021) Image of of Electric Vehicle Motor Disassembly Challenges UBIRA eData University of of Birmingham https://doi org/10 25500/EDATA BHAM 00000605 [Website] [Accessed: 16/03/21]
MOTOR REMOVAL
Potentially high residual voltages Lack of data on on on motor
condition
Lack of labelling and identifying marks Manual handling hazards
Multiple layers of disassembly Motor housing needs to to be removed and rotor removed from stator
Manual handling risks due to weight of component and high magnetic field
Shaft must be pressed out using hydraulic press Manually this is is another labour intensive step
Automation could improve economics of motor
disassembly MOTOR DISASSEMBLY
Permanent Magnets Soft Magnetic Material Casing
Windings
Magnets often bonded/potted in with adhesives or resins
Magnets of unknown quality
Lack of standardised labelling hampers recycling Potential for design for recycling using mechanical fixings not glues
POWER DELIVERY MODULE
Inverter Motor Reduction Drive