127780 20240731103346.0 doi 10.3390/vehicles5030067 sideral 134893 ART-2023-134893 eng Ortego, Abel (orcid)0000-0002-6148-1253 Exergy Assessment of Plastic Car Parts 2023 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Light-duty vehicles are increasingly incorporating plastic materials to reduce production costs and achieve lightweight designs. On average, a conventional car utilizes over 200 kg of plastic, comprising more than 23 different types, which often present challenges for recycling due to their incompatibility. Consequently, the focus on plastic recycling in end-of-life vehicles has intensified. This study aims to analyze critical car parts based on the plastics used, employing a novel thermodynamic approach that examines the embodied exergy (EE) of different plastics. Six vehicles from various segments, years, and equipment levels were assessed to understand their plastic compositions. The findings reveal that, on average, a vehicle contains 222 kg of plastic, accounting for 17.7% of its total weight. Among these plastics, 47.5% (105 kg) are utilized in car parts weighing over 1 kg, with plastics comprising over 80% of the part’s weight. The identified critical car parts include the front door trim panel, front and rear covers, fuel tank, floor covering, front lighting, dashboard, rear door trim panel, plastic front end, backrest pad, door trim panel pocket, plastic foam rear seat, rear lighting, window guide, molded headliner, bulkhead sound insulation, foam seat part, and wheel trim. Regarding their contribution to EE, the plastics with the highest shares are polypropylene—PP (24.5%), polypropylene and ethylene blends—E/P (20.3%), and polyurethane- PU (15.3%). Understanding the criticality of these car parts and their associated plastics enables targeted efforts in design, material selection, and end-of-life management to enhance recycling and promote circularity within the automotive industry. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/101003587/EU/leading the TRansion of the European Automotive SUpply chain towards a circulaR futurE/TREASURE This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No H2020 101003587-TREASURE info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/PID2020-116851RB-I00 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ 0.52 2023 Electrical and Electronic Engineering 2023 Q2 Automotive Engineering 2023 Q2 4.1 2023 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Russo, Sofia Iglesias-Émbil, Marta Valero, Alicia Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-3330-1793 Magdalena, Ricardo (orcid)0000-0002-7115-5902 5004 590 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ingeniería Mecánica Área Máquinas y Motores Térmi. 5, 3 (2023), 1211-1226 Vehicles 2624-8921 2118921 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/127780/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2613283 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/127780/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:127780 articulos driver 2024-07-31-09:52:31 ARTICLE