Yuzo Hiroshige

Recyclability evaluation method (REM) and its applications

Realization of successful recycling of end-of-life products greatly depends on, as well as environmentally conscious, whether the recycling process can be made economically feasible. We regard the ease of product recycling as indispensable in order to realize a feasible recycling process. In order to make products easier to recycle, it is necessary to take the ease of disassembly processing and final treatment into consideration at the design stage. Therefore, an advanced evaluation method that can evaluate a products ease of recycling, with minimal prototyping and testing of the product is required at the early design stage. In answer to this, we have developed the Recyclability Evaluation Method (REM). In this paper, the theory of the method, procedure and the structure of the system are presented and a number of application examples are given.

Recyclability Evaluation Method

Realization of successful recycling of end-of-life products greatly depends on, as well as environmentally conscious, whether the recycling process can be made economically feasible. We regard the ease of product recycling as indispensable in order to realize a feasible recycling process. In order to make products easier to recycle, it is necessary to take the ease of disassembly, processing and final treatment into consideration at the design stage. Therefore, an advanced evaluation method that can evaluate a product’s ease of recycling, with minimal prototyping and testing of the product is required at the early design stage. In answer to this, we have developed the Recyclability Evaluation Method (REM). In this paper, the theory of the method, procedure and the structure of the system are presented and a number of application examples are given.Copyright

Ecological information system-data exchange system between manufacturers and recyclers

In order to realize a sustainable society, economically feasible recycling is essential. Such a system requires effective utilization of product and recycling process information for environmentally conscious product design and efficient, high quality recycling. A prototype of an ecological information system that enables information exchange between manufacturers and recyclers has been developed. Basic functions have been examined and future objectives for practical installation are being discussed.

Study on TV recyclability

Due to the depletion of natural resources, the shortage of dumping sites and the environmental pollution caused by hazardous chemical substances, there is a growing demand for the recycling of discarded products. The electrical home appliance industry has continued its efforts to develop easy-to-recycle products. In order to recognize the effects of these improvements and to identify subjects for future design for recycling (DFR), this study measures and analyzes the disassembly time and recycleability of TV sets. The results show that disassembly time is reduced by 6-20%, while recycleability improves by 20-25% for medium-size and larger TV sets. This illustrates the desirability of conducting DFR for TV sets, and highlights its effectiveness for preserving the environment.

Application of Economical Evaluation Method of Rare Earth Magnets Recycling to Compressors

The risk of procurement failure for rareearth metals, such as neodymium and dysprosium, is rising. Consequently, Hitachi has embarked on developing technology to recover rare earths from endoflife products. The efforts of developing disassembly machine and studying rareearth extraction technology have targeted the rareearth magnets used in the compressors of home airconditioners and in the hard disk drives of personal computers. With a focus on the compressors removed from airconditioners, this report describes the cost evaluation for the transport process to the disassembly location and for the rareearth magnet recovery process using the compressor disassembly machine under development. First, the collection tonnage of compressors, which would have a large impact on the cost, was estimated. In the next step, processing costs were derived by aggregating the cost factors calculated on the basis of the estimation results, and the recycling economy was evaluated. These results will be used to clarify the costshare percentages per factor to identify measures for improving the economics.

Methodology and Application of Parts Qualification for Compliance to Environmental Rules

The worldwide spread of environmental rules concerning electrical and electronic equipment has increased the need for improved efficiency of Design for Environment (DfE). At present, assembly manufacturers request parts suppliers to submit parts data to confirm compliance with environmental rules. Especially, assembly manufacturers are strongly interested in the chemical content of parts. When confirming the accuracy of the data, an analytical instrument is often utilized by both assembly manufacturers and parts suppliers. However, it takes a huge number of man-hours. To solve the problem, we have proposed the methodology and application to confirm the accuracy without using an analytical instrument. Firstly, we have developed logic to extract benchmark data from the existing parts database by applying statistical processes. “Benchmark data” are used for comparison to confirm environmental data for parts. We also developed a tool that produces a benchmark map, which is a matrix of benchmark data. Then we proposed the evaluation method using benchmark data in quality assurance workflow to enable to confirm the credibility of the data. The use of benchmark data will reduce the risk of non-conformity or the number of man-hours needed for parts selection and parts qualification.