Material substitution for automotive applications: A comparative life cycle analysis

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Material substitution for automotive applications: A comparative life cycle analysis

Marretta, Laura / Lorenzo, Rosa Di / Micari, Fabrizio / Dornfeld, David

A cradle-to-grave analysis was first carried out in this paper to compare the use of aluminum alloys and traditional steel for automotive applications throughout their respective life cycles. Aluminum alloys, and more generally, other lightweight materials have grown in interest to the automotive sector for the significant weight reduction these materials potentially enable. Aluminum alloys also are characterized by the large energy requirements in their primary production and processing phase. Such large energy costs means that all the advantages from utilizing aluminum may be neutralized unless a comprehensive recycling strategy is adopted. Therefore, the life cycle in its entirety has to be accounted for to estimate how sustainable is the use of lightweight materials compared to traditional steels. A comparative cradle-to-grave analysis highlighted how sustainable steel usage would be in automotive part production if all the life cycle phases are fully taken into account. Moreover, different sustainable strategies from the life cycle analysis can guide an extensive recycling practice for aluminum components. A recycling scenario was investigated to evaluate the effect that aluminum recycling might leverage when compared with steel and a significant reduction of the environmental impact was observed Also, only a widespread recyclable strategy could allow aluminum to be considered an environmental friendly material, otherwise its potential as fuel saving would be negatively affected by its primary energy requirements Nowadays, fuel saving by weight reduction is indeed one of the most promising strategies to reduce the environmental impact of the life cycle of automotive products, but the use of recycled materials offers additional opportunities towards environmental conscious solutions for automotive applications.