dc.contributor.author | Santos, Eduardo | |
dc.contributor.author | Ferrão, Paulo | |
dc.contributor.author | Margarido, Fernanda | |
dc.contributor.author | Ford, Patrick Benjamin | |
dc.contributor.author | Van Vliet, Krystyn J | |
dc.contributor.author | Olivetti, Elsa A. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2017-03-27T14:13:40Z | |
dc.date.available | 2017-03-27T14:13:40Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2016-03 | |
dc.date.submitted | 2016-03 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0013-936X | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1520-5851 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107710 | |
dc.description.abstract | The challenges brought on by the increasing complexity of electronic products, and the criticality of the materials these devices contain, present an opportunity for maximizing the economic and societal benefits derived from recovery and recycling. Small appliances and computer devices (SACD), including mobile phones, contain significant amounts of precious metals including gold and platinum, the present value of which should serve as a key economic driver for many recycling decisions. However, a detailed analysis is required to estimate the economic value that is unrealized by incomplete recovery of these and other materials, and to ascertain how such value could be reinvested to improve recovery processes. We present a dynamic product flow analysis for SACD throughout Portugal, a European Union member, including annual data detailing product sales and industrial-scale preprocessing data for recovery of specific materials from devices. We employ preprocessing facility and metals pricing data to identify losses, and develop an economic framework around the value of recycling including uncertainty. We show that significant economic losses occur during preprocessing (over $70 M USD unrecovered in computers and mobile phones, 2006–2014) due to operations that fail to target high value materials, and characterize preprocessing operations according to material recovery and total costs. | en_US |
dc.description.sponsorship | Portuguese Foundation for International Cooperation in Science, Technology and Higher Education | en_US |
dc.description.sponsorship | MIT Portugal Program | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en_US | |
dc.publisher | American Chemical Society (ACS) | en_US |
dc.relation.isversionof | http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b00237 | en_US |
dc.rights | Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. | en_US |
dc.source | Prof. Olivetti via Angie Locknar | en_US |
dc.title | Economics of End-of-Life Materials Recovery: A Study of Small Appliances and Computer Devices in Portugal | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |
dc.identifier.citation | Ford, Patrick, Eduardo Santos, Paulo Ferrão, Fernanda Margarido, Krystyn J. Van Vliet, and Elsa Olivetti. “Economics of End-of-Life Materials Recovery: A Study of Small Appliances and Computer Devices in Portugal.” Environmental Science & Technology 50, no. 9 (May 3, 2016): 4854–4862. | en_US |
dc.contributor.department | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering | en_US |
dc.contributor.department | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering | en_US |
dc.contributor.mitauthor | Ford, Patrick Benjamin | |
dc.contributor.mitauthor | Van Vliet, Krystyn J | |
dc.contributor.mitauthor | Olivetti, Elsa A. | |
dc.relation.journal | Environmental Science & Technology | en_US |
dc.eprint.version | Author's final manuscript | en_US |
dc.type.uri | http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle | en_US |
eprint.status | http://purl.org/eprint/status/PeerReviewed | en_US |
dspace.orderedauthors | Ford, Patrick; Santos, Eduardo; Ferrão, Paulo; Margarido, Fernanda; Van Vliet, Krystyn J.; Olivetti, Elsa | en_US |
dspace.embargo.terms | N | en_US |
dc.identifier.orcid | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2686-9834 | |
dc.identifier.orcid | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5735-0560 | |
dc.identifier.orcid | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8043-2385 | |
mit.license | PUBLISHER_POLICY | en_US |