VW-SiCon Process

Filling the gap … from end-of-life vehicle to raw material

With adopting legally binding recycling quotas for end-of-life vehicles, to be met in two steps by 2006 and 2015, the European Union has obligated car manufacturers to find ways for an efficient recycling of end-of-life vehicles.  Together with statutory regulations on the European level and legal requirements for the recycling of end-of-life vehicles on the national level in EU member states, the development of processes for end-of-life vehicle recycling poses a considerable challenge to both the recycling as well as the car industry.

For a long time, manual dismantling of end-of-life vehicles has been the favorite approach, although this approach is hardly cost-effective in countries with high wage levels. In addition, this manual process yields products for which there is only a negligible or no market at all. Based on these facts, end-of-life vehicle recycling must center  on meeting the legal quotas with minimum staff costs while at the same time maximizing the recycling efficiency in order to reduce to the greatest extent the waste volume to be deposited. Only intelligent and market-oriented recycling processes can meet this target.

The VW-SiCon Process, being developed by the Volkswagen  AG in cooperation with SiCon GmbH starting in 1999, includes the mechanical treatment of shredder residue from end-of-life vehicle recycling while at the same time considering the specific requirements of the customers buying the products generated by the process. Already during process planning, disposal routes are established and secured in close cooperation of plant operator and purchasers in order to ensure long-term disposal reliability for the generated products. By means of process steps including crushing, screening and separation, based on physical parameters such as density, grain size, magnetic saturation, electrical conductivity and optical characteristics, more than 95% of the shredder residue  can be recycled into usable products. During mechanical treatment, the following main products are produced:

·      Shredder Granules (hard plastics, rubber)

·      Shredder Fibres (foams, textile fibres)

·      Shredder Sand (glas, rust, iron particles, heavy metals)

Multi-Utility Products (MUP) of the VW-SiCon Process

The VW-SiCon Process was particularly designed for processing of shredder residue from end-of-life vehicle recycling, but may also be introduced for recycling of mixed and electronic scrap. 

The Zero-Waste-Shredder Technology by SiCon

Currently, the VW-SiCon Process is implemented at several locations all over Europe in close cooperation with project partners from the recycling industry. The objective of the project is a sustainable solution for meeting environmental guidelines under optimum cost conditions.

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