Car parts get an extension of life
The Ecodism project worked to offer the automotive industry innovative technologies and methodologies based on smart bonding and de-bonding techniques. The vision was for these to be integrated at the design stage of new vehicles, so as to facilitate maintenance and dismantling operations for materials such as plastic, glazing metals, aluminium parts and composites. The implementation of such economic and ecological processes promises to help overcome the challenges of meeting the objectives of Directive 2000/53/EC, the End-of-Life-Vehicle (ELV) Directive. Solutions for combining cost-effectiveness, low-energy consumption and selectivity for maintenance, dismantling and recycling of car elements will also improve the competitiveness of related EU industries. Gathering 12 partners from 6 EU countries plus Switzerland, and including 3 high-tech companies, the consortium had the overall aim of setting efficient maintenance and dismantling protocols to enable achievement of ELV Directive objectives. Work focused on gaining a better understanding of modified adhesive primers; assessments were carried out on the durability of bonded joints. Methodology developed within the project was used to validate the efficiency of the de-bonding effect. Studies were performed for different types of energy sources and their performance assessed for various materials to be bonded. Partners also made advances in the modelling of energy delivery and launched a study for life-cycle analysis (LCA) and life-cycle cost (LCC) to determine the benefits of technologies investigated by Ecodism.
