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Delphi Recycling Efforts in Europe Benefit the Environment, 400 Metric Tons of PVC Recycled Annually

Delphi Recycling Efforts in Europe Benefit the Environment, 400 Metric Tons of PVC Recycled Annually

Published 04-20-00

Submitted by Delphi Corporation

Delphi Automotive Systems (NYSE: DPH) has developed several automotive wiring recycling processes that address increased concern from the European market regarding the disposal of end-of-life vehicles.

"With 9 million vehicles scrapped annually within the European Union, and European legislation requiring a 95 percent reuse/recycling/recovery quota for end-of-life vehicles in the near future, there are convincing reasons for Delphi to develop products that can be easily recycled, as well as develop recycling processes for its products," said Wolfgang Diegmann, manager of environmental engineering at Delphi's Technical Center in Wuppertal.

The harnesses of those 9 million vehicles contain approximately 90,000 metric tons of copper, 35,000 metric tons of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and another 20,000 metric tons of different polymers, representing a potential value of more than $200 (U.S.) million per year.

Diegmann, along with Delphi engineers Frank Adam and Ruediger Tiedeck, worked with the University of Wuppertal to develop processes for recycling polymers used in automobiles. Delphi's recycling method for the PVC insulation avoids shredding the wiring harness, which causes contamination of the plastic parts. The physical/chemical process softens the PVC insulation of automotive cable so that it falls off of the wires. After removing the solvent, the PVC is regranulated and used for new cable insulation. The copper used in the wiring harness, which is pure copper, is also reclaimed.

At the highest quality level, recycled PVC is no more expensive than virgin material. Including the reclaimed copper and avoided landfill, recycling of PVC scrap is profitable. In addition, PVC is turned into an economically recyclable polymer.

Delphi currently organizes the collection of harness scrap from its European plants to be recycled, which results in approximately 400 metric tons of recycled PVC annually.

"The recycling of Delphi's PVC cable is only a starting point for the company," Diegmann said. "In the same way that Delphi recycles its harness scrap, wiring harnesses from end-of-life vehicles can be processed to take out the PVC for further high-level use."

Connector housings consist of different thermoplastics, elastomers and metals. As this mixed scrap has a negative value (cost for landfill or incineration), Delphi studied separation processes to keep the inherent value of the various materials.

In order to avoid cutting and shredding that would contaminate the plastic, Delphi and the University of Wuppertal developed a centrifuge-based melting process to recycle the plastic connectors of the wiring harness. The centrifuge can be heated to different controlled temperatures, to separate plastic from metals and elastomers, and to separate the various types of plastics using their different melting points.

"Separation of different plastic materials is a major topic in the recycling industry," said Diegmann. "Based on customer interest, we are working to improve and industrialize this process."

Delphi also developed a glycolysis process for recycling flexible printed circuits (FPC), a type of flat wire harness that consists of copper mainly laminated with polyester foils.

This glycolysis process separates the copper and converts polyester to polyol. Polyol is a basic material for different types of plastic and can be used for producing polyurethane foams, which can be used in seats and dashboards as automotive applications.

Currently underway is the research for recycling the cockpits of vehicles in Europe.

"Recycling is the right thing to do, both ecologically and economically," Diegmann said. "Delphi will continue to be dedicated to helping to protect human health, natural resources and the global environment."

Delphi Corporation

Delphi Corporation

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