WEEE Recycling and Circular Economy Assisted by Collaborative Robots
Considering the amount of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) generated each year at an increasing rate, it is of crucial importance to develop circular economy solutions that prioritize reuse and recycling, as well as reducing the amount of waste that is disposed of at landfills. Th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/14/4800 |
| _version_ | 1827713162933174272 |
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| author | Esther Álvarez-de-los-Mozos Arantxa Rentería-Bilbao Fernando Díaz-Martín |
| author_facet | Esther Álvarez-de-los-Mozos Arantxa Rentería-Bilbao Fernando Díaz-Martín |
| author_sort | Esther Álvarez-de-los-Mozos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Considering the amount of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) generated each year at an increasing rate, it is of crucial importance to develop circular economy solutions that prioritize reuse and recycling, as well as reducing the amount of waste that is disposed of at landfills. This paper analyses the evolution of the amount of WEEE collection and its recycling rate at the national and European levels. It also describes the regulatory framework and possible future government policy measures to foster a circular economy. Furthermore, it identifies the different parts and materials that can be recovered from the recycling process with a special emphasis on plastics. Finally, it describes a recycling line that has been designed for the dismantling of computer cathodic ray tubes (CRT)s that combines an innovative participation of people and collaborative robots which has led to an effective and efficient material recovery solution. The key issue of this human–robot collaboration relies on only assigning tasks that require human skills to operators and sending all other tasks to robots. The first results from the model show a better economic performance than current manual processes, mainly regarding the higher degree of separation of recovered materials and plastic in particular, thus reaching higher revenues. This collaboration also brings considerable additional benefits for the environment, through a higher recovery rate in weight and for workers, who can make intelligent decisions in the factory and enjoy a safer working environment by avoiding the most dangerous tasks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:30:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-02fa190685a740dd9a0d823231728e85 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:30:12Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-02fa190685a740dd9a0d823231728e852023-11-20T06:36:41ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172020-07-011014480010.3390/app10144800WEEE Recycling and Circular Economy Assisted by Collaborative RobotsEsther Álvarez-de-los-Mozos0Arantxa Rentería-Bilbao1Fernando Díaz-Martín2Department of Mechanics, Design and Industrial Management, University of Deusto, Avda. Universidades 24, 48007 Bilbao, SpainTecnalia, Basque Research and Technology Alliance, Parque Tecnologico, 700, 48160 Derio, SpainDepartment of Mechanics, Design and Industrial Management, University of Deusto, Avda. Universidades 24, 48007 Bilbao, SpainConsidering the amount of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) generated each year at an increasing rate, it is of crucial importance to develop circular economy solutions that prioritize reuse and recycling, as well as reducing the amount of waste that is disposed of at landfills. This paper analyses the evolution of the amount of WEEE collection and its recycling rate at the national and European levels. It also describes the regulatory framework and possible future government policy measures to foster a circular economy. Furthermore, it identifies the different parts and materials that can be recovered from the recycling process with a special emphasis on plastics. Finally, it describes a recycling line that has been designed for the dismantling of computer cathodic ray tubes (CRT)s that combines an innovative participation of people and collaborative robots which has led to an effective and efficient material recovery solution. The key issue of this human–robot collaboration relies on only assigning tasks that require human skills to operators and sending all other tasks to robots. The first results from the model show a better economic performance than current manual processes, mainly regarding the higher degree of separation of recovered materials and plastic in particular, thus reaching higher revenues. This collaboration also brings considerable additional benefits for the environment, through a higher recovery rate in weight and for workers, who can make intelligent decisions in the factory and enjoy a safer working environment by avoiding the most dangerous tasks.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/14/4800human-robot collaborationcollaborative robotsWEEE waste management |
| spellingShingle | Esther Álvarez-de-los-Mozos Arantxa Rentería-Bilbao Fernando Díaz-Martín WEEE Recycling and Circular Economy Assisted by Collaborative Robots Applied Sciences human-robot collaboration collaborative robots WEEE waste management |
| title | WEEE Recycling and Circular Economy Assisted by Collaborative Robots |
| title_full | WEEE Recycling and Circular Economy Assisted by Collaborative Robots |
| title_fullStr | WEEE Recycling and Circular Economy Assisted by Collaborative Robots |
| title_full_unstemmed | WEEE Recycling and Circular Economy Assisted by Collaborative Robots |
| title_short | WEEE Recycling and Circular Economy Assisted by Collaborative Robots |
| title_sort | weee recycling and circular economy assisted by collaborative robots |
| topic | human-robot collaboration collaborative robots WEEE waste management |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/14/4800 |
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