Disassembly factories: economic and environmental options

Disassembly factories provide new environmental and economic options for a sustainable cycle economy. This paper presents results indicating high ecological benefits that may be realized with the disassembly of complex products and re-use of its components. However, the economical side of disassembly has to be presented too, because these ecological benefits cannot be obtained for free. The results are part of the scientific research of the collaborative research center 281 Disassembly Factories, supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and carried out at the Berlin University of Technology. The aim of the research center is to develop strategies and technologies that enable the automatic disassembly of consumer goods. To estimate the ecological effects of industrial disassembly, life cycle assessment (LCA) is used as the adequate instrument. The evaluation of the complex material and energy flows shows clear ecological benefits of the disassembly (and re-use) compared to traditional ways of waste treatment i.e. disposal. On the other hand, the analysis of the disassembly-costs shows, that the more ecological way of waste-treatment is also the more cost-effective way. However the calculations for the designed disassembly system indicate that it might yet be possible to build and operate a disassembly factory without deficit.