Size, shape, composition and separation analysis of products from waste refrigerator recycling plants in South Korea

Abstract

With the rapid increase in the amount of waste household appliances, there is increasing awareness about finding more efficient ways to reutilize used appliances. There are several plants for recycling household appliances in Korea. The process of recycling involves several stages of shredding, followed by material separation. Given that these plants were built with the technology available at the time of construction, they may not operate at maximum efficiency even as appliances advance with technological improvements in manufacturing. Accordingly, samples were collected from a recycling plant in Korea, and plant performance was evaluated in this study for developing a more efficient recycling process. © 2013 The Japan Institute of Metals and Materials.