Economic and Environmental Analysis of Palladium Recycling Processes Using MFCA and LCA

초록

In this study, economic and environmental effects were analyzed by linking material flow cost accounting (MFCA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies to the process of recycling palladium in a plated spent catalyst solution. Based on an MFCA analysis of recycling 1 kg of palladium, the results indicated that the positive product cost accounted for 82%, whereas 18% was the negative product cost due to material loss, resulting in a total of approximately KRW 139 million. The cost by mass factor indicated that the material cost, including the expenses for catalysts and chemicals, was the highest (57%), followed by the system cost, such as labor and maintenance costs (32%), and the waste management cost (10%). In addition, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 1.97E+03 kgCO2 eq were estimated as output cost by using the emission permit in the Korean emission trading system (K-ETS) market, which is equivalent to KRW 50,922. Although this additional output cost on waste management cost was insignificant when 1 kg of Palladium was recycled, this effect would be significant in the future when the amount of recycling increases. Additionally, if the output cost of GHG emissions is applied to the controlled entities under the K-ETS, the effect on waste management costs will be significant. © 2023, Korea Society of Waste Management. All rights reserved.

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