The Advantages of Remanufacturing from the Perspective of Eco-efficiency Analysis: A Case Study

This paper presents a comparison of the eco-efficiency of a newly manufactured cylinder block and the eco-efficiency of a remanufactured cylinder block. For the environmental dimension, global warming potentials (GWP) of the cylinder blocks are considered and measured using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. For the economic perspective, the prices of the cylinder blocks are taken into account. The eco-efficiency portfolio of the cylinder blocks is constructed through a series of normalization processes. It is found that the remanufactured cylinder block results in a 90% reduction in GWP and a 39% reduction in cost. The value of the GWP to cost relation (R-value) of the cylinder blocks is 0.44 and indicates that cost is more important than GWP by about a factor of 2. Furthermore, the eco-efficiency portfolio shows that the remanufactured cylinder block has a better eco-efficiency by about 62%, if compared to the eco-efficiency of the newly manufactured cylinder block. This study supports the claim stating that remanufacturing is a better end-of-life option in reducing the environmental and economic impacts of products.