Design of a sustainable automotive turbocharger remanufacturing system

Abstract

Remanufacturing has been identified as the process of returning of end-of-life products to original or better condition and performance with lower resource consumption, waste, and emissions compared to conventional manufacturing. Remanufacturing aids to reduce the economic, environmental, and social impacts of manufacturing. The purpose of this study is to investigate several product recovery cases performed at different levels to identify opportunities for developing remanufacturing systems in the Sri Lankan context. A literature review, semi-structured interviews, and case study visits were conducted for data collection. The analysis shows that the automotive sector in Sri Lanka is the most suitable sector to introduce remanufacturing, within which turbocharger has been identified as the most suitable component for remanufacturing. A model for the turbocharger remanufacturing system is proposed, and the sensitivity of the system to different operating scenarios is also analysed using plant simulations. The paper presents an economically viable and environmentally benign remanufacturing system with a business plan, which can be implemented in Sri Lanka.