Design for recycling in a critical raw materials perspective

The European Union (EU) identified a number of raw materials that are strategic for its economy but suffer at the same time from a high supply risk. Such critical raw materials (CRMs) are used in a wide range of commercial and governmental applications: green technology, telecommunications, space exploration, aerial imaging, aviation, medical devices, micro-electronics, transportation, defense, and other high-technology products and services. As a result, the industry, the environment, and our quality and modern way of life are reliant on the access and use of them. In this scenario, recycling may be a strategic mitigating action aimed at reducing the critical raw materials supply risks. In this work, a design strategy is proposed for alloys selection that minimizes the number of CRMs with the lowest end-of-life recycling input rate. The method is illustrated with an example.