Imperial College London
Portrait Picture

Professor Sue Grimes

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

RAEng Chair in Waste & Resource Management
 
 
 
//

Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 5966s.grimes

 
 
//

Location

 

233Skempton BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

//

Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Grimes:2020:10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101658,
author = {Grimes, SM and Maguire, D},
doi = {10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101658},
journal = {Resources Policy},
pages = {1--10},
title = {Assessment of priorities in critical material recovery from waste electrical and electronic equipment},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101658},
volume = {68},
year = {2020}
}
Download

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - A major problem in developing environmental management systems for assessing recovery priorities for high added-value materials such as critical metals from wastes is that the input data required are contained in a variety of databases compiled for different purposes with different levels of content and accuracy. To deal with decision-making priorities for environmental issues where uncertainties and inconsistencies are inherent in input data sources a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach using an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to determine weights and fuzzy numbers to account for input data uncertainties is developed and is illustrated for determination of critical metal recovery priorities from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in Europe. A spreadsheet programme with many user-friendly input and output features is developed to aid data-handling and the calculations required in the MCDA approach. Where data uncertainties exist, weighted input parameters for the critical metals are determined by an absolute judgement panel of key stakeholders and include data on: recovery potential, geographical supply concentration and stability, end use substitution, future metal demand and economic importance in key industrial sectors. Sensitivity analyses can be carried out on results of recovery priority outputs by simple numerical variation of input parameters and/or by the use of specialist input decision panels representing stakeholder groups with differing priorities, and the results suggest that recovery priorities in the European situation should concentrate on gallium, indium and germanium. The spreadsheet-MCDA program set up in developing the methodology for criticality has wide general application in environmental decision-making analysis particularly where uncertainties exist in the input data required.
AU  - Grimes,SM
AU  - Maguire,D
DO  - 10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101658
EP  - 10
PY  - 2020///
SN  - 0301-4207
SP  - 1
TI  - Assessment of priorities in critical material recovery from waste electrical and electronic equipment
T2  - Resources Policy
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101658
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420719308116?via%3Dihub
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/79539
VL  - 68
ER  -
Download