Cross life cycle opportunities for increasing the post-consumer recycled content of aluminum automotive body sheet in the United States

Cross life cycle opportunities for increasing the post-consumer recycled content of aluminum automotive body sheet in the United States | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Cross life cycle opportunities for increasing the post-consumer recycled content of aluminum automotive body sheet in the United States Alissa Tsai, Yongxian Zhu, Mohammadreza Heidari, Daniel Cooper This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8217840/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Increasing the post-consumer recycled content (PCRC) of aluminum automotive body sheet (ABS) is a promising pathway to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ABS production. However, progress is constrained by the limited end-of-life vehicle (ELV) ABS scrap available and the compositional mismatches between contaminated scrap streams and alloy specifications. This study identifies design-for-recycling strategies that sheet mills, automotive OEMs, and recyclers can implement and quantifies their effects using a composition-specific dynamic material flow analysis to model sheet demand and scrap availability coupled with a linear optimization framework that determines annual PCRC potential under product-demand, scrap-supply, and alloy-composition constraints. A supply-chain emissions model links PCRC gains to GHG reductions. By 2050, ELV-derived ABS scrap could supply 33% of ingot demand, yet PCRC remains negligible under business-as-usual due to compositional incompatibilities. Effective strategies to increase the PCRC include: (1) sheet mills developing high-residual-content (HRC) “recycle-friendly” alloys; (2) OEMs shifting 5xxx-series component designs to 6xxx alloys; and (3) recyclers either extracting sheet-rich sub-assemblies before shredding or adopting advanced sorting technologies to separate shredded ELV aluminum scrap by alloy series. However, substantial increases above a PCRC of 15% occur only when multiple stakeholders act to implement synergistic strategies. The concurrent pursuit of ELV scrap sortation by alloy series and deployment of HRC alloys is especially impactful. Under such coordinated action, a PCRC level of up to 28% by 2050—and a total scrap content (including production scrap) of 76%—is achievable, potentially reducing annual supply-chain emissions from ABS component production by up to 42%. Design for Recycling Circularity System optimization Decarbonization Alloy design Vehicle Design Recycling Technology Disassembly Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files S1Supportinginformation.pdf S2Supportinginformation.xlsx Dataforfigures.xlsx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 25 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 19 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 16 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 15 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 14 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 03 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 08 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 03 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 26 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8217840","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":557320592,"identity":"99df6ca6-f7b1-4f66-ac60-0c2987a74a0c","order_by":0,"name":"Alissa Tsai","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Michigan–Ann Arbor","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alissa","middleName":"","lastName":"Tsai","suffix":""},{"id":557320593,"identity":"94ddc99a-0ac0-4004-9427-5fdb0f94f5cb","order_by":1,"name":"Yongxian Zhu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Michigan–Ann 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States","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-industrial-ecology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"44498","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/44498/3","title":"Journal of Industrial Ecology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Design for Recycling, Circularity, System optimization, Decarbonization, Alloy design, Vehicle Design, Recycling Technology, Disassembly","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8217840/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8217840/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Increasing the post-consumer recycled content (PCRC) of aluminum automotive body sheet (ABS) is a promising pathway to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ABS production. However, progress is constrained by the limited end-of-life vehicle (ELV) ABS scrap available and the compositional mismatches between contaminated scrap streams and alloy specifications. This study identifies design-for-recycling strategies that sheet mills, automotive OEMs, and recyclers can implement and quantifies their effects using a composition-specific dynamic material flow analysis to model sheet demand and scrap availability coupled with a linear optimization framework that determines annual PCRC potential under product-demand, scrap-supply, and alloy-composition constraints. A supply-chain emissions model links PCRC gains to GHG reductions.\n\nBy 2050, ELV-derived ABS scrap could supply 33% of ingot demand, yet PCRC remains negligible under business-as-usual due to compositional incompatibilities. Effective strategies to increase the PCRC include: (1) sheet mills developing high-residual-content (HRC) “recycle-friendly” alloys; (2) OEMs shifting 5xxx-series component designs to 6xxx alloys; and (3) recyclers either extracting sheet-rich sub-assemblies before shredding or adopting advanced sorting technologies to separate shredded ELV aluminum scrap by alloy series. However, substantial increases above a PCRC of 15% occur only when multiple stakeholders act to implement synergistic strategies. The concurrent pursuit of ELV scrap sortation by alloy series and deployment of HRC alloys is especially impactful. Under such coordinated action, a PCRC level of up to 28% by 2050—and a total scrap content (including production scrap) of 76%—is achievable, potentially reducing annual supply-chain emissions from ABS component production by up to 42%.","manuscriptTitle":"Cross life cycle opportunities for increasing the post-consumer recycled content of aluminum automotive body sheet in the United States","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-17 07:48:51","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8217840/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-01-25T12:06:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-20T03:41:37+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-16T10:36:29+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-15T07:26:28+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-14T08:17:25+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"295246718472414480897083485654883930717","date":"2026-01-10T03:36:40+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"97276860881543282670958476769296302434","date":"2026-01-05T12:01:00+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"243791899161972126118448277457419009289","date":"2026-01-04T04:44:06+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"76328210601833213452263013374397514393","date":"2026-01-04T01:52:23+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-03T06:15:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-12-09T02:52:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-12-03T08:10:38+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Journal of Industrial Ecology","date":"2025-11-27T04:33:39+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-industrial-ecology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"44498","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/44498/3","title":"Journal of Industrial Ecology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"e4cdfeb0-f84a-4212-a329-35c885b33ff8","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 17th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-10T19:53:50+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-17 07:48:51","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8217840","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8217840","identity":"rs-8217840","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}