The adoption of internet of things in a circular supply chain framework for the recovery of WEEE: the case of lithium-ion electric vehicle battery packs

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) 2020-02, Vol.103, p.32-44
• Main Authors: Garrido-Hidalgo, Celia, Ramirez, F. Javier, Olivares, Teresa, Roda-Sanchez, Luis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Circular Economy (CE); Electric Vehicle Battery (EVB); Electronic Waste; End of Life (EoL); Internet of Things; Internet of Things (IoT); Lithium; Recycling; Reverse Supply Chain (RSC); Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE); Waste Management
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2019.09.045

•Circular Supply Chain (CSC) framework for Electric Vehicle Battery EoL management.•Assessment of information requirements in the CSC domain.•Definition of hierarchical communication levels for Reverse Logistics.•Study, selection and allocation of IoT communication standards at each level.•Heterogeneous IoT communications network deployment in the CSC for WEEE recovery. The rapid growth in the sales of electric and electronic devices over recent decades is generating worldwide concern about the management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). New methodologies to extend the useful life of products have long been sought, accelerating the shift from a linear to a Circular Economy (CE). When products reach the End-of-Life (EoL) stage, the Reverse Supply Chain (RSC) is responsible for managing operations, with greater efforts being needed to improve the associated information infrastructure. In fact, this has become increasingly feasible due to the emergence of a new digital revolution led by the Internet of Things (IoT). To shed light on this matter, we propose the Circular Supply Chain (CSC) framework for EoL management aimed at satisfying the information infrastructure requirements in a particular scenario for the recovery of Electric Vehicle Battery (EVB) packs. We present a qualitative evaluation of the CSC information requirements, and the capabilities of IoT to satisfy them. As a result, a heterogeneous IoT network deployment is proposed in pursuit of a digital CSC information infrastructure.