Abstract
In this study, life-cycle comparisons of energy usage and CO2 emission of aluminum vs. conventional steel and the ultralight steel auto body were made for body-in-white applications at both the vehicle and fleet levels. The analysis considered three major stages of the life cycle: manufacturing, use, and recycling. The analysis also studied how life-cycle energy and emission benefits are affected by changes in input parameter values, such as manufacturing energy, vehicle-sales growth rate, secondary weight savings, fuel efficiency, and a lower aluminum replacement rate.
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Editor’s Note: Although JOM style dictates the use of metric units of measure, the original units used in the analysis reported here have been retained to maintain the validity of the study.
For more information, contact S. Das, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Bldg. 4500N, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6205; (865) 574-5182; fax (865) 574-8888; e-mail dass@ornl.gov.
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Das, S. The life-cycle impacts of aluminum body-in-white automotive material. JOM 52, 41–44 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-000-0173-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-000-0173-2