• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.127-135
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• 2006

We analyzed recyclability of the fuel tanks made from steel or aluminum alloy. For a comparison of the fuel tank recyclability, first we had analyzed the process of disassembly in a vehicle and evaluated its disassemblability. Then we evaluated the recyclability for reuse and withdrawal. The processes were more or less same owing to the similarity of fastening method of fuel tank and components. However, the fuel tank of the aluminum alloy was easier (about 5%) to disassembly than the fuel tank of steel. This could be attributed to the differences in weight of steel and aluminium. On light of the withdrawal and reuse, the fuel tank made up of steel needed to plate with zinc or lead due to its anti-corrosiveness. Hence, it required additional processes. In this paper, we were explaining the results of our on going research on the recyclability of fuel tanks made of steel and aluminum alloys. The differences that we found between the fuel tank made up of the aluminum alloy and steel were in their weight, recyclability, disassemblability, anticorrosive property, cost and productivity.