The effectiveness of thermal treatment technologies for the remediation of soils contaminated with heavy hydrocarbons has been extensively documented in the scientific literature. In general, high-concentration crude-oil-contaminated soil is treated with high-temperature thermal desorption (HTTD) in order to achieve high remediation efficiency. However, this process has the unintended consequence of destroying soil fertility. Low-temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) represents an alternative approach that has been developed with the objective of remediating heavily crude-oil-contaminated soil in a more rapid and cost-effective manner while simultaneously enhancing soil fertility. The thermal desorption unit (TDU) was employed using both LTTD and HTTD, operating at 300 °C and 500 °C, respectively, with a 30 min residence time in the kiln. The concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in both the LTTD- and HTTD-treated soils was found to be less than 1% by weight, thereby below regulatory standards. The environmental impacts of both processes were assessed using the OpenLCA software version 2.0. The HTTD process exhibited a total abiotic depletion potential (ADP) impact of 1.63 × 10⁻⁴ MJ and a global warming potential (GWP) of 414 kg CO₂-eq. In contrast, LTTD demonstrated lower impacts, with an ADP of 1.29 × 10⁻⁴ MJ and a GWP of 278 kg CO₂-eq. The transition from HTTD to LTTD resulted in a notable reduction in ADP by 20.5% and in GWP by 32.9%. The application of LTTD-treated soil coated with coke or carbonized residues has been demonstrated to serve as an effective soil amendment, with the capacity to sequester approximately 50% of organic hydrocarbon contaminants. The results of this study illustrate the potential of LTTD for not only economical and rapid soil remediation but also the enhancement of soil quality through beneficial reuse.

In light of growing global supply chain instability and carbon neutrality initiatives, South Korea has highlighted the need for a circular economy to reduce its reliance on natural resources. As a critical strategy for promoting a circular economy, remanufacturing has become essential because of its ability to improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impacts. The automotive sector, which accounts for 80% of the remanufacturing industry, plays a critical role in these efforts. Turbochargers, primarily made of cast iron, represent approximately 20% of sales in this sector and are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, making them an important target for emission reduction. This study examined the greenhouse gas emissions associated with turbochargers across multiple remanufacturing cycles using the LCA method. The results indicated an approximate decrease of 50%, 48%, and 46%, based on a comparative analysis between brand-new products and those remanufactured one to three times. Comparing brand-new and remanufactured products does not fully capture the key advantage of remanufacturing. This advantage lies in its ability to extend a product’s life cycle by using core parts as primary raw materials and reducing the consumption of new resources. Therefore, it is important to consider the environmental impact of remanufacturing within an expanded process, where brand-new products are included in the entire life cycle. Using this approach, the accumulated annual greenhouse gas reduction effect for multiple remanufacturing indicated decreases of approximately 25%, 32%, and 35% for remanufacturing one, two, or three times, respectively, compared to using only brand-new products. This study shows that multiple remanufacturing reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to the use of brand-new products. In particular, as remanufacturing is repeated, the product lifespan can be extended from 3 years to up to 12 years with a concomitant decrease in annual greenhouse gas emissions. These findings provide valuable data for modeling and encouraging the greenhouse gas reduction potential driven by remanufacturing across various industrial sectors.

In light of growing global supply chain instability and carbon neutrality initiatives, South Korea has highlighted the need for a circular economy to reduce its reliance on natural resources. As a critical strategy for promoting the circular economy, remanufacturing has become essential because of its ability to improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impacts. The automotive sector, which accounts for 80% of the remanufacturing industry, plays a critical role in these efforts. Turbochargers, primarily made of cast iron, represent approximately 20% of sales in the sector and are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, making them an important target for emission reduction. This study examined the greenhouse gas emissions associated with turbochargers across multiple remanufacturing cycles using the LCA method. The results indicated an approximate decrease of 50%, 48%, and 46%, based on the comparative analysis between brand-new products and those remanufacturing one-, two-, and three times. Comparing brand-new and remanufactured products does not fully capture the key advantage of remanufacturing. This advantage lies in its ability to extend the products life cycle by using core parts as primary raw materials and reducing the consumption of new resources. Therefore, it is important to consider the environmental impact of remanufacturing within an expanded process where brand-new products are included in the entire life cycle. Using this approach, the accumulated annual greenhouse gas reduction effect for multiple remanufacturing indicated decreases of approximately 25%, 32%, and 35% for remanufacturing one, two, and three times, respectively, compared to using only brand-new products. This study shows that multiple remanufacturing reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to the use of brand-new products. In particular, as remanufacturing is repeated, the product lifespan can be extended from three years to up to 12 years with a concomitant decrease in annual greenhouse gas emissions. These findings provide valuable data for modeling and encouraging the greenhouse gas reduction potential driven by remanufacturing across various industrial sectors.

The treatment of waste plastic has primarily been entrusted to small companies, which has resulted in challenges in obtaining an accurate overview of the current state of affairs and ensuring profitability. Consequently, despite the presence of recycling technology, their practical application has proven to be challenging. In this study, as part of the waste plastic material recycling plan, it is assumed that the PET/OPP laminated waste film is peeled off at the waste film generation site for the second use. The recycling rate of PET/OPP delaminated waste film is assumed to be 2%, 10%, and 30% referring to the figures suggested by "Life-cycle Post Plastic Measures" from the Korean government. In this study, a physical separation method was developed as a recycling approach for waste PET. A result of cost-benefit analysis was conducted to evaluate the economic viability of the