The project investigates sustainable remanufacturing methods for silica gel desiccant cartridges used in heavy-duty truck air dryers, focusing on enhancing circularity through regeneration processes and lifecycle solutions.
Sponsored by: Volvo Group North America 1
Team Members
Mikayla Obrist Drew Haling John Bilotti Aiden Quinn Hannah Priller
Instructor(s): Dr. Robert Allen Kimel
Project Poster
Click on any image to enlarge.
Project Video
Project Summary
Overview
Volvo Group North America has tasked our team with developing comprehensive recycling solutions for semi-truck air dryer components to enhance sustainability and reduce waste in heavy-duty automotive applications. The project focuses on recovering and repurposing key materials, including steel casings, silica gel desiccants, polypropylene housings, non-woven polypropylene filters, and nitrile butadiene rubber components. Challenges include identifying feasible mechanical, chemical, and thermal recycling methods that optimize material recovery while maintaining functional integrity. This effort requires engineering innovation to align recycling techniques with circular economy principles, contributing to scalable and sustainable practices in the automotive industry.
Objectives
Our team aimed to develop sustainable and scalable recycling methods for Volvo’s semi-truck dryer components, focusing on recovering and repurposing key materials to reduce waste and improve lifecycle sustainability. This involved investigating and proposing mechanical, chemical, and thermal recycling techniques for silica gel desiccants, polypropylene housings, non-woven filters, and nitrile butadiene rubber components, aligned with circular economy principles.
Approach
– Conducted a literature review on recycling methods for materials such as silica gel, polypropylene, and nitrile butadiene rubber.
– Researched circular economy principles to align proposed solutions with sustainability objectives.
– Analyzed existing air dryer components and materials to identify key challenges in recycling and repurposing.
– Explored mechanical, chemical, and thermal recycling techniques for recovering silica gel and other materials.
– Investigated the feasibility of transitioning to alternative materials, such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for housing and hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR).
– Evaluated potential applications for recycled materials, such as transforming regenerated silica gel into soda-lime glass products.
– Generated concepts for improving material recovery, lifecycle sustainability, and functionality.
– Validated proposed solutions through comparative analyses of material properties, recyclability, and cost-effectiveness.
– Prepared a roadmap for implementing recycling solutions at scale, considering environmental and operational impacts.
Outcomes
– Recommended several options for recycling the air dryer and all components.
– Confirmed the viability of melting silica desiccant into glass.
– Detailed a series of future studies to be performed for further work.
– Determined HDPE can replace PP parts, NWHDPE can replace NWPP, and HNBR can replace NBR in the air dryer to ensure all materials are recyclable