EVOLUCIÓN DEL IMPACTO MEDIOAMBIENTAL DE LOS RETROVISORES DE VEHÍCULOS. EVALUACIÓN MEDIANTE ANÁLISIS DEL CICLO DE VIDA

Abstract

The latest European Commission directives on air pollution due to road vehicles demand that CO2 emissions be reduced, given their contribution to global warming. Thus, car manufacturers are adopting new strategies based on vehicle weight reduction through the use of lighter, stronger materials. The effectivity of this attitudinal change of the vehicle industry is assessed in our study, which focuses on the assessment of the environmental impact of a vehicle part: the rear-view mirror. By means of the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, the environmental impact of seven different rear-view mirrors from the past 20 years was quantified. In the 1980s, plastic materials were introduced to rear-view mirrors. In the early 1990s, aerodynamic considerations increased the volume of their structure, as light materials continued to gain ground. In the years to come, the trend towards better aerodynamism and new, lighter and stronger materials should be coupled with design for disassembly principles to favour the recycling of such materials. The results illustrate the possibilities of reducing environmental impacts through the introduction of these lightweight and recyclable materials. Keywords: Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Impact, Rear-view Mirror, Vehicle