From Disposal to Reuse: Carbon Emission Assessments and Reduction Strategies for Household Refrigerators

The issue of global climate change is highly critical, and the dual-carbon targets are extremely urgent. The home appliance industry, as a significant component of the manufacturing sector, establishing a green and standardized industrial system is an essential measure to mitigate the impact of global warming. The amount of typical home appliance waste is increasing day by day, and the accounting and analysis of carbon dioxide emissions in the waste disposal process serve as crucial references for establishing a low-carbon industry. This paper employs the life cycle assessment method, targeting the waste disposal process of typical home appliances. A refrigerator is selected as the research object to calculate the carbon dioxide emissions in the three stages of recovery, disassembly, and reuse in the waste disposal process. A comparative analysis is conducted on the carbon dioxide emissions of producing 1 kg of recycled materials and primary materials. The most effective carbon reduction measures for different home appliances are evaluated to provide suggestions and references for promoting the low-carbon and green development of the industry. The final conclusions are as follows: (1) The results of the life cycle assessment indicate that there are significant differences in carbon emissions in different processing stages. Among them, the carbon emissions in the iron recovery stage are the highest, accounting for 87% of the total emissions, while the carbon emissions in the copper recovery stage are the lowest, accounting for only 0.6% of the total emissions. (2) During the process of producing 1 kg of recycled materials, the carbon dioxide emissions in the iron recycling stage are the highest. Compared with the production of 1 kg of primary materials, the carbon dioxide emissions in the primary stages of aluminum, copper, iron, and plastic are all higher than those in the recycling stages.