Efficiency Improvement of a Reverse Logistics System

This chapter discusses the efficiency of a series of processes from discarded tire recovery to thermal recycling. A simulation model was developed for improving the efficiency of fuel chip transportation in the Kansai region of Japan, and a simulation analysis was carried out based on actual data. Discarded tires form automobiles are recovered through gas stations, tire shops, etc. The discarded tires are crushed into fuel chips at a recycling factory and are used for thermal recycling. Fuel chips are transported to steelworks, paper mills, etc., and are used as a substitute for coal in boilers at those plants. Fuel chips, made from discarded tires, have about the same fuel efficiency, in terms of calorie performance, as coal. However, it has been directly transported from a recycling factory to steelworks by truck, without any consideration for the environment. Therefore, in this research, this study investigated measures to transport fuel chips efficiently and environmentally, by introducing a modal shift, which combines trucks with marine transport, rather than truck alone. As a result of numerical experiments, it was clarified that adequate results can be obtained if the distance of sea transport is sufficiently far apart for the introduction of a modal shift.