Optimal number of remanufacturing in a circular economy platform

ABSTRACT

In reducing waste and protecting natural resources benefits in a circular economy platform, performing remanufacturing tasks are complex, as it may be associated with costs such as investment, setup and disposal cost. Thus, many studies those aims to find the optimal number of remanufacturing has been investigated whether it is an infinite or a constant number of remanufacturing via trial-and-error method. During the investigation, the disposal rate is assumed as a fixed value for each unique case, which needs further focus. The current study aims to propose a novel decision model to figure out an optimal number of remanufacturing regarding to the various ratio of used units returned for recovery. The proposed model was extended in context of remanufacturing opportunities of PVC products. The obtained findings are useful for companies in managing remanufacturing processes by knowing optimal remanufacturing times, and results in enhanced economic–ecological–social gains in the circular economy.

KEYWORDS:

• Circular economy
• remanufacturing rate
• optimal remanufacturing times
• sustainable production
• green supply chain
• PVC products

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK) for supporting two of the authors in data collection and model formalisation for this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK).