Masahiro Oguchi

National Institute for Environmental Studies · Material Cycles Division

Product lifetime extension is a major strategy in a circular economy. Circular economy policies encourage the improvement of product designs for longer use. In addition, such improvements increase the product lifetime expected by the consumers, which is called the expected product lifetime. Since physical restrictions on product lifetime extension...

Understanding the factors affecting consumer replacement behavior is important in extending the product lifetime in a circular economy. Although such factors have been widely investigated, methodologies to quantitatively measure the potential of changes in these aspects are scarce. They help to consider effective strategies for product lifetime ext...

This study was aimed to develop the methods for target screening (TS) of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) by LC-QTOF-MS in consideration with its simplicity and rapidness. In the TS database (TS-DB), measured m/z values of fragment ions and retention time index were applied and registered. For the TS analyses condition, mass error range (pre...

National accounts for material stocks and flows are reported regularly by an increasing number of countries to promote a sustainable use of our natural resources. In this research we build upon the work of Herman Daly and Donella Meadows and propose a framework that links material stocks and flows to a conceptual hierarchy of ends and means which a...

This study examined the effects of product price increases on metal consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and product sales via changes in the product replacement decisions of consumers. A dynamic discrete choice model was applied to air conditioners (ACs) in Japan to determine these effects when product price is increased by from 5% to 30%...

In this study, a pre-screening method of Japanese PRTR chemicals was developed for wastewater samples by target-screening with accurate mass spectrometry utilizing LC-ESIQToF-MS to judge the presence/absence followed by a quanti cation step. As a rst step, a database of PRTR chemicals for target screening was developed by an original procedure: Eac...

This special issue asks how product lifetime extension in a circular economy can best be understood and managed. Product lifetime extension through design for durability, reuse, repair, refurbishment and remanufacture, and the associated circular business models, are regarded as an important way forward to achieving a circular economy. As a researc...

Acid gases generated during the thermal treatment of waste are neutralized using devices, such as bag filters coated with slaked lime. However, residual trace organic substances can react with the highly reactive slaked lime. This study investigates the dynamics of organic substances generated in the bag filter when slaked lime is used in the exhau...

This study combined a dynamic discrete choice model for air conditioner replacement decisions with an inter-industry model in order to evaluate the economic impact of Japan’s Home Appliance Eco-Point Program, an appliance replacement program that was in effect from May 2009 to March 2011. Focusing on air conditioners produced from 1995 to 1999 and...

Product replacement programs promote the replacement of durable goods such as automobiles, home appliances and houses with new energy-efficient products using financial incentives such as subsidies. Many countries have implemented such programs to reduce environmental loads. These programs affect the point in time at which the decision to replace a...

This article explained various concepts and definitions of product lifetimes. It was shown that various “product lifetime” can be defined according to its starting and ending time points in the product lifecycle; the definitions of product lifetime data that was observed and reported by academic papers and survey reports are diverse; a clear distin...

Lifetime of products is one of the key parameters in LCA and MFA. Lifetime of products is generally regarded as the average of a distribution which is observed from lifetimes of a product group. The average may be different among definitions of distributions. In this article, we introduced six different types of the products’ lifetime distributions...

Information on the lifespan of the product is necessary to estimate the amount of its end-of-life (EOL) goods that recycling programs can expect to receive. Policymakers can set priorities for handling the EOLs, such as target collection and recovery levels, based on these estimates. In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey to obtain info...

By using the balance equation between input, output, and net addition to stock, we developed a method to estimate the lifetime distributions for buildings by statistics and some parameters from former studies. Understandable lifetime distributions were obtained from 1987 to 2010 in the type of lifetime distributions for cohort demolished in each ye...

In order to establish a “stock-type” society as opposed to a “flow-type” society, the effects of resource consumption on the natural environment must be fully understood. The research fields of material flow and stock accounting offer systematic methods for that analysis. The material flow in Japan calculated by the Ministry of Environment covers i...

This paper presents the findings of research to identify and evaluate current studies into consumer expectations of product lifetimes across durable goods. Following a literature review, studies were classified using a product categorisation scheme formulated at Nottingham Trent University and a product lifetime expectations typology adapted from O...

The extension of product lifetimes of consumer goods has the potential to encourage sustainable consumption, reduce carbon emissions and facilitate a transition to a circular economy. However, current understandings of consumer perspectives on product lifetimes are limited. This paper presents the findings of the first national study of consumer sa...

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE or e-waste) contains both valuable and hazardous substances and there is great demand for metal scrap. To better understand both material recovery and the environmental impacts by informal recycling of e-waste, and to find potential ways to improve the process, we carried out a field survey at an info...

In this study, the Weibull parameters (shape parameter and mean lifetime) for lifetime distributions of electronic devices in Vietnam have been estimated based on the previous questionnaire researches by us. The mean lifetimes for four appliances were drastically decreased in seven years and lifetimes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were almost same,...

An ion chromatography with post-column derivatization with 1,5-diphenylcarbazide (IC-DPC) analytical method was modified to enable measurement of trace-level hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in air. One of the difficulties in determining trace levels of Cr(VI) in air with conventional IC-DPC methods is co-elution of the solvent and ion peaks due to hig...

Our objective was to provide the information necessary to efficiently recover metals from end-of-life lithium-ion secondary batteries by assessing the metal content by year of production. In addition, we analyzed the concentrations of Sn and the toxic metals Pb, Cr, and Cd in battery pack components, including printed circuit boards and cables. Li...

Product lifetimes are a relevant topic of discussion towards establishing a circular economy, particularly in terms of the reduction of environmental impacts by improving product longevity. Various researchers have developed models to estimate actual lifetimes and have reported case studies for some product categories (e.g. electrical and electroni...

To clarify current collection rules of waste batteries in municipal waste management in Japan and to examine future challenges for hazardous substance control and safety, we reviewed collection rules of waste batteries in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. We also conducted a field survey of waste batteries collected at various battery and small waste el...

Product lifespan estimates are important information for understanding progress toward sustainable consumption and estimating the stocks and end-of-life flows of products. Publications reported actual lifespan of products; however, quantitative data is still limited for many countries and years. This study presents regional and longitudinal estimat...

Extractions tests are widely used as tools to estimate the potential release of constituents, for example from waste materials, over a range of possible waste management activities, including recycling, reuse and landfill disposal. Sequential extraction procedures offer the advantage of simulating, to a certain extent, the various natural environme...

There is a need for the continuous development of emission and release inventories for toxic metals such as mercury, lead, and cadmium towards appropriate management of such toxic metals. This article discusses the possibility of utilizing data reported by the Japanese Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) system for developing inventories...

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has received extensive attention as a secondary source of metals. Because WEEE also contains toxic substances such as heavy metals, appropriate management of these substances is important in the recycling and treatment of WEEE. As a basis for discussion toward better management of WEEE, this study ch...

We estimated the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) generated in South Korea by using the population balance model (PBM) based on a lifespan distribution analysis. This is the first study to apply PBM to estimate WEEE generation in South Korea. The lifespan distribution analysis of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) w...

Heavy metals like mercury that are emitted into the environment remain there indefinitely, posing a long-term threat to both the environment and human health. Elemental mercury is volatile and is in gaseous form, and because of the long residence time, transported over long distances. Comprehensive control of mercury emissions therefore remains an...

In order to understand the formal and informal recycling of e-waste in Asia and find the possible improvement, we surveyed the processes of dismantling and recycling of e-waste in detail by site investigations in China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam in 2009-2011 (Philippines in 2010). CRT TV/monitors recycling and precious metal recovery f...

The large amount of tsunami deposit generated in the Great East Japan Earthquake remains an acute obstacle to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the devastated coastal area in northeastern Japan. Since the tsunami deposit may contain hazardous substances leaked from damaged facilities, its chemical composition needs to be evaluated before put...

In Japan, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that is not covered by the recycling laws are treated as municipal solid waste. A part of common metals are recovered during the treatment; however, other metals are rarely recovered and their destinations are not clear. This study investigated the distribution ratios and substance flows of...

End-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has recently received attention as a secondary source of metals. This study examined characteristics of end-of-life EEE as secondary metal resources to consider efficient collection and metal recovery systems according to the specific metals and types of EEE. We constructed an analogy between na...

Lifespan of commodities is essential information for material flow analysis and material stock accounting. Lifespan data is available in the literature; however, it varies in definition and in methodology employed. This article reviews and categorizes different types of lifespan distribution and distribution estimation methodologies, and investigat...

Lifespan is an essential parameter for the accounting and analysis of material stocks and flows, one of the main research topics in industrial ecology. Lifespan is also important as a parameter that portrays the current and historical situation of industrial metabolism, which is an area of interest to industrial ecologists. In the present article,...

We conducted a decomposition analysis of material flows in a dynamic system, focusing on factors in the generation of waste consumer durables. A methodology for the analysis of consumer durables was developed and applied to three common consumer durables: cathode ray tube TVs, refrigerators, and passenger cars. The methodology decomposed changes in...

Lifespan of product is essential information for material flow and stock accounting (MFA/MSA) as well as discussing possible contribution of product lifespan extension to waste prevention and materials/energy savings. There are a number of literatures on actual lifespan distribution of products in our society; however, existing information is not w...

We conducted a product flow analysis (PFA) for 94 consumer durables in Japan to obtain a complete picture of the domestic flow. Data on domestic shipment, average weight and average lifespan of each product was surveyed and estimated based on statistics and product catalogues of manufacturers. Then, the amount of domestic shipment and waste from ho...

Various toxic, useful, and/or scarce metals in waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) have rarely been assessed due to low data availability, except for the four metals regulated by the European Union's Directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). This article describes the results of screening 36 metals in WEEE using simple...

電気・電子製品22品目の平均使用年数と製品特性との関連性の数量化分析を行い, 分析結果を用いた様々な品目の平均使用年数と使用済み台数の推定・推計を検討した。既存の調査事例より使用年数に影響する主な製品特性として「耐久性」, 「買替製品の価格」, 「新製品の大きな性能向上」, 「搬送しやすさ」を抽出し, これらの品目による違いに関係する特性データを用いて数量化理論第I類による分析を行った。その結果, 「補修用部品の保有期間」, 「平均出荷金額」, 「出荷台数の成長率」, 「平均重量」の4つの特性データで決定係数0.82となり, 平均使用年数の傾向を概ね説明できた。さらに, この結果を用いて数量化モデル式より平均使用年数を推定し, アンケート調査や出荷と保有の台数収支に基づく推定値と同程度の値が...

This study explored a variety of definitions of product lifespan, and proposed and applied two methods to estimate average domestic lifespan of products

In this paper, emission intensity tables of greenhouse gas (especially HFC, PFC and SF6) are presented and LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) case studies using those tables are discussed. The emission intensity tables of greenhouse gas are derived from Economic Input-Output Tables (I/O tables) and several statistical data. The emission intensities derive...

循環型社会形成推進基本法の成立, 家電リサイクル法の施行等によって, 使用済み耐久消費財のリサイクル・適正処分等が求められてきている。これらの対策を計画するうえで, 使用済み製品の発生台数の信頼度の高い将来予測が必要になる。本研究では, 出荷台数, 保有台数, 使用年数分布から将来の使用済み耐久消費財の発生台数を予測する方法を提案した。予測に必要となる保有台数の経年変化はロジスティック関数, 使用年数分布はワイブル分布関数を用いてそれぞれ解析を行うとともに, それらの結果を用いて, 乗用車と全自動車, およびテレビ, エアコン, 冷蔵庫, 洗濯機, 掃除機, 電子レンジ, VTRの7種類の家電製品の2020年度までの使用済み製品の発生台数を予測した。また, エアコンを例に平均使用年数が変化し...