Recycling potential for low voltage and high voltage high rupturing capacity fuse links Constantinos S. Psomopoulos ⇑ , Dimitrios A. Barkas, Stavros D. Kaminaris, George C. Ioannidis, Panagiotis Karagiannopoulos Piraeus University of Applied Sciences, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, High Voltage and Power Systems Research Lab, 250 Thivon str & P. Ralli Ave, GR-12244, Egaleo, Greece article info Article history: Received 14 May 2017 Revised 6 September 2017 Accepted 14 September 2017 Available online xxxx Keywords: Low voltage fuse links recycling High voltage fuse links recycling WEEE Directive Materials recovery Industrial wastes reduction abstract Low voltage and high voltage high-rupturing-capacity fuse links are used in LV and HV installations respectively, protecting mainly the LV and HV electricity distribution and transportation networks. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (2002/96/EC) for ‘‘Waste of electrical and electronic equipment” is the main related legislation and as it concerns electrical and electronic equipment, it includes electric fuses. Although, the fuse links consist of recyclable materials, only small scale actions have been implemented for their recycling around Europe. This work presents the possibilities for mate- rial recovery from this specialized industrial waste for which there are only limited volume data. Furthermore, in order to present the huge possibilities and environmental benefits, it presents the poten- tial for recycling of HRC fuses used by the Public Power Corporation of Greece, which is the major con- sumer for the country, but one of the smallest ones in Europe and globally, emphasizing in this way in the issue. According to the obtained results, fuse recycling could contribute to the effort for minimize the impacts on the environment through materials recovery and reduction of the wastes’ volume dis- posed of in landfills. Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In electrical installations of low and medium voltage distribu- tion networks, fuses have been in use for over 100 years. Low volt- age (LV) high-rupturing-capacity fuse links (commonly NH) are used in LV installations protecting mainly the LV electricity distri- bution networks (230/400 V in Greece and most EU Member States) public and private ones, as well as a significant amount of LV electrical equipment used in industrial, commercial and resi- dential facilities and infrastructures. High voltage (HV) high rup- turing capacity fuses (commonly HH) are used in order to provide protection against thermal and dynamic damages that would occur in case of a short-circuit or overloading more than the minimum rupturing capacity. For many applications, fuse links represent a relatively cheap and safe way of providing protection for electrical systems and equipment (Bessei, 2007; Newberry & Wright, 1995; Rüdenberg, 1970; Schneider Electric, 2016; http:// www.profuseinternational.com/, 2017). The WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC) for ‘‘Waste of electrical and electronic equipment” is the main related legislation and as it con- cerns electrical and electronic equipment it includes electric fuses. Although, the fuse links consists of metals, silica and ceramics, only small scale actions for their recycling have been implemented around Europe, mainly from Non-Profit Associations created from manufactures, where NH/HH – Recycling in Germany has collected and recycled over 208 tonnes of LV and MV fuses only in 2016. Up to now and except these activities from some Non-Profit Associa- tions, no other actual action, regarding the disposal of waste fuse links, have been taken, and the usual method is the inclusion among the common non – hazardous municipal and commercial waste streams, as these are not considered hazardous. Thus, the waste fuse links finally are disposed on landfills although the Euro- pean Union (EU) Landfill Directive (1999/31 EC) promotes more environmental friendly waste management options, by reducing the amount of wastes disposed of in landfills (Bessei, 2007; EU Directive 1999/31/EC; EU Directive 2002/96/EC; E.E.A, 2007; Fink and Grote, 2007; Rüdenberg, 1970; http://www.nh-hh-recycling. de/, 2017; http://www.profuseinternational.com/, 2017). In this paper, the current actions on fuses recycling in Europe are presented and the possibilities for recycling of LV HRC fuses in Greece (Public Power Corporation of Greece is the major con- sumer) are investigated. The quantities of waste fuses which could be recycled, instead of landfilled, are evaluated as well as the https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.09.018 0956-053X/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: cpsomop@puas.gr (C.S. Psomopoulos). Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Waste Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman Please cite this article in press as: Psomopoulos, C.S., et al. Recycling potential for low voltage and high voltage high rupturing capacity fuse links. Waste Management (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.09.018