Disassembly process planning algorithms for end-of-life product recovery and environmentally conscious disposal

Disassembly process planning is an act of preparing detailed operation instructions for disassembling used or an end-of-life (EOL) product to recover or dispose of its constituent parts or subassemblies. The main decisions are: (a) disassembly level; (b) disassembly sequence; and (c) EOL options such as reuse, remanufacturing, recycling, incineration, landfill, etc. This study deals with the three decision variables simultaneously in the parallel disassembly environment for the objective of maximising the profit. Unlike previous studies, we consider practical constraints, i.e., reuse probability and environmental impacts of parts or subassemblies, sequence-dependent setup costs, regulation on recovery rate, and incineration capacity. To represent and solve the problem, we develop an extended AND/OR graph, and then suggest a two-phase algorithm. To show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, two case studies have been carried out on an automatic pencil and a telephone. Also, test results on other general product structures are reported