Exam: Material and Resources Flashcards
Resources vs Reserves
Resources:
We have a large amount but still a limited amount of resources on Earth. We don’t know all the resources we have (both known and unknown are included) but we can estimate the amount.
Reserves:
Feasible to extract (economically and technologically
To limiting axes:
Degree of certainty:
Proved, probable, possible, not possible yet, undiscovered
Economic feasibility:
Profitable, unprofitable
Rucksack
Rucksack: [Mtonnes/year]
Material that is not used but has to be moved at the extraction
A lot of the rucksack material is either from soil removal in open mining pits or from deluded materials like copper. Very small percentage is actually copper in the mining extraction.
Renewable vs non-renewable
Renewable: (ecosphere)
- food
- biomaterials
- bioenergy
- water
- air
Non-renewable: (lithosphere)
- fossil fuels
- metals
- non-metallic materials
Emissions of substances:
Emissions of substances:
- acidification
- eutrophication
- climate change
- toxicity
- ozone-depletion
- ground ozone
How fast are they degraded/removed? Do they accumulate? What amount/level is harmful? Where do they end up? What/Who is sensitive to this?
Increase of energy use from 1900 to 2000
1900: less than 50 EJ
2000: almost 450 EJ
Fossil gas, coal and oil are clearly largest and increasing most
World population growth
[Billion, Miljarder]
1000: 0.3
1700: 0.5 (growth starts)
1900: 1.6
2000: 6
2017: 7.5
1000: 0.3
1500: 0.4
1700: 0.5 (growth starts)
1800: 0.9
1900: 1.6
1960: 3
1980: 4.4
2000: 6
2017: 7.5
Total use of materials (kg)
= Material efficiency (m) *
* Welfare, lifestyle (u) *
* Population (P)
=muP
m : [kg/utility]
u : [utility per capita]
P: [capita, population]
total environmental impact:
sustainability equation
I=imuP
i : [impact/kg]
m : [kg/utility]
u : [utility per capita]
P: [capita, population]
muP : Total use of materials (kg)
im = impact/kgMaterial efficiency = Technology
Material life cycle (cradle to grave)
Extraction Refining/ Material production Product manufacturing Use phase (end use) Waste handling
Restrictions (limits) for sustainable use of materials
- Limited availability of resources
- Limited assimilation capacity of emitted substances
- Limited space (land-use, waste)
Assimilation capacity:
The ability of nature to degrade and incorporate substances into the natural cyclic flows of substances
Resource availability:
Stock: resource, reserve
Extraction rate: economy, technology
Distribution: geography, politics
Limits for fossil energy resources (100 yr)
Limited: (100 yr)
Oil, gas, uranium
Unlimited: (100 yr)
Unconventional gas, coal
Land use competition:
• Bio-energy (forestry and agriculture)
• Food (agriculture)
• Material (forestry)
• Nature conservation
• Buildings, infrastructure, industrial activities
- mining
(Mainly local effects and relatively small compared to other land use in a global perspective)
4 socio-ecological principles for sustainability:
- Substances extracted from the lithosphere
- must not systematically accumulate in the ecosphere - Society-produced substances
- must not systematically accumulate in the ecosphere - The physical conditions for production and diversity within the ecosphere
- must not systematically be deteriorated - The use of resources
- must be efficient and just, with respect to meeting human needs
Transmaterialization:
Decrease i [impact/kg] (1. and 2.)
Substitute a material for:
- a less harmful
- a less scarce
- a renewable
Dematerialization:
Decrease m [kg/utility] (4.)
Reducing the flow of materials (incl. energy efficiency) Slowing down the flow
Closing the flow
Reducing the flow:
- Use the material more efficiently
- Increase the quality of the material
- Miniaturization
- Multi-functionality
Slow the flow:
- Make the equipment last longer
- Protect the material in the equipment
- Better maintenance
- Reparability
Closing the flow: Use the material again
- Re-use the goods
- Recycling in production processes (new scrap)
- Recycling in consumer goods (old scrap)
- Cascading or down-cycling
Low recycling rates, can be imposed by
• Social behaviour:
– Share of products that are left for recycling
• Product design:
– Combinations of substances
– Possibility for dismantling
• Recycling technology:
– E.g. separation into material fractions
• Thermodynamics of separation of materials:
– Alloys or other mix of substances
Improve recycling rates by:
- Increased collection rates of discarded products
- Improved design for recycling
- Enhanced deployment of modern recycling methodology
• Charges and subsidies, e.g.:
– Charge for landfilling
• Legislation, e.g.:
– Extended producer liability: Producers are responsible for taking care of and recycle their products after use
Reasons for recycling materials:
• Increase the availability of resources:
–The material itself
–Reduced energy use for recycled metals
• Reduce the need of space for mining, landfill
• Reduce emissions:
–From mining
–From energy use
Recycling rates of metals:
• Recycled content (r/(P+r)):
- I.e. the share of scrap in metal production
Problems:
- Depends on the life times of products and growth in metal use
- Does not distinguish between new and old scrap
• End-of-life recycling rate:
- I.e. the fraction of metals in discarded products that is recycled in such a way as to retain its functional properties
New and old scrap:
New scrap:
- From industry, have not gone through the use phase. Left over material that can reenter the material flow. Still new material in a sense.
Old scrap:
- Recycled material from end of life of a product.
