Assessing Mineral Resources in Society: Metal Stocks & Recycling Rates

Assessing Mineral Resources in Society: Metal Stocks & Recycling Rates PDF Author:
Publisher: UNEP/Earthprint
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 32

Get Book Here

Book Description


Assessing Mineral Resources in Society

Assessing Mineral Resources in Society PDF Author: T. E. Graedel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Metals
Languages : en
Pages : 30

Get Book Here

Book Description


Metal Recycling

Metal Recycling PDF Author:
Publisher: UN
ISBN: 9789280732672
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Metal recycling is a complex business that is becoming increasingly difficult! Recycling started long ago, when people realized that it was more resource- and cost-efficient than just throwing away the resources and starting all over again. In this report, we discuss how to increase metal-recycling rates - and thus resource efficiency - from both quantity and quality viewpoints. The discussion is based on data about recycling input, and the technological infrastructure and worldwide economic realities of recycling. Decision-makers set increasingly ambitious targets for recycling, but far too much valuable metal today is lost because of the imperfect collection of end-of-life (EoL) products, improper practices, or structural deficiencies within the recycling chain, which hinder achieving our goals of high resource efficiency and resource security, and of better recycling rates.

On Borrowed Time?

On Borrowed Time? PDF Author: John E. Tilton
Publisher: Resources for the Future
ISBN: 9781891853586
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 176

Get Book Here

Book Description
First Published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy

Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309112826
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 263

Get Book Here

Book Description
Minerals are part of virtually every product we use. Common examples include copper used in electrical wiring and titanium used to make airplane frames and paint pigments. The Information Age has ushered in a number of new mineral uses in a number of products including cell phones (e.g., tantalum) and liquid crystal displays (e.g., indium). For some minerals, such as the platinum group metals used to make cataytic converters in cars, there is no substitute. If the supply of any given mineral were to become restricted, consumers and sectors of the U.S. economy could be significantly affected. Risks to minerals supplies can include a sudden increase in demand or the possibility that natural ores can be exhausted or become too difficult to extract. Minerals are more vulnerable to supply restrictions if they come from a limited number of mines, mining companies, or nations. Baseline information on minerals is currently collected at the federal level, but no established methodology has existed to identify potentially critical minerals. This book develops such a methodology and suggests an enhanced federal initiative to collect and analyze the additional data needed to support this type of tool.

Addressing the Dissipation of Mineral Resources in Life Cycle Assessment

Addressing the Dissipation of Mineral Resources in Life Cycle Assessment PDF Author: Alexandre Charpentier Poncelet
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Metals
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Dissipative flows of mineral resources are central to environmental impact assessment, since they are harmful to the environment and embody a wasteful use of non-renewable resources. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a recognized environmental assessment tool framed by the ISO 14040/44 norms, typically aiming to prevent damage on three areas of protection (AoP): ecosystem health, human health, and natural resources.Traditionally, the depletion of mineral resources has been assessed to quantify impacts on the AoP natural resources. However, recent trends in discussion within the LCA community suggest that dissipation of minerals may be more relevant to assess, since they represent the real loss of materials that are no longer accessible for future use, whereas the depletion of geological stocks may actually be considered to be desirable for as long as mineral resources remain accessible for further human use.This thesis has the objective to improve the consideration of dissipative flows of mineral resources in the LCA framework, focusing on the AoP natural resources. Broadly speaking, two topics are encompassed within the objective: improving the understanding of the impacts of mineral resource use on the AoP natural resources, and developing a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method allowing to quantify these impacts in relation to the dissipation of mineral resources.We first investigate the impact pathways relating human interventions to the AoP natural resources. The relation between resource flows and the AoP natural resources is studied in order to provide a coherent framework to assess the impacts of mineral resource use on the AoP using multiple LCIA methods at once. Then, we explore concepts and terminology surrounding dissipation and propose a conceptual framework to address the dissipation of mineral resources based on dynamic material flow analysis (MFA) data. Two options are identified: reworking current life cycle inventories to integrate dissipative flows and develop a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method accordingly, or propose a LCIA method that integrates dissipation in the calculation of its characterization factors that can be applied to extraction flows in the current inventories. The second option is further developed in this thesis.In order to develop LCIA methods, data is collected for 61 metallic elements and dynamic material flow analysis results are computed for them. We then propose two methods to measure the impact of dissipation on mineral resources: the average dissipation rate (ADR) and the potential service time lost (LPST). Based on the dynamic material flow analysis results, midpoint characterization factors are calculated for 61 metals. In addition, endpoint characterization factors are computed using a price-based index. Finally, the characterization factors are applied to a wide range of life cycle inventory datasets in order to observe the trends to be expected in LCA studies covering the dissipation of mineral resources using the developed methods. These results are compared to those of other frequently used LCIA methods to address the impacts of mineral resource use.

Linkages of Sustainability

Linkages of Sustainability PDF Author: T. E. Graedel
Publisher: Strungmann Forum Reports
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 560

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this book, experts engage in an extended dialogue arguing for a comprehensive view of sustainability. They emphasize the constraints imposed by the relationships among the components, for example, how the need for clean, easily accessible water intersects with the need for the energy required to provide it. This book urges a transformation in the way we view sustainability, a transformation that is necessary if we are to plan responsibly for a more sustainable world.--[book jacket].

Sustainable Utilization of Metals

Sustainable Utilization of Metals PDF Author: Bernd Friedrich
Publisher: MDPI
ISBN: 3039288857
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 388

Get Book Here

Book Description
The high demand for advanced metallic materials raises the need for an extensive recycling of metals and such a sustainable use of raw materials. "Sustainable Utilization of Metals - Processing, Recovery and Recycling" comprises the latest scientific achievements in efficient production of metals and such addresses sustainable resource use as part of the circular economy strategy. This policy drives the present contributions, aiming on the recirculation of EoL-streams such as Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), multi-metal alloys or composite materials back into metal production. This needs a holistic approach, resulting in the maximal avoidance of waste. Considering both aspects, circular economy and material design, recovery and use of minor metals play an essential role, since their importance for technological applications often goes along with a lack of supply on the world market. Additionally, their ignoble character and low concentration in recycling materials cause an insufficient recycling rate of these metals, awarding them the status of “critical metals”. In order to minimize losses and energy consumption, this issue explores concepts for the optimization concerning the interface between mechanical and thermal pre-treatment and metallurgical processes. Such new approaches in material design, structural engineering and substitution are provided in the chapters.

Extracted

Extracted PDF Author: Ugo Bardi
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603585419
Category : Conservation of natural resources
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Get Book Here

Book Description
A history of the mining industry, starting with its humble beginning when our early ancestors started digging underground to find the stones they needed for their tools. Ugo Bardi traces the links between mineral riches and empires, wars, and civilizations, and shows how mining in its various forms came to be one of the largest global industries. He also illustrates how the gigantic mining machine is now starting to show signs of difficulties.

Minerals in Africa

Minerals in Africa PDF Author: Francis Gudyanga
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000730239
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Get Book Here

Book Description
Africa’s dire need to industrialize is universally acknowledged and it is evident that the continent’s vast mineral resources can catalyze that industrialization. This requires the promotion of local beneficiation and value addition of minerals to yield materials on which modern Africa’s industry and society can rely. This book is, therefore, about transforming Africa’s comparative advantages in minerals into the continent’s competitive edge regarding materials. Mineral beneficiation and value addition form the basis and provide opportunities for mineral-driven Africa’s industrialization. The scope of the book is three-fold with inter-connected relationships: Information, Technical, and Policy oriented. It will be a useful reference material for mining undergraduate students on beneficiation and value addition of each of the minerals found in Africa. The book, while presenting a broad overview of beneficiation and value addition of Africa’s minerals, provides crucial starting material for postgraduate research students and R&D institutions who wish to delve into more advanced methods of extraction and utilization of mineral-derived materials that are in Africa for the purpose of industrialization of the continent.