The Role of Metals in

Sustainable Development

Materials 4I03
Lecture 6
2017

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Highlights

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Background
Accelerating global economy
(5-fold in next 30 years)

Can the planet accommodate our

demand?

Yencken and Wilkinson, 2000

Eco-footprint analysis.

Break the link.

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The Materials Cycle

Metals = greatest potential

for unlimited recycling
(not biodegradable, unlimited lifespan)

Metals = renewable
Developing countries are,
well developing!

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Metal Resources & Reserves
Resources are materials that are in such a
location, form, and concentration that are
potentially extractable
Reserves are a part of the resource which
could be economically extracted at the time
of determination
Resources (Mt) Reserves (Mt)
Al 11,000 3,910
Fe 230,000 65,000
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Economic Grades, Reserves, Production
& Years of Supply, 1995 - 1997

Constantly changing

Reserves can also be expressed in terms of years at

current production rates, assuming no recycling

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Metal Reserves
Metals in use are also a reserve:
Generally not consumed or dissipated
Permanent asset for society

Applies to metals used in recyclable applications

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Supply vs. Recycle Rate

Simple calculation of
years of reserves for
assumed recycle rates
Goes to infinity at 100%
Assumes there is no
problem in reaching such
rates

Ignores the life-span of the

products containing the metals

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Life Cycle Energy, GWP & AP for
Various Metals (Cradle-to-Gate)

LCA restricted
to cradle-to-
gate

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Observations on GWP & EI
GWP directly related to EI
Hydrometallurgical routes use more energy than
pyro-metallurgical routes for the same metal
Aluminum GWP is high in this analysis:
Coal-based electricity, not hydroelectricity
Should also consider gate-to-grave EI

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Depletion of High Grade Ore

Higher grade reserves have been depleted

Need to resort to lower-ore grades

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Influence of Ore Grade on GWP

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Metal Recycling
Recycling reduces depletion of reserves
Reduces energy consumption significantly:
84% for Copper
90% for Nickel
95% for Aluminum
60% for Steel
65% for Lead
75% for Zinc
Comparable reductions in GWP

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Metal Recovery & Recycling
Recovery rate is the proportion of scrap metal
available at the end of life that is recovered
Recycling rate is the proportion that scrap metal
contributes to the total metal production
Recovery rates are difficult to calculate:
Usually larger than the recycling rate
Al in UK in 1996
Recycling rate was 31%
Recovery rate was 63%

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Other Factors in Recycling

Recycling rate strongly depends on price

Amount of material available depends on
product lifetime, difficult to calculate:

4-29 years, 17 year avg 1-25 years, 13 year avg

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Other Factors in Recycling
Metal contamination with residuals reduces
the value of the metal
Cu & Sn in steel
Si & Fe in Al
No good solutions to this problem; current
practices include:
Use for products with lower property requirements
(home furnishings)
Dilute the residuals with virgin metal
Keep the high-residual scrap segregated and manage it
like a resource (Industrial Ecology)

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Carbon Tax
1997 Kyoto Protocol called for a reduction in
GHG production
Carbon tax is a tool to make the price of
goods and service reflect the environmental
cost of using carbon and generating CO2
Sweden (since 1991): $US 150/t CO2
Ireland, Chile
Australia: $US 19.6/t CO2
Most EU countries
Not a level playing field

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Most significant carbon tax
in the Western Hemisphere
GHG emissions fell 5.1%
from 2008 to 2012
Emissions from the rest of
Canada increased slightly
Growth unaffected
Drop in fuel consumption
Carbon tax is revenue-
neutral

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Effect of Carbon Tax on Primary Metal
Production Prices?

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Effect of Carbon Tax on Primary Metal
Production Prices
Examined effect of 0
50 $US/t CO2 (0 183
$US/t C)
Assuming coal-based
electricity
Using current prices for
the metals as the base-
line
Biggest effect on Al

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Likely Responses to a Carbon Tax
Intensify efforts to develop more energy-efficient
processes, particularly for Al, Mg . . .
Change the use of materials, e.g. use Al, Mg in
light-weight applications, not construction
Use more recycling
Use renewable energy sources (e.g. hydro-
electricity) in energy-intensive metal production
Shift production to countries with lower carbon
tax

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Metal Toxicity
Some are toxic, even at low levels, e.g.
cadmium, lead, mercury and arsenic
Some are beneficial at low levels, but toxic at
high levels, e.g. zinc and copper
Some animals and plants concentrate these
elements in the food chain

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Summary

Recycling of materials is critical for

sustainable development
No concern of shortage of material
Increased energy consumption associated with
decreasing ore grades
Introduction of carbon taxes and pollution permits
(cap-and-trade)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
r1UisuNtHc

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