Thermodynamic Rarity Assessment of Mobile Phone PCBs: A Physical Criticality Indicator in Times of Shortage

Rising prices in energy, raw materials, and shortages of critical raw materials (CRMs) for renewable energies or electric vehicles are jeopardizing the transition to a low-carbon economy. Therefore, managing scarce resources must be a priority for governments. To that end, appropriate indicators that can identify the criticality of raw materials and products is key. Thermodynamic rarity (TR) is an exergy-based indicator that measures the scarcity of elements in the earth’s crust and the energy intensity to extract and refine them. This paper uses TR to study 70 Mobile Phone (MP) Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) samples. Results show that an average MP PCB has a TR of 88 MJ per unit, indicating their intensive use of valuable materials. Every year the embedded TR increases by 36,250 GWh worldwide -similar to the electricity consumed by Denmark in 2019- due to annual production of MP. Pd, Ta and Au embedded in MP PCBs worldwide between 2007 and 2021 contribute to 90% of the overall TR, which account for 75, 600 and 250 tones, respectively, and increasing by 11% annually. This, coupled with the short lifespan of MP, makes PCBs an important potential source of secondary resources.

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Reduction Design for Corrugated Box - Local Composite Strengthening Technology

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.655-657.52 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 655-657 ◽

pp. 52-59

Author(s):

Jian Hua Xu ◽

Zhi Jian Xiao ◽

Adan Zhuang

Keyword(s):

Compressive Strength ◽

Composite Materials ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Weight Bearing ◽

Production Costs ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Physical Strength ◽

Low Carbon Economy ◽

Traditional Process ◽

Carbon Economy

The reduction design is an important orientation for the design and development of corrugated box in the low-carbon economy era. Concentrating on 02 pattern corrugated box, and in accordance with the weight-bearing principle of cartons and intended strength requirements, this paper conducts the local strengthened composition on the corrugated box casing and enhances the physical properties of cartons in circulation, stacking, storage, and other aspects, which achieves the same physical strength as the traditional process but with less raw materials. The conclusions are drawn as follows on the basis of experimental and production cases: under the premise of selecting appropriate composite materials and processes, the use of the local composite strengthening technology in corrugated box casing can produce the carton with the same compressive strength while lowering more than 15% production costs than the conventional process. The study will provide some guidance to the reduction design of the corrugated box.

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Study on a New Method of Cleaner Process Design and its Application

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.139-141.1370 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 139-141 ◽

pp. 1370-1373

Author(s):

Ying Liu ◽

Yan Fei Xu ◽

Ran Huang

Keyword(s):

Process Design ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Design Method ◽

Analytical Tool ◽

Cleaner Production ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Low Carbon Economy ◽

Quality Design ◽

Manufacturing Mode ◽

Carbon Economy

Cleaner production, a new manufacturing mode, is the inevitable choice for enterprise to achieve sustainable development in low-carbon economy era. Cleaner process design method is guided by the thought of cleaner production. The method, under the premise of product quality, comprehensively considers factors like resources, environment, productivity and cost, and optimizes the steps and content of process, then develops a resource efficiency cleaner process for transformation of raw materials to products, which has little influence on environment. By adopting modern quality design technology, and introducing ‘House of Environment’ into the cleaner process design as an analytical tool, this paper presents a detailed discussion on cleaner process design method based on the principle of ‘House of Environment’ with an example to illustrate the points.

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THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF A MEAT PROCESSING COMPANY

Acta Scientiarum Polonorum - Oeconomia ◽

10.22630/aspe.2017.16.2.13 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 5-12

Author(s):

Jerzy Bieńkowski ◽

Radosław Dąbrowicz ◽

Ewa Dworecka-Wąż ◽

Małgorzata Holka ◽

Janusz Jankowiak

Keyword(s):

Carbon Footprint ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Meat Processing ◽

Food Sector ◽

Low Carbon Economy ◽

Main Indicator ◽

Processing Enterprise ◽

Carbon Economy

Plans for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the agri-food sector should not only include the production of agricultural raw materials but also the food processing industry. The aim of the research was to determine the carbon footprint of a meat processing enterprise and to analyze the intensity indicators of GHG emissions. The study was conducted in a medium-sized company, located in the Wielkopolska Province, for which pork is a basic feedstock for the production (over 81.0%). The results show that the largest GHG emissions were related to the consumption of electricity, natural gas and fuels in the transport of products. There were estimated values of several indicators of emission intensity. The main indicator of GHG emissions related to the unit of product was 519 g CO2 eq. per 1 kg. It is concluded that the analysis of the carbon footprint can be an important instrument for the management of GHG emissions at the company level and can also serve the purpose of assessing the effects of implementing plans for a low-carbon economy in the meat processing sector.

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Theory of change for the mineral Exploration - INFACT project

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18416 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Cathryn MacCallum ◽

Jon Russill ◽

Moritz Kirsch ◽

Leila Ajjabou ◽

Insiya Salam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Research ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Mineral Exploration ◽

New Technology ◽

Good Practice ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Theory Of Change ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Low Carbon Economy ◽

Carbon Economy

The INFACT project aims to reinvigorate mineral exploration in Europe by engaging society and using new technology and research to improve mineral exploration practice. The consortium is formed of geo- and social scientists working together to achieve a new vision of mineral exploration. As a key part of INFACT, expert stakeholders from across Europe and other jurisdictions such as Australia and Canada have been engaged in a series of online and face to face discussions to determine and address identified challenges to exploration and a way to overcome them.&#160;Five key environmental and social challenges and barriers to exploration in Europe have been determined by INFACT through a mix of qualitative and quantitative research. These were (i) existing land use, (ii) the cost of mineral exploration, (iii) public perceptions and negative attitudes toward the exploration and mining industry, (iv) sustainability and the environment, and (v) governance and regulatory structures and processes.&#160;Through a series of workshops and interviews, discussing ways to address these challenges and barriers, a vision for mineral exploration and mining in Europe was created:<ul><li>Mining in Europe should contribute to local and regional sustainable development, enabling a low carbon economy through environmentally and socially acceptable extraction of critical raw materials(CRM). This will involve:</li> <li>The European Commission developing and enforcing rigorous and binding legislation with respect to all mineral exploration activities;</li> <li>Increased investment contribution for exploration of CRM within Europe;</li> <li>Exploration companies being required to adopt environmental and socially acceptable good practice;</li> <li>Increased awareness of the importance of mining to support a low carbon economy and improved public trust in the process;</li> <li>Creation of socio-economic shared value through adoption of multi-stakeholder collaborative planning and visioning; and</li> <li>Exploration companies achieving and maintaining a Social Licence to Operate;</li> </ul>The work presented will determine a way to ensure socio-environmentally sustainable supply of raw materials and the key steps required to achieve this vision.&#160;

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FUTURE CELLULOSE BASED INDUSTRIES IN BANGLADESH – A MINI REVIEW

Cellulose Chemistry and Technology ◽

10.35812/cellulosechemtechnol.2021.55.41 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 55 (5-6) ◽

pp. 443-459

Author(s):

AKASH M. SARKAR ◽

MAISHA FARZANA ◽

M. MOSTAFIZUR RAHMAN ◽

YANGCAN JIN ◽

M. SARWAR JAHAN

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Forest Resources ◽

Raw Material ◽

Low Carbon ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Low Carbon Economy ◽

Development Goals ◽

Very High ◽

Carbon Economy

"Lignocellulosic products can contribute to a low carbon economy, which can support in achieving the sustainable development goals of a country. The demand for pulp and paper in the developing world is constantly increasing. Due to environmental awareness, interest in bio-based products is mounting, encouraging the establishment of integrated biorefineries. Bangladesh is facing an acute shortage of fibrous raw materials, as forest resources are limited. This paper provides an overview of the characteristics of raw materials that would be available for pulping to future pulp industries in Bangladesh. Rice straw is the most abundant raw material in Bangladesh, followed by wheat straw. However, both rice and wheat straws contain a very high amount of silica, which restricts their use in pulping. An alternative technology has been developed to overcome the drawbacks of non-wood pulping, where all dissolved biomass fractions are used in the development of bio-based products. "

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