Sustainable Materials
A section of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).
Section Information
As the global population and affluence have increased, so has the use of various materials, in volume, diversity, and distance transported. Included here are raw materials, minerals, synthetic chemicals (including hazardous substances), manufactured products, food, living organisms, and waste. By 2050, humanity could consume an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels, and biomass per year (three times its current amount) unless the economic growth rate is decoupled from the rate of natural resource consumption. Developed countries’ citizens consume an average of 16 tons of those four key resources per capita, up to 40 or more tons per person in some developed countries, with resource consumption levels far beyond what is likely sustainable.
Sustainable use of materials has targeted the idea of dematerialization, converting the linear path of materials (extraction, use, disposal in landfill) to a circular material flow that reuses materials as much as possible, much like the cycling and reuse of waste in nature. This approach is supported by product stewardship and the increasing use of material flow analysis at all levels, especially individual countries and the global economy. The use of sustainable biomaterials that come from renewable sources and that can be recycled is preferred to the use on non-renewables from a life cycle standpoint.
Reference:
Wikipedia. Sustainabiliy. Available online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=18413531 (accessed on 27 July 2021)
Keywords
- cement/concrete/other building materials
- smart/environmentally adaptable materials, green composites/materials
- eco-friendly/natural/healthy/recyclable materials
- alternative material/microstructure control, nanocomposite technologies
- material/structural reliability/durability, applications
- intelligent, nature-mimicking, biological, bio/life-inspired materials, etc.
- material recycling and material recovery from complex products
- material substitution to enable lower-impact production and/or use (e.g., composites)
- material performance targets in the context of a system design
- advanced manufacturing processes with reduced energy, water, and material footprint
- sustainable material processing
- material recycling and recovery
- material theory and modeling
- life cycle analyses of sustainable technologies
- sustainable manufacturing technologies
- sustainable applied materials
Editorial Board
Topic Board
Special Issues
Following special issues within this section are currently open for submissions:
- Sustainable Management and Utilization of Waste Materials in Construction (Deadline: 31 August 2021)
- Membrane Materials and Processes for Advanced Electrochemical Energy Systems (Deadline: 31 August 2021)
- Sustainable Roads and Airfields: Pavement Materials and Pavement Engineering (Deadline: 31 August 2021)
- Self-Compacting Concrete Produced with Different Kinds of Industrial by-Products (Deadline: 31 August 2021)
- New Environmental, Economic and Social Challenges for Raw Materials Supply: Sustainable Mining and Extractive Waste Exploitation (Deadline: 15 September 2021)
- Sustainability of Wood-Based Materials for Construction and Manufacturing (Deadline: 30 September 2021)
- Sustainable Concrete Masonry: AAC and LWAC (Deadline: 30 September 2021)
- Sustainability in Fashion and Textiles (Deadline: 30 September 2021)
- Use of Agro-Wastes in Building Materials (Deadline: 30 September 2021)
- New Frontiers in Biochar Application (Deadline: 30 September 2021)
- Advanced Nanoarchitecture Networks for Energy Storage Devices and Their Prosperous Electrolytes (Deadline: 30 September 2021)
- Advanced Smart Materials for Sensor Technology (Deadline: 30 September 2021)
- Advanced Waste Technologies for Sustainable Materials and Products (Deadline: 30 September 2021)
- Building Materials and Sustainable Architecture (Deadline: 30 September 2021)
- Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Connections: Towards Sustainability in Bridge Construction (Deadline: 30 September 2021)
- “Alive“ Materials in Architecture and Design (Deadline: 30 September 2021)
- Valorization of Residues from Energy Conversion of Biomass for Advanced and Sustainable Material Applications (Deadline: 15 October 2021)
- Sustainable and Affordable Clean Water from Emerging Nanotechnology (Deadline: 30 October 2021)
- Improving Sustainability through Corrosion Resistance of Reinforced Concrete (Deadline: 30 October 2021)
- Lower Carbon Construction for Sustainable Construction and Environment (Deadline: 31 October 2021)
- Carbon-Based Nanomaterials: Potential in the Environmental Area (Deadline: 31 October 2021)
- Infrastructure Resilience and Climate Action (Deadline: 31 October 2021)
- Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability (Deadline: 31 October 2021)
- Frontiers in Sustainable Battery Materials (Deadline: 31 October 2021)
- Sustainable Materials for Renewable Energy Applications (Deadline: 31 October 2021)
- Sustainable Materials for Construction (Deadline: 31 October 2021)
- Perovskite Materials Supports Solar-Energy Sustainability (Deadline: 31 October 2021)
- Sustainable Functional Materials (Deadline: 31 October 2021)
- New Environmentally-Friendly and Sustainable Materials (Deadline: 5 November 2021)
- Sustainable Approaches for Developing Concrete and Mortar (Deadline: 15 November 2021)
- Alkali-Activated Concrete: A State of Art (Deadline: 15 November 2021)
- Sustainability and Circularity: New Material Scenarios for Product Design (Deadline: 28 November 2021)
- Effect of Advanced Sustainable Material in Construction (Deadline: 30 November 2021)
- Sustainable Materials for Thermal and Noise Insulation of Buildings (Deadline: 30 November 2021)
- Sustainable Advanced and Smart Polymer Materials (Deadline: 30 November 2021)
- Recycled Construction & Demolition Waste as Concrete Aggregate for Sustainable Construction (Deadline: 30 November 2021)
- Biomimetic Infrastructure Materials: Towards a Greener Future (Deadline: 30 November 2021)
- Green and Sustainable Corrosion Inhibitor Materials (Deadline: 30 November 2021)
- Advanced Semiconductor Materials for Energy, Electronics and Sensors (Deadline: 30 November 2021)
- Frontiers in Metallic Nanoparticles (Deadline: 30 November 2021)
- Nuclear Waste Management and Sustainability (Deadline: 30 November 2021)
- Pavement Design, Analysis and Material Characterization (Deadline: 30 November 2021)
- Valorisation of Electronic Waste (E-waste): Value-Added Products Derived from Processing and Recycling of E-waste (Deadline: 1 December 2021)
- Innovative Construction Materials for Sustainable Development (Deadline: 1 December 2021)
- Phase Change Materials and Building Systems Dynamics (Deadline: 15 December 2021)
- Construction and Demolition Waste: Challenges and Opportunities (Deadline: 15 December 2021)
- Application and Development of Advanced and Sustainable Building Materials (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Materials for Sustainability (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Structural Engineering and Sustainable Civil Construction (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Deep and Fast Retrofitting of Existing Buildings to Improve Energy Performance and Comfort Conditions (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Challenges in the Long-Term Behaviour of Highly Radioactive Materials (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Sustainable High-Performance Hydraulic Concrete (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Pavement Materials and Sustainability (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- A Sustainable Approach to the Use of Materials in Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Technologies (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Sustainable Management of Heavy Metals Ⅱ (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Efficient Sustainable Material and Technology Solutions in the Construction Industry (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Sustainable Metallurgical Processing and Industrial Solid Waste Recycling (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Application of Waste Materials in Pavement Structures (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- New Adsorbent Materials and Chelating Agents for the Removal/Sequestration of Water Pollutants (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Sustainable “Passive” Strategies to Improve Resilience and Comfort in Urban Areas: The Role of Construction Materials and Citizens Involvement (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Sustainable Innovation and Development of Advanced Materials (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Efficient Recovery of Solid Wastes for Sustainability (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Sustainability Through the Textile and Apparel Supply Chain (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Nanomaterials for the Conservation of Heritage Structures (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- High Added-Value Molecules Recovered from Agri-Food Waste and by-Products (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Sustainable Organic Materials Used in the Construction Sector (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Stainless Steel—The Choice for Ecosustainability (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Architecture 3.0: Requirements, Materials and Systems for the Post-pandemic Construction (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Polymer Waste Management (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Sustainable Materials for Environmental Applications (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Contribution to the Circular Economy Through the Reuse of Material Waste and Energy Use in Industrial Processes and Domestic Uses (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Design, Development and Material Choice in Automotive Technology; Lectures Design Systems (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Sustainable Concrete Materials and Technologies (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Seismic Performance of Existing RC Buildings and Elements (Deadline: 31 December 2021)
- Toward Sustainable Multifunctional Coatings (Deadline: 11 January 2022)
- Raw Materials and Circular Economy: Concepts and Evidence (Deadline: 15 January 2022)
- Research and Application of Recycling Asphalt Materials (Deadline: 20 January 2022)
- Sustainable Buildings: Advances for Material Efficiency and Circular Economy in the Built Environment (Deadline: 30 January 2022)
- Sustainable Technologies of Urban Mining for a Circular Economy (Deadline: 30 January 2022)
- Sustainable Concrete Materials for a Clean Energy Management (Deadline: 31 January 2022)
- Sustainable Environmental Management of Hazardous Wastes (Deadline: 31 January 2022)
- Evaluation of the Environmental Impact of Road Construction and Maintenance Activities (Deadline: 28 February 2022)
- Sustainable Construction: Environmental Evaluation of Construction and Building Materials (Deadline: 28 February 2022)
- Bio-Based Materials and Energy under Circular Economy Approaches (Deadline: 28 February 2022)
- Towards Advanced Sustainable Recycled Materials and Technology (Deadline: 1 March 2022)
- Novel Developments in Advanced Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Environment (Deadline: 15 March 2022)
- Green Energy Technologies for Sustainability (Deadline: 20 March 2022)
- Wooden Materials and Joints for Sustainable Timber Structures (Deadline: 21 March 2022)
- Sustainable Structural Design for High-Performance Buildings and Infrastructures (Deadline: 31 March 2022)
- Sustainable and CO2 Low-Carbon Waste Treatment (Deadline: 31 March 2022)
- Green Design: A Nexus between Waste and Materials (Deadline: 31 March 2022)
- Development of Sustainable Concrete Incorporated with Effective Microorganisms and Industrial and Agriculture Waste Materials (Deadline: 31 March 2022)
- Advanced Concrete and Construction Materials (Deadline: 31 March 2022)
- Sustainable Materials, Manufacturing and Design (Deadline: 31 March 2022)
- Eco-Friendly Materials for Civil Construction: Utilization and Advantages (Deadline: 31 March 2022)
- Design of Injection Molding in Sustainable Materials (Deadline: 30 April 2022)
- Sustainability and Energy-Saving in Construction and Building Materials (Deadline: 31 May 2022)
- Climate Adaptive Reforestation and Plant Material Production (Deadline: 31 May 2022)
- Sustainability in Research Infrastructure (Deadline: 31 May 2022)
- Sustainable Nanoporous Materials (Deadline: 30 June 2022)
- Recycling Wastes into Construction Materials: Innovative Methods and Developments (Deadline: 30 June 2022)
- Green Deal in Construction and Building Materials (Deadline: 30 June 2022)
- Using Waste Materials in Geotechnical and Pavement Engineering for Sustainable Construction (Deadline: 30 June 2022)
- Materials and Corrosion (Deadline: 30 June 2022)
- Advances in Sustainable and Eco-Efficient Construction Materials (Deadline: 30 June 2022)
- Application of Sustainable Cement-Based Materials in Civil Infrastructure Systems (Deadline: 30 June 2022)
- Sustainable Pavement Materials and Developments (Deadline: 30 June 2022)
- Sustainable Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites (Sus-SHCC) (Deadline: 1 July 2022)
- The Sustainable Materials in Earthwork Engineering--Application of Anthropogenic Soils (Deadline: 31 July 2022)
- Use of Recycled Concrete Materials (Deadline: 30 August 2022)
- Frontiers in Sustainable Ceramic Materials (Deadline: 5 November 2022)
- Next Generation of Microwave and Millimetre-Wave Systems for Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Telecommunications and Energy-Harvesting Systems (Deadline: 31 December 2022)
- Modifications of Building Materials with Waste Materials Admixtures (Deadline: 5 July 2023)
- Sustainable Materials for Food, Biotechnology, and Environmental Applications (Deadline: 31 October 2023)
Topical Collection
Following topical collection within this section is currently open for submissions: