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Ecoefficient Materials and Processes

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 4471

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
WASM: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Curtin, Australia
Interests: energy and emission reductions in process metallurgy, pelletisation, decarbonising cement and iron ore reduction; biomass and waste utilisation in process metallurgy, dewatering, carbon reforming, polymers for carbon reduction; polymers for sustainable materials processing; recycling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI), University of Minnesota Duluth, One Gayley Avenue/PO Box 188, Coleraine, MN 55722, USA
Interests: mineral processing; extractive metallurgy; geo-metallurgy; dry beneficiation; dewatering; battery materials; waste valorization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The mining and metal industry is facing several issues related to high energy consumption. Low-carbon technologies are needed to optimise the use of energy, an ever-increasing need. Low-carbon technologies demand higher percentage of the world's mineral production. Sustainable and eco-efficient processing of these minerals and materials is the focus of this Special Issue. The developing countries and emerging economies need to practice innovative mining and materials processing to keep the carbon and material footprint low. The economies associated with crucial metals production include India (iron, steel, and titanium); The Democratic Republic of Congo (copper, cobalt); Mozambique and Madagascar (graphite); China (rare earths); China, Brazil, Indonesia, Guinea (bauxite); Mongolia, Peru, Columbia, Indonesia Chile (copper); Indonesia (nickel); etc. There will be growing demand for the following minerals as we transition towards low-carbon technologies: lithium, cobalt, graphite, indium, vanadium, nickel, silver, neodymium, molybdenum, aluminium, copper, manganese, etc.

This Special Issue will focus on current and future development in decarbonizing high materials and carbon footprint processes. This includes innovation in energy and emission reduction, design manufacturing for recycling, and reuse. The keywords for the recommended topics are given below. However, the submissions for this Special Issue should not be limited to these. This Special Issue will build on the existing knowledge in the literature and report on advances in the area.

Dr. Sheila Devasahayam
Dr. Sunil Kumar Tripathy
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • climate smart mining
  • green economy
  • hydrogen economy
  • industrial decarbonization: e.g., green steel, cement/concrete decarbonisation
  • hydrogen iron making
  • eco-communition
  • critical elements recovery
  • energy storage
  • recycling
  • e-wastes energy and water nexus
  • digital innovation
  • techno-economic modelling
  • battery recycling
  • automotive wastes
  • life cycle analysis
  • nuclear energy
  • safety protocols
  • carbon utilisation
  • catalysts for clean energy production
  • waste heat recovery
  • nano-materials
  • nanotechnology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

24 pages, 2983 KiB  
Article
Identification and Reduction of Product Carbon Footprints: Case Studies from the Austrian Automotive Supplier Industry
by Kai Rüdele and Matthias Wolf
Sustainability 2023, 15(20), 14911; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014911 - 16 Oct 2023
Viewed by 3842
Abstract
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities have climbed significantly above pre-pandemic levels and have reached record highs that unequivocally accelerate global warming. Industry has a significant impact on climate change, emitting at least 21% of global GHGs and making little overall progress [...] Read more.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities have climbed significantly above pre-pandemic levels and have reached record highs that unequivocally accelerate global warming. Industry has a significant impact on climate change, emitting at least 21% of global GHGs and making little overall progress toward its reduction until now. Reducing industry’s emissions requires coordinated action along the value chains in order to promote mitigation options, such as energy and material efficiency, circular material flows, and transformative changes within production processes. This article is the first evaluation of GHG emissions generated during the manufacturing of vehicle components by Austrian companies. For this, the authors analyzed three different products of automotive suppliers according to the methodology of ISO 14067. Despite previous efforts toward an environmentally compatible fabrication, additional and significant reduction potentials were identified. These measures for product carbon footprint (PCF) reduction included the sourcing of low-carbon materials (which are already available on the market), more extensive use of renewable energy, and changes towards more resource efficient manufacturing processes and machinery. Depending on the materials used, the PCF can be reduced by up to 80%. The findings serve to prepare for future PCF reporting regulations and illustrate reduction potentials to achieve future market advantages, especially when PCFs become an awarding criterion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecoefficient Materials and Processes)
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