| 11. |
- Andersson, Magnus, 1983, et al.
(author)
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Lessons from a century of innovating car recycling value chains
- 2017
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In: Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. - : Elsevier BV. - 2210-4224. ; 25, s. 142-157
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) contain materials that may be beneficial to recycle. While metals such as iron, aluminium and platinum are recycled at high rates, materials such plastics and most scarce metals are recycled at low rates or not at all. Insight into how recycling systems form and develop is limited in current research, but may provide a better understanding for how to increase recycling rates. This paper utilises the technological innovation system framework to identify key functions from 1910 to 2010 that enabled ELV iron recycling in Sweden. Initiatives for improving capabilities to recycle other materials are also discussed. Results indicate that early structural changes in the steel industry were crucial. Subsequently, ELV iron could be utilised by this industry through build-up of an increasingly specialised ELV system. We argue that reproducing the key functions that enabled ELV iron recycling may serve to increase recycling rates also of other ELV materials.
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| 12. |
- Andersson, Magnus, 1983, et al.
(author)
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Mapping the content and fates of scarce metals in discarded cars
- 2016
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In: Life Cycle Assessment and Other Assessment Tools for Waste Management and Resource Optimization.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A great variety of current products make use of components or materials (e.g. electronics, steel and aluminium alloys) that utilise increasing amounts of ‘critical’ or scarce metals (SM). For example, design trends for cars point at increasing SM utilisation in order for regulatory, business and consumer requirements on environmental performance, safety, costs, comfort and infotainment to be met. Modern cars now hold SM in substantial amounts, i.e. the circa one billion cars in use worldwide today, constitute a significant near-term secondary SM resource. However, current end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling is mainly aimed at isolating hazardous contents, dismantling spare parts and recycling bulk metals. There is thus a clear risk that ELV SM are not functionally recycled and thus lost for further use.Assessments of the opportunities for increased functional recycling require estimates of SM content of discarded cars and individual waste flows in ELV recycling. However, information on both is limited. Data related to cars is sparse, and challenged by the large range and age span of discarded car brands and models. Measurements of SM in waste flows are few and cover a limited range of SM. Consequently, available data does not allow us to quantify with precision the SM contents of discarded cars reaching the ELV recycling system, or map individual metal flows within it.Instead, our approach relies on mapping 25 ELV SM to main types of applications within three newly produced car models using automotive industry data (International Material Data System, IMDS), and letting these models represent the ELV fleet so that the annual input magnitudes of SM to ELV management can be estimated. Subsequently, we employ material flow analysis of ELV waste streams as basis for identifying potential pathways of these main applications, and the extent to which contained metals may reach processes capable of functional recycling. The approach allows us to qualitatively distinguish subsets of systems flows holding groups of SM, and discuss the potential for functional recycling.Using Swedish ELV management as a case, we conclude that only platinum may be functionally recycled in its main application. Cobalt, gold, manganese, molybdenum, palladium, rhodium and silver may be functionally recycled depending on application and pathways taken. For remaining 17 metals, functional recycling is lacking. Consequently, there is considerable risk of losing SM with current ELV procedures. Given differences in the application of metals and identified pathways, strategies for improving recycling and resource security are considered. Moreover, our case illustrates the considerable challenge, posed by the complexity and range of car configurations and the sparsity of information on SM, to closer assess recycling strategies and advance secondary SM resource utilisation.
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Andersson, Magnus, 1983, et al.
(author)
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Scarce metals in Swedish end-of-life vehicle recycling
- 2014
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In: Proceedings of Second Symposium on Urban Mining, Bergamo, Italy.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Improved recycling of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) may serve as an important strategy to address short-term supply risks and long-term scarcity issues related to increased global demand of scarce metals. Current European ELV policy does not provide direct incentives for increased scarce metal resource security as it is not aimed specifically at scarce metals. This paper aims to screen the opportunities for scarce metal recycling from vehicles by quantifying the orders of magnitude of near-future scarce metal flows in Swedish ELV recycling. Results point to a lack of dedicated domestic scarce metal recycling capabilities, posing considerable risk of near-future annual losses of single figure tonnes of gold and tantalum, and tens of tonnes of niobium and neodymium. Given plausible differences in scale and of characteristics of losses, a diversity of recycling strategies is proposed if functionality of recycling and availability of scarce metals are to be improved.
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| 16. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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A crustal scarcity indicator for long-term global elemental resource assessment in LCA
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 25:9, s. 1805-1817
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: How to assess impacts of mineral resources is much discussed in life cycle assessment (LCA). We see a need for, and a lack of, a mineral resource impact assessment method that captures the perspective of long-term global scarcity of elements. Method: A midpoint-level mineral resource impact assessment method matching this perspective is proposed, called the crustal scarcity indicator (CSI), with characterization factors called crustal scarcity potentials (CSPs) measured as kg silicon equivalents per kg element. They are based on crustal concentrations, which have been suggested to correlate with several important resource metrics (reserves, reserve base, reserves plus cumulative production, and ore deposits), thereby constituting proxies for long-term global elemental scarcity. Results and discussion: Ready-to-use CSPs are provided for 76 elements, through which the CSI can be calculated by multiplying with the respective masses of elements extracted from Earth’s crust for a certain product. As follows from their crustal concentrations, the three platinum-group metals iridium, osmium, and rhodium have the highest CSPs, whereas silicon, aluminum, and iron have the lowest CSPs. Conclusion: An evaluation of the CSPs and the characterization factors of four other mineral resource impact assessment methods in LCA (the abiotic depletion, the surplus ore, the cumulative exergy demand, and the EPS methods) were conducted. It showed that the CSPs are temporally reliable, calculated in a consistent way, and have a high coverage of elements in comparison. Furthermore, a quantitative comparison with the characterization factors of the four other methods showed that the CSPs reflect long-term global elemental scarcity comparatively well while requiring a minimum of assumptions and input parameters. Recommendations: We recommend using the CSI for assessments of long-term global elemental scarcity in LCA. Since the CSI is at the midpoint level, it can be complemented by other mineral resource impact assessment methods (both existing and to be developed) to provide a more comprehensive view of mineral resource impacts in an LCA.
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| 17. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Assessing the Environmental Risks of Silver from Clothes in an Urban Area
- 2014
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In: Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (HERA). - : Informa UK Limited. - 1549-7860 .- 1080-7039. ; 20:4, s. 1008-1022
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The environmental risks from the use of silver-containing clothes (“silver clothes”)were assessed for an urban area. First, we evaluated whether the use of silver clothesmay cause contamination of wastewater treatment sludge that exceeds certain risk thresholds. Second, we assessed the risk of silver exposure to earthworms from applyingthe sludge as fertilizer to agricultural land. The most critical parameter was the concentration of silver in silver clothes, for which estimates in the literaturevary by more than five orders of magnitude. For concentrations at the high end of that parameter range, there is considerably increased concentration of silver in the sludge, and toxic effects on earthworms even at modest use rates of silver clothes suggest high risk. At the low end, no risks can be expected. The main recommendationfrom this study is that if silver is used in clothes, the silver concentration must be kept at the lower end of the range applied in this study if risks are to be avoided.This can be done either by design choices of companies, or by regulation. If the function of the applied silver is not maintained at these lower levels, the use of silver clothes should be minimized.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Can carbon nanomaterials help avoiding resource scarcity?
- 2015
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In: International Society of Industrial Ecology’s biennial conference, 7-10 July 2015, University of Surry, England.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The pressure on resource extraction is increasing due to a continued growth of world population and affluence. In particular, scarcity may become a pressing problem for several metals in the coming decades (Ljunggren Söderman et al. 2014). Carbon nanomaterials, such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene and nanocellulose, have been suggested as a potential remedy for this. They have gained high interest in recent years, owing to their unique properties, which potentially could make them viable substitutes for a range of scarce and critical metals. However, carbon nanomaterials also require raw materials in order to be produced. Having carbon as main constituent, carbon nanomaterials require carbon feedstock of either renewable or fossil origin. Although carbon is an abundant element, not all chemical forms of carbon can be used directly for carbon nanomaterial production. The first aim of this study is to list potential raw materials for the carbon nanomaterials fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene and nanocellulose. Second, raw material reserves available for future potential production rates of carbon nanomaterials are assessed. This analysis is done using prospective material flow analysis (MFA), which is a forward-looking type of MFA in contrast to the more traditional MFA that typically considers current material flows. Third, we outline which scarce materials that may be replaced by carbon nanomaterials in these applications. With this method, resource benefits from substitution and resource constraints of carbon nanomaterials can be assessed, both in the short and long term. Preliminary results show that the carbon nanomaterials investigated have the potential to replace a number of scarce materials. For example, graphene could replace indium and tin in transparent screens (Segal 2009). There may also be short term resource constraints for carbon nanomaterials. For example, graphene is currently suggested to be produced from graphite for some applications, and graphite has been listed as a critical material. We also discuss risks of competition over carbon feedstock (fossil and biomass) between current uses of carbon feedstock (e.g. plastics and wood) and carbon nanomaterials.
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| 20. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Carbon nanomaterials as potential substitutes for scarce metals
- 2017
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In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526. ; 156, s. 253-261
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is growing evidence of resource problems related to the use of scarce metals in society, includingthe long-term risk of world-wide depletion of high-grade ores, shorter-term supply deficits and mineralrelated conflicts. In this study, we explore the idea that scarce metals may be substituted by nanomaterialsbased on the abundant element carbon, primarily graphene, nanotubes and fullerenes. We depart from a list of 14 geochemically scarce metals: antimony, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, gallium, germanium, gold, indium, niobium, platinum, silver, tantalum, tin and tungsten. We then review scientific papers and patents for carbon nanomaterial technologies that, if successfully implemented, couldreduce or eliminate the need for each metal in its main application. For all main applications except forgold in jewelry, such technologies were identified. Most of the identified technologies were described inmore than 100 papers. This suggests that there is an ongoing promising development of carbon nanomaterialtechnologies for applications currently relying on scarce metals. However, we recommend further studies to scrutinize these technologies regarding their environmental performance to avoid problem shifting from metal scarcity to (eco)toxic effects of the carbon nanomaterials themselves orother impacts related to their production and use.
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