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Losses and lifetimes of metals in the economy

Author

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  • Alexandre Charpentier Poncelet

    (ISM - Institut des Sciences Moléculaires - Université Montesquieu - Bordeaux 4 - UB - Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 - École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie et de Physique de Bordeaux (ENSCPB) - INC-CNRS - Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Christoph Helbig

    (Universität Augsburg [Augsburg], Universität Bayreuth)

  • Philippe Loubet

    (ISM - Institut des Sciences Moléculaires - Université Montesquieu - Bordeaux 4 - UB - Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 - École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie et de Physique de Bordeaux (ENSCPB) - INC-CNRS - Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Antoine Beylot

    (BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières)

  • Stéphanie Muller

    (BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières)

  • Jacques Villeneuve

    (BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières)

  • Bertrand Laratte

    (I2M - Institut de Mécanique et d'Ingénierie - UB - Université de Bordeaux - Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Arts et Métiers Sciences et Technologies - HESAM - HESAM Université - Communauté d'universités et d'établissements Hautes écoles Sorbonne Arts et métiers université)

  • Andrea Thorenz

    (Universität Augsburg [Augsburg])

  • Axel Tuma

    (Universität Augsburg [Augsburg])

  • Guido Sonnemann

    (ISM - Institut des Sciences Moléculaires - Université Montesquieu - Bordeaux 4 - UB - Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 - École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie et de Physique de Bordeaux (ENSCPB) - INC-CNRS - Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

The consumption of most metals continues to rise following ever-increasing population growth, affluence and technological development. Sustainability considerations urge greater resource efficiency and retention of metals in the economy. We model the fate of a yearly cohort of 61 extracted metals over time and identify where losses are expected to occur through a life-cycle lens. We find that ferrous metals have the longest lifetimes, with 150 years on average, followed by precious, non-ferrous and specialty metals with 61, 50 and 12 years on average, respectively. Production losses are the largest for 15 of the studied metals whereas use losses are the largest for barium, mercury and strontium. Losses to waste management and recycling are the largest for 43 metals, suggesting the need to improve design for better sorting and recycling and to ensure longer-lasting products, in combination with improving waste-management practices. Compared with the United Nations Environmental Programme's recycling statistics, our results show the importance of taking a life-cycle perspective to estimate losses of metals to develop effective circular economy strategies. We provide the dataset and model used in a machine-readable format to allow further research on metal cycles.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandre Charpentier Poncelet & Christoph Helbig & Philippe Loubet & Antoine Beylot & Stéphanie Muller & Jacques Villeneuve & Bertrand Laratte & Andrea Thorenz & Axel Tuma & Guido Sonnemann, 2022. "Losses and lifetimes of metals in the economy," Post-Print hal-03702553, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03702553
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-022-00895-8
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03702553
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    Keywords

    Business and industry; Environmental sciences; Sustainability;
    All these keywords.

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