event
Friday 13 Jul 2012: Sustainable Materials: with both eyes open
Dr Julian Allwood - University of Cambridge
Harrison room 170 14:00-15:00
The word "sustainable" describes a general ambition, but is frequently applied to specific products or practices to assert a specific claim. The only way to validate such claims is through a global analysis of current impacts and a prediction of how they would change as a result of different 'sustainable' options. This talk presents such a global analysis for steel and aluminium, related to targets in the UK, Japan and California requiring a reduction in CO2 emissions to 20% of 1990 levels by 2050. A global mass flow analysis is used to develop a clear picture of the major processes and products that dominate current use. Energy and emissions factors are applied to the key processes in this flow to demonstrate the total carbon emissions of the sector. In looking for lower emissions options, the history and physical limits of energy requirements are used to demonstrate that few energy efficiency options remain for either metal, so the 20% emissions target can be achieved only by a reduction in total production of new metal. Six 'material efficiency' options are identified to achieve such a reduction, and case studies will be used to demonstrate their application in practice.
All welcome, no registration required.
