The anthropogenic nickel cycle for the year 2000 was analyzed using a material flow analysis at multiple levels: 52 countries, territories, or country groups, eight regions, and the planet. Special attention was given to the trade in nickel-containing products at different stages of the cycle. A new circular diagram highlights process connections, the role and potential of recycling, and the relevance of trade at different life stages. The following results were achieved. (1) The nickel cycle is dominated by six countries or territories: USA, China and Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and South Korea; only China also mines some of its nickel used. (2) Nickel is mostly used in alloyed form in stainless steels (68%). (3) More scrap is used for the production of stainless steels (42%) than for other first uses (11%). (4) Industrial machinery is the largest end use category for nickel (25%), followed by buildings and infrastructure (21%) and transportation (20%). (5) 57% of discarded nickel is recycled within the nickel and stainless steel industries, and 14% is lost to other metal markets where nickel is an unwanted constituent of carbon steel and copper alloy scrap.

Methanotrophs are known to produce poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), but there is conflicting evidence in the literature as to which genera produce the polymer. We screened type I and II proteobacterial methanotrophs that use the ribulose monophosphate and serine pathways for carbon assimilation, respectively, for both phaC, which encodes for PHB synthase, and the ability to produce PHB under nitrogen-limited conditions. Twelve strains from six different genera were evaluated. All type I strains tested negative for phaC and PHB production; all Type II strains tested positive for phaC and PHB production. In order to identify conditions that favor PHB production, we also evaluated a range of selection conditions using a diverse activated sludge inoculum. Use of medium typically recommended for methanotroph enrichment led to enrichments dominated by type I methanotrophs. Conditions that were selected for enrichments dominated by PHB-producing Type II methanotrophs were: (1) use of nitrogen gas as the sole nitrogen source in the absence of copper, (2) use of a dilute mineral salts media in the absence of copper, and (3) use of media prepared at pH values of 4-5.

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At present, most synthetic organic materials are produced from fossil carbon feedstock that is regenerated over time scales of millions of years. Biobased alternatives can be rapidly renewed in cradle-to-cradle cycles (1–10 years). Such materials extend landfill life and decrease undesirable impacts due to material persistence. This work develops a LCA for synthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) from methane with subsequent biodegradation of PHB back to biogas (40–70% methane, 30–60% carbon dioxide). The parameters for this cradle-to-cradle cycle for PHB production are developed and used as the basis for a cradle-to-gate LCA. PHB production from biogas methane is shown to be preferable to its production from cultivated feedstock due to the energy and land required for the feedstock cultivation and fermentation. For the PHB-methane cycle, the major challenges are PHB recovery and demands for energy. Some or all of the energy requirements can be satisfied using renewable energy, such as a portion of the collected biogas methane. Oxidation of 18–26% of the methane in a biogas stream can meet the energy demands for aeration and agitation, and recovery of PHB synthesized from the remaining 74–82%. Effective coupling of waste-to-energy technologies could thus conceivably enable PHB production without imported carbon and energy.

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