Circular Economy Models in Industry: Developing a Conceptual Framework

Abstract

One of the trends in sustainable economic development is the transition to circular business models, which aim to optimize goods and material flows by taking into account their cyclical nature at all production stages. Adapting circular business models to mining and mineral processing operations can serve as an impetus for mining companies to upgrade and move to a new level of technological sophistication. This article attempts to develop a conceptual framework for circular business models factoring in the nature of production chains in coal mining, power generation, and metal production to reduce production costs, expand the product range, improve sustainable development indicators, and deliver growth in company value. This article is based on desk studies that were aimed at analyzing the efficiency of circular models, organizing data on experience in rational resource use in the mining industry, and transforming basic circular models into adapted ones for the environment in which coal companies operate. This study developed a conceptual framework of options for the implementation and evaluation of circular business models using an interdisciplinary approach and taking into account the specific features of coal companies and the principle of a resource being valuable throughout its whole life cycle. The proposed conceptual framework of circular business models can be used by Russian coal companies to design corporate strategies and long-term development plans.

The development of the soderberg electrolyzer electromagnetic field’s state monitoring system

“…Another direction in this area is the experimental direction. The essence of this direction is to conduct a huge number of experiments and build regression models based on it 24 , 25 . These models are highly accurate at a given time, but are completely inapplicable to the analysis of dynamic systems with constantly changing input, internal and output parameters 26 , 27 .…”

“…To carry out a system analysis of aluminum electrolysis, the following methods can be most often used: Flow Diagram: This method consists of constructing a diagram that shows the flow of materials, energy and information in an aluminum electrolysis system. A flow diagram helps to identify the main components of the system and determine the flow of resources between them 11 , 12 , 14 – 24 , 28 – 42 , 57 , 65 , 71 – 76 . System model.…”

The Development of the Soderberg Electrolyzer Electromagnetic Field’s State Monitoring System

“…Another direction in this area is the experimental direction. The essence of this direction is to conduct a huge number of experiments and build regression models based on it [39,40]. These models are highly accurate at a given time, but are completely inapplicable to the analysis of dynamic systems with constantly changing input, internal and output parameters [41,42].…”

“…The ratio of the practically obtained metal Q a to the theoretically possible Q o is called the current output η and is expressed as a percentage or fractions of a unit: Then Al 2 O 3 ↔ 2Al + 1.5O 2 while E p = 2.19 V [6,8,9]. [7,24,25]. The current output characterizes the efficiency of current use and is the most important technical indicator of the electrolysis process.…”

Comprehensive study of filtration properties of pelletized sandy clay ores and filtration modes in the heap leaching stack

“…Introduction. The concept of sustainable development of mining enterprises involves the development of technologies aimed at low-waste development of solid mineral deposits [1,2] and the maximumextraction of metals from poor off-balance ores [3][4][5], taking into account the required environmental standards [6,7]. In practice, various technologies have been tested for extracting noble metals from ores [8][9][10], including heap leaching (HL), which is a promising and relatively cheap technology for processing poor and off-balance ores containing gold, silver and other useful components [11].…”