Environmental life-cycle comparisons of steel production and recycling: sustainability issues, problems and prospects

Yellishetty, Mohan; Mudd, Gavin Mark; Ranjith, P.G.; Tharumarajah, A.

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2011.04.008

Cited by 181 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Aluminium can recycling is more effective at 67.4% in 2010 [69], presumably due to the high value of the material, the presence of container deposit legislation (CDL) and local reprocessing and refining facilities (that are soon to close). [70], original data from [71]. Copyright 2011 Elsevier).…”

Section: Recovery Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circular Economy: Questions for Responsible Minerals, Additive Manufacturing and Recycling of Metals

et al. 2014

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Abstract:The concept of the circular economy proposes new patterns of production, consumption and use, based on circular flows of resources. Under a scenario where there is a global shift towards the circular economy, this paper discusses the advent of two parallel and yet-to-be-connected trends for Australia, namely: (i) responsible minerals supply chains and (ii) additive manufacturing, also known as 3D production systems. Acknowledging the current context for waste management, the paper explores future interlinked questions which arise in the circular economy for responsible supply chains, additive manufacturing, and metals recycling. For example, where do mined and recycled resources fit in responsible supply chains as inputs to responsible production? What is required to ensure 3D production systems are resource efficient? How could more distributed models of production, enabled by additive manufacturing, change the geographical scale at which it is economic or desirable to close the loop? Examples are given to highlight the need for an integrated research agenda to address these questions and to foster Australian opportunities in the circular economy.

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Section: Recovery Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circular Economy: Questions for Responsible Minerals, Additive Manufacturing and Recycling of Metals

et al. 2014

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“…In final disposal stage, steel beams were assumed to be 100% recycled reported [35]. The LCI data for scrap steel recycling was sourced from published literature [30,36]. …”

Section: Lci Of Steel Structural Beammentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of alternative material for Australian building construction

Hanandeh

Gilbert

et al. 2017

MATEC Web Conf.

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Abstract. The use of wood is seen as a sustainable alternative to reduce environmental impacts in building and construction sector. The low quality hardwood logs from plantation thinning are enhanced by producing engineered wood such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL). Nevertheless, engineered wood requires the use of chemicals and energy that may reduce its environmental benefits. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to compare the environmental performance of LVL produced from forestry thinning and final harvest to steel and concrete. The functional unit used in this study was a 1-m-long structural beam in a continuous beam system of 6-m-span designed according to the Australian standards. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) and embedded energy were assessed. The results indicated that LVL beam from thinned logs presented the lowest GWP impact (5.22kg-CO2-Eq). However, due to significant energy requirements for wood drying, the embedded energy in LVL was 186.78MJ which is only marginally less than steel (216.86MJ) but significantly less than concrete (352.82MJ). LVL from mature hardwood logs had slightly higher GWP than that produced from thinning; mainly due to extra energy and materials consumption in the plantation stage. Furthermore, LVL produced from mature trees had higher embedded energy than steel.

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“…However, the most challenging issue in the scrap recycling operation is the remaining elements [22]. The effort to separate or remove a particular residual element [23] sometimes becomes too expensive and thereby, primary production becomes a preferred option over recycling.…”

Section: Production Of Molten Steelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Primary steel produced in an integrated steel mill (IM), emits 2.1 t of CO 2 per ton of crude steel (TCS) while only 0.6 t/TCS of the steel is produced at EAF [22]. Yellishetty et al [23] has shown that using EAF to generate steel from scraps reduces about 32.14% up to 40.32% of the CO 2 emissions per ton than using BOF. EAF is also far less energy intensive, one ton of steel through the EAF route consumes 9-12.5 GJ/TCS whereas the BOF steel consumes 28-31 GJ/TCS.…”

Section: Electric Arc Furnaces (Eaf)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Steel as a sustainable choice towards the green building concept

Taha¹,

Ibrahim²,

Ali³

2016

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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Due to the significant global environmental impacts of building construction through water consumption, energy use, gas emission and solid waste, a building's sustainability becomes the fourth consideration after cost, time and quality for the success of its design and construction. The green building standards state that a building is considered environmentally green whenever its structure and expected use simultaneously match the prescribed environmental standards over the span of its life-cycle. Therefore, the life cycle assessment of different buildings was studied to investigate building sustainability and how to achieve the criteria for green buildings. It was shown that a green building does not have a particular construction method, but it is a set of techniques, materials, and technologies suitably integrated together to improve the environmental performance of the building. Thus, this research will focus on steel as the main construction material which can be an appropriate choice that represents interesting solutions to fulfill the green building standards. The characteristics of durability, adaptability and recyclability of steel structures can definitely be highlighted at construction sustainability principles. Otherwise, the Egyptian steel industry has been performing a great effort to accomplish the optimum environmental performance, provide a high structural performance and quality, and satisfy clients' requirements for sustainability. Data from a private steel plant in Egypt has been compiled as a step to complete the Egyptian life cycle inventory so that the steel industry could be environmentally assessed.

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Environmental life-cycle comparisons of steel production and recycling: sustainability issues, problems and prospects

Cited by 181 publications

References 22 publications

Circular Economy: Questions for Responsible Minerals, Additive Manufacturing and Recycling of Metals

Circular Economy: Questions for Responsible Minerals, Additive Manufacturing and Recycling of Metals

A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of alternative material for Australian building construction

Steel as a sustainable choice towards the green building concept

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