From Grave to Cradle

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a promising tool in the pursuit of sustainable mining. However, the accounting methodologies used in LCA for abiotic resource depletion still have some shortcomings and need to be improved. In this article a new thermodynamic approach is presented for the evaluation of the depletion of nonfuel minerals. The method is based on quantifying the exergy costs required to replace the extracted minerals with current available technologies, from a completely degraded state in what we term “Thanatia” to the conditions currently found in nature. Thanatia is an estimated reference model of a commercial end of the planet, where all resources have been extracted and dispersed, and all fossil fuels have been burned. Mineral deposits constitute an exergy bonus that nature gives us for free by providing minerals in a concentrated state and not dispersed in the crust. The exergy replacement costs provide a measure of the bonus lost through extraction. This approach allows performing an LCA by including a new stage in the analysis: namely the grave to cradle path. The methodology is explained through the case study of nickel depletion.

[1]  Antonio Valero,et al.  The crepuscular planet. A model for the exhausted atmosphere and hydrosphere , 2011 .

[2]  Anthony Scott,et al.  Natural resources in a high-tech economy: Scarcity versus resourcefulness , 1992 .

[3]  Can resource depletion be omitted from environmental impact assessments ? 1 , .

[4]  Jan Szargut,et al.  Chemical exergies of the elements , 1989 .

[5]  Antonio Valero,et al.  Physical geonomics: Combining the exergy and Hubbert peak analysis for predicting mineral resources depletion , 2010 .

[6]  Stefan Gößling-Reisemann.  Combining LCA with Thermodynamics , 2007, ITEE.

[7]  Antonio Valero,et al.  Physical Hydronomics: application of the exergy analysis to the assessment of environmental costs of water bodies. The case of the inland basins of Catalonia. , 2009 .

[8]  Stefanie Hellweg,et al.  Applying cumulative exergy demand (CExD) indicators to the ecoinvent database , 2006 .

[9]  J Dewulf,et al.  Cumulative exergy extraction from the natural environment (CEENE): a comprehensive life cycle impact assessment method for resource accounting. , 2007, Environmental science & technology.

[10]  Reinout Heijungs,et al.  A proposal for the definition of resource equivalency factors for use in product life-cycle assessment , 1995 .

[11]  T. Norgate,et al.  Assessing the environmental impact of metal production processes , 2007 .

[12]  L. Codispoti.  The limits to growth , 1997, Nature.

[13]  Miguel A. Lozano,et al.  Theory of the exergetic cost , 1993 .

[14]  Alan C. Brent,et al.  The Impact of Mineral Resource Depletion - In response to Steen BA (2006): Abiotic Resource Depletion: Different perceptions of the problem with mineral deposits. Int J LCA 11 (Special Issue 1) 49-54 , 2006 .

[15]  Rene Cornelissen,et al.  The value of the exergetic life cycle assessment besides the LCA , 2002 .

[16]  Harold J. Barnett,et al.  Scarcity and growth. , 1963 .

[17]  Jan Szargut,et al.  Cumulative exergy consumption and cumulative degree of perfection of chemical processes , 1987 .

[18]  Alicia Valero,et al.  A prediction of the exergy loss of the world's mineral reserves in the 21st century , 2011 .

[19]  R. Gordon.  Rigor and Relevance in a Changing Institutional Setting , 1976 .

[20]  R. Rudnick,et al.  3.01 – Composition of the Continental Crust , 2003 .

[21]  Alan C. Brent,et al.  The Impact of Mineral Resource Depletion , 2006 .

[22]  G. Mudd.  The Environmental sustainability of mining in Australia: key mega-trends and looming constraints , 2010 .

[23]  Gavin M. Mudd,et al.  An analysis of historic production trends in Australian base metal mining , 2007 .

[24]  R. Solow.  The Economics of Resources or the Resources of Economics , 2008 .

[25]  Helias A. Udo de Haes,et al.  Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in an Life-cycle Perspective (Issue Editor: Helias A. Udo de Haes) , 2006 .

[26]  R. Rudnick,et al.  Composition of the Continental Crust , 2014 .

[27]  Mary Stewart,et al.  A Consistent Framework for Assessing the Impacts from Resource Use - A focus on resource functionality (8 pp) , 2005 .

[28]  Bengt Steen.  Abiotic Resource Depletion Different perceptions of the problem with mineral deposits , 2006 .

[29]  Mohan Yellishetty,et al.  Life cycle assessment in the minerals and metals sector: a critical review of selected issues and challenges , 2009 .

[30]  Bengt Steen,et al.  An estimation of the cost of sustainable production of metal concentrates from the earth's crust , 2002 .

[31]  Göran Finnveden,et al.  Impacts from Resource Use - A common position paper , 2005 .

[32]  William McDonough,et al.  Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things , 2002 .

[33]  N. J. Smith,et al.  TECHNOLOGY PUSHES RESERVES 'CRUNCH' DATE BACK IN TIME , 1997 .

[34]  Alan C. Brent,et al.  Characterisation and Normalisation Factors for Life Cycle Impact Assessment Mined Abiotic Resources Categories in South Africa: The manufacturing of catalytic converter exhaust systems as a case study (10 pp) , 2006 .

[35]  U. Bardi.  The mineral economy: a model for the shape of oil production curves , 2005 .

[36]  Gavin Mark Mudd,et al.  Gold mining in Australia: linking historical trends and environmental and resource sustainability , 2007 .

[37]  Antonio Valero,et al.  Exergy - A useful indicator for the sustainability of mineral resources and mining , 2009 .

[38]  Antonio Valero,et al.  Exergoecology: A thermodynamic approach for accounting the Earth's mineral capital. The case of bauxite–aluminium and limestone–lime chains , 2010 .

[39]  Gavin Mark Mudd,et al.  Global trends and environmental issues in nickel mining: sulfides versus laterites , 2010 .

[40]  Mark Goedkoop,et al.  Life-Cycle Impact Assessment: Striving towards Best Practice , 2002 .

[41]  H. Daly.  Is the entropy law relevant to the economics of natural resource scarcity?— yes, of course it is!☆ , 1992 .

[42]  Antonio Valero,et al.  The crepuscular planet. A model for the exhausted continental crust , 2011 .

[43]  Ecem Ersözlü,et al.  Cradle to Cradle , 2020, Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

[44]  Alan C. Brent,et al.  Final Report of the LCIA Definition Study, Life Cycle Impact Assessment Programme of The Life Cycle Initiative , 2003 .

[45]  Nawshad Haque,et al.  Energy and greenhouse gas impacts of mining and mineral processing operations , 2010 .

[46]  Göran Finnveden,et al.  Exergies of natural resources in life-cycle assessment and other applications , 1997 .