A Circular Economy of Metals: Towards a Sustainable Societal Metabolism
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A Circular Economy of Metals: Towards a Sustainable Societal Metabolism
Universiteit Leiden
Об этом курсе
Metals are present everywhere around us and are one of the major materials upon which our economies are built. Economic development is deeply coupled with the use of metals. During the 20th century, the variety of metal applications in society grew rapidly. In addition to mass applications such as steel in buildings and aluminium in planes, more and more different metals are in use for innovative technologies such as the use of the speciality metal indium in LCD screens.
A lot of metals will be needed in the future. It will not be easy to provide them. In particular in emerging economies, but also in industrialised countries, the demand for metals is increasing rapidly. Mining and production activities expand, and with that also the environmental consequences of metal production.
In this course, we will explore those consequences and we will also explore options to move towards a more sustainable system of metals production and use. We will focus especially on the options to reach a circular economy for metals: keeping metals in use for a very long time, to avoid having to mine new ones.
This course is based on the reports of the Global Metals Flows Group of the International Resource Panel that is part of UN Environment. An important aspect that will come back each week, are the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the SDGs. Those are ambitious goals to measure our progress towards a more sustainable world. We will use the SDGs as a touching stone for the assessment of the metals challenge, as well as the solutions we present in this course to solve that challenge.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
1
Section
Introduction
Welcome to the course! This first module aims at introducing you to the main topic of the MOOC and to the teaching staff that you will be seeing throughout the whole course. Before you start with the first lessons we encourage you to have a look at our introductory materials and to introduce yourself in the forum in order to meet your classmates.
3 videos (Total 17 min), 8 readings
3 videos
Introduction to SDGs: Dr. Janez Potočnik2m
Introduction to UNEP International Resource Panel: Dr. Patrice Christmann4m
8 readings
Meet the Instructor & the Team5m
Welcome to Leiden University5m
Complete our short survey10m
Tips for studying online10m
Being successful in an international virtual learning environment10m
Behaving in an academic way10m
The World Bank: The 2017 Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals30m
The Lazy Person's Guide to Saving the World20m
Metals in Society
In Week 1, you will be introduced to the world of metals. What are they, what are their properties, what are they used for and how essential are they? We will address the difference between major and minor metals. Major metals are used in large basic applications such as buildings, cars, pipes, cables, bridges, trains and airplanes. Minor metals that are used mostly in all kinds of electronics and in new technologies, for example for wind and solar energy. The amounts used are much smaller. The minor metals have more attention in the news, because of problems with the supply from international trade, and are subject to criticality assessments. The major metals, on the other hand, are even more important, although less in the centre of attention. Without them, society would fall apart. In this course, we will focus mostly on those major metals. We also introduce the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. These SDGs are agreed on by all nations that are part of the UN, and outline goals for the future of the global society. They include goals on economic development, social development, health and the environment and form a powerful framework to judge developments in resource use, including metal use.
7 videos (Total 34 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz
7 videos
The Periodic Table of Elements3m
Insights from the Life-Cycle of Metals by Prof. dr. Thomas E. Graedel5m
Life-Cycles of Selected Metals (Part 1)5m
Life-Cycles of Selected Metals (Part 2)7m
Metals in the 20th Century9m
Summary of Metals in Society0m
2 readings
Life-Cycle Impact of Rare Earth Elements30m
Suggested Readings and Materials30m
1 practice exercises
Test your knowledge20m
2
Section
Metals Challenge
In week 2, the metals challenge is outlined. Metals are indispensable for society, but they are also associated with environmental impacts, especially related to climate change. The challenge is defined as how can we provide society with sufficient metals, now and in the future, without compromising environmental quality? An important part of the challenge is caused by the rapidly rising demand for metals. Over the 20th century demand has risen steeply, and this is expected to continue over the next decades. In this week, we will teach the issues around metal supply, scarcity and criticality, and environmental impacts to sketch the magnitude of the metals challenge. We also will meet the apparent contradiction between some of the SDGs: we need metals to develop societies and build up the infrastructure, on the other hand, we also need to reduce environmental impacts that will only increase if we don’t do anything about it.
12 videos (Total 103 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz
12 videos
Future Demand and Supply9m
Scarcity and Depletion2m
Impacts of Metal Use11m
Criticality of Metals24m
Summary of Metals Challenge0m
Energy for Metals3m
Metals for Energy7m
Criticality of Metals by Thomas E. Graedel (Part 1)8m
Criticality of Metals by Thomas E. Graedel (Part 2)12m
Criticality of Metals by Thomas E. Graedel (Part 3)11m
Future Demand and Supply (Additional Material)7m
4 readings
Environmental Risks and Challenges of Anthropogenic Metals Flows and Cycles: International Resource Panel's Report0m
Criticality of Metals40m
Environmental Impacts of Rare Earth Mining and Separation Based on Eudialyte: A New European Way30m
Suggested Readings and Materials30m
1 practice exercises
Test your knowledge20m
3
Section
Dynamics of Metal Systems
Week 3 and all subsequent weeks focus on solving the metals challenge. Obviously, we need to make changes in the metals system to reach a more sustainable situation and reconcile the different Sustainable Development Goals. When considering changes, it is important first to understand the system. We will be discussing stocks and flows of metals in society and see how they interact. In society, we do not just obey the laws of justice and economics, but also the laws of nature. It is important to realise that when contemplating solutions for the metals challenge. This week will be rather theoretical but will provide important information for the coming weeks.
5 videos (Total 24 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz
5 videos
Stocks of Metal in Society by Thomas E. Graedel3m
Distinguishing between Stocks and Flows by Thomas E. Graedel3m
Stock Dynamics and Modelling13m
Summary of Dynamics of Metal Systems1m
3 readings
Metal Stocks in Society: The International Resource Panel's Report0m
Urban Mines of Copper: Size and Potential for Recycling in the EU30m
Suggested Readings and Materials40m
1 practice exercises
Test your knowledge20m
4
Section
Solutions to the Metals Challenge
Week 4 is rather packed with lectures on the different options to solve the metals challenge. You will meet experts from all over the world, who will lecture on materials and product design-for-environment and design-for-recycling, on the possibilities and also the barriers for remanufacturing, and on recycling as the last, but maybe most important resort to keep the metals in use. All these options aim at keeping up the stock-in-use of metals in society, while at the same time reducing the need to mine new metals. They all have their own strengths and limitations and can be regarded as pieces of the large puzzle aiming at solving the metals challenge, or in other words, reconciling the different SDGs.
11 videos (Total 85 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz
11 videos
Possible Solutions5m
Recycling Rates for Metals by Thomas E. Graedel9m
Materials Design for Recycling by Erik Offerman (Part 1)10m
Materials Design for Recycling by Erik Offerman (Part 2)12m
Product Design by Conny Bakker5m
Remanufacturing15m
Summary of Solutions to the Metals Challenge1m
Product-centric Recycling to Increase Recycling Rates by Markus Reuter (Part 1)10m
Product-centric Recycling to Increase Recycling Rates by Markus Reuter (Part 2)13m
Elements, materials, products, elements. Animation by Ruben Huele0m
3 readings
Recycling Rates of Metals: The International Resource Panel's Report0m
Metal Recycling: The International Resource Panel's Report0m
Suggested Readings and Materials30m
1 practice exercises
Test your knowledge20m
5
Section
Circular Economy as an Overarching Solution
In week 5, we try to get some idea of what the effectiveness could be of going for a circular economy. We do not consider all changes in society that have to be made to reach that, but simply have a look at whether or not, if we would reach a circular economy, we would indeed solve the metals challenge. Can we, theoretically, maintain supply and at the same time avoid supply problems and environmental issues in that way? And therefore, is it worthwhile pursuing a circular economy to reconcile the different SDGs? We use the case of aluminium to illustrate this.
6 videos (Total 33 min), 5 readings, 2 quizzes
6 videos
The Circular Economy6m
Climbing the Materials Ladder2m
Circular Economy for Aluminium (Part 1)11m
Circular Economy for Aluminium (Part 2)9m
Summary of Circular Economy as an Overarching Solution1m
5 readings
Re-thinking Progress: The Circular Economy4m
Product Design in a Circular EconomyDevelopment of a Typology of Key Concepts and Terms30m
Suggested Readings and Materials0m
From Linear to Circular Economy: PSS conducting the transition30m
Opportunities for a circular economy10m
1 practice exercises
Test your knowledge20m
6
Section
Look into the Future
In this final week of the course, we will look briefly into the future. What can we expect for the next decades or even the next century? We’ll introduce the concept of scenarios, storylines about the future that have no predictive value but have their value as imagination of what could happen, and what the consequences would be if it did. And we will apply that to our major metals. Will demand go on rising? What will happen with the environmental impacts? Does it help, from the point of view of metal production, to have a renewable energy system in the background? Will more circularity in our economy make a difference? In short, is it possible to reconcile the SDG development goals with the environmental ones?
6 videos (Total 48 min), 3 readings, 3 quizzes
6 videos
Scenarios for Resource Use9m
Scenarios of Metal Demand and Supply and Related Environmental Impacts11m
The Metals Challenge and the Sustainable Development Goals5m
Summary of Look into the Future4m
Scenarios for Resource Use (Additional Material)14m
3 readings
People and the Earth30m
Suggested Readings and Materials30m
Complete our short survey10m
2 practice exercises
Test your knowledge20m
Final Exam40m
4.9
Top Reviews
By MG•Dec 22nd 2017
Offers a new view, realistic, about circular economy and potencial ways to effectively develop sustainable pathways,
Instructor
About Universiteit Leiden
Leiden University is one of Europe's foremost research universities. This prominent position gives our graduates a leading edge in applying for academic posts and for functions outside academia.
Leiden University is the oldest university in the Netherlands. It was founded in February 1575, as a gift from William of Orange to the citizens of Leiden after they had withstood a long siege by the Spanish. Our motto is: Praesidium Libertatis — Bastion of Liberty.
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