Follow a manual added link
Research Log: IT’S OUR F***ING BACKYARD
Designing a material future
by Ab Stevels
How to Inspire Sustainable Practices
by Ab Stevels
Natural resources and production materials
Objects of design are made from production materials that began life as raw materials (natural resources). We almost always need processing (in one process step) to convert raw materials into production materials. The same goes for the processes that follow: converting bulk material into particular forms (i.e., parts or components, such as mechanical or electrical components). All these conversions at the preliminary stage of production consume energy, sometimes a lot of it, and generate waste. These are important considerations for environmental designers when choosing materials.
The raw materials from which production materials are made can be divided into three categories, each with its own set of characteristics. Below is a brief discussion of these categories.
Bio-based raw materials
These are raw materials obtained from agriculture or forestry (for the most part, including natural fibers and wood). Starch and sugar also fall into this category; both can be converted into production materials by chemical means.
The great advantage of bio-based raw materials is that their generation involves relatively short agricultural cycles (the time between cultivation and harvesting). The basis of their generation is photosynthesis, which involves the assimilation of CO₂. These materials therefore have an important role to play in the reduction of this particular greenhouse gas, particularly through the replacement of fossil fuel feedstocks with biobased feedstocks. The assimilated CO₂ is eventually released when the material it helped generate starts to decay, the process constituting a natural carbon cycle.
While the generation of bio-based raw materials involves short agricultural cycles, the amount of production material generated per unit of time is far from substantial. Consequently, large volumes of bio-based raw materials must be cultivated at any one time to satisfy demand, which requires a lot of land, which thereby makes this form of raw material generation a competitor to agriculture for food production. This is a significant point of concern because it means substantial more land will be needed for the generation of bio-based raw materials if we mean to replace fossil-based raw materials with bio-based ones.
Example of bio-based raw material work from It’s Our F***ing Backyard Designing Material Futures: Tamara Orjola, Forest Wool, 2016, carpet made of pine needles, coll. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam © Design Academy Eindhoven. Photo: Ronald Smits.
Fossil fuels
Fossil fuels are organic materials, the basis of whose formation—as with bio-based raw materials—is carbon chemistry. The big difference, however, is that the formation of fossil fuels happens over millions of years, during which huge amounts of carbon are stored in the process of such formation. Natural gas, petroleum, peat, lignite and coal fall into this category, and these usually have to be burned to generate electrical energy. But this burning releases huge amounts of CO₂, so much of it in fact that it cannot be reabsorbed by natural processes. That would ensure that the amount of incoming and outgoing energy on the globe remains equal, thus keeping the planet’s temperature stable. The ‘excess’ CO₂ is an important component of the greenhouse gases, which have been demonstrated to be responsible for global warming and related issues.
Some fossil fuels are used to make production materials. Plastics, for instance, are derived from petroleum and have a wide range of applications. A variety of other end products—from pharmaceuticals to pesticides—are also synthesized from fossil fuels.
All of these are either unrecyclable or minimally recyclable. Plastics can be recycled, so long as 100% of the item for recycling is composed of a single type of plastic (otherwise known as mono-materials); mixed-plastic recycling remains a problem. These production materials and end products eventually end up in the environment, either directly (when discarded) or indirectly (i.e., via waste incineration).
On the face of it, fossil fuels are the most convenient sources of energy, as they are relatively cheap and form part of well-established systems of manufacturing and energy generation. However, they are also finite sources of energy, and thus are destined to become increasingly scarce with the passage of time, with severe consequences. Furthermore, the reliance on fossil fuels entails geopolitical risks and challenges. Memories of the 1973 oil crisis may have faded, but the effects of the Ukraine crisis on oil and gas supplies have made this issue headline news once again.
Mineral resources
These are inorganic (containing no carbon or only small amounts of carbon) materials formed over time through various mineralization processes. They constitute a diverse class of materials that includes silicates (e.g., sand, gravel, clay), carbonates (e.g., lime) and ‘salts’ (sodium and potassium compounds, phosphates).
Metallic minerals are of particular interest with respect to design. They include iron, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc and nickel. Most of these remain in abundant supply, but extracting useful metal from the minerals and converting this into production material consumes a lot of energy. It will consume even more if we end up having to rely on increasingly impure ores.
It’s a different matter when it comes to precious metals such as silver, gold, palladium and ruthenium. The ores containing these elements have always been low in the desired content. Consequently, always a lot of ore had to be processed to obtain any amount of the desired material. This is energy-intensive and generates a lot of waste. Lower content levels in the future would still mean even more energy consumption and waste. Thus, the very system of precious metal extraction is intrinsically linked with the consumption of huge amounts of energy. The same applies to waste generation, both in the mining of these minerals and in the subsequent processes.
Other metallic minerals, aside from these ‘classic’ ones, have recently attracted much attention, owing to properties that lend them special application. These minerals are typically rare and occur only in low concentrations. Again, this means a lot of energy is needed for their extraction. These factors, taken together, make most of them very expensive. These factors restrict their selection for application, i.e., they are typically employed only when physics does not offer an alternative.
Some of these special metals are closely involved in the generation of renewable energy. Gallium and Indium, for instance, are used in solar cells. Gallium occurs in very low concentrations in zinc ore and in some bauxite ores. It is therefore a by-product of zinc and aluminum mining. Indium, likewise, only occurs in very low concentrations in some zinc, copper and lead ores Currently, the demand for gallium and indium is rising to such levels that current mining for the chief constituents will not do anymore.
So-called rare earth metals are used in manufacturing permanent magnets for wind turbine, and are also used in making rechargeable batteries. Cobalt and lithium are essential in battery production for electric vehicles. Lamps based on light emitting diodes couldn’t exist without gallium and indium, and TV sets can’t be produced without the use of certain special metals.
Metals are usually easy to recycle, provided they are present in decent quantities in whatever product they were used to make. Including the disposal phase of said products in our thinking when approaching design would increase recycling yields even further. It is often said that a 100% recycling yield is attainable if a product is designed accordingly and processed using the right technology. This isn’t quite true; the second law of thermodynamics is unyielding in this regard. This law not just applies for energy transformations; in a broader sense it applies to material transformations as well. So it says in fact in every transformation some amount of material is lost in a form that is unusable (‘waste’), i.e., every conversion involves (material) losses! Moreover, every conversion consumes energy. If products contain low concentrations of some metals (e.g., less than 1%), achieving acceptable levels of recycling for such metals becomes a problem. If there is no alternative to these metals, the only solution is to design for long-term durability. But even that has some unavoidable physical limits.
In light of the above facts, a fair number of raw materials can be considered ‘critical,’ at least with respect to their use in manufacturing. Criticality can also be caused by geopolitical factors; the recent ‘nickel crisis’ precipitated by the war in Ukraine is a warning of how quickly ‘critical’ can become an acute problem. Given the limited deposits of most minerals in Europe, this is a problem of particular concern to the European Union. As a result the EU is conducting all kinds of studies on the subject of critical raw materials. But very soon, ‘studies’ alone will not be enough. Real action will be required to prevent raw materials-related catastrophes.
Why resource consumption deserves more attention in the practice of sustainable design
Resource consumption is a major burden on the environment
The main reason why resource consumption deserves more attention in the practice of sustainable design is that it places a significant burden on the environment in the form of emissions (resulting from operational energy consumption and waste), generated directly (in the extraction of raw materials) and indirectly (the processing of these materials into parts and components). Using information from Statistic Netherlands (CBS) the author has calculated that more than 75% of current emissions in the Netherlands derive from the processing and use of raw materials. In theory, most materials can be recycled, but—contrary to popular belief—recycling yields are often pretty disappointing in practice. This is because many products are made by combining several materials, and the unfortunate reality is that there is no way to reverse this process completely in order to derive the original substances in their pure form.
Only metals that appear in products in significant quantities (i.e., content levels greater than 10%) boast an acceptable recycling yield (80-95%).
Recycling also demands a lot of energy. This is due to both the the logistics of returning used items (recycling processes need economies of scale for resource efficiency) and to the processes themselves.
Designers should consider the vision of a ‘Circular Economy’ an inspiring call to action to find more sustainable ways to work with materials. Particularly because, compared to current practice, there are so many opportunities for improvement! The fact that this concept is not the only and final solution is not an excuse for ignoring it. The focus of Circular Economy is on materials and on using these in as many product cycles as possible. Therefore it is excellently suitable for counteracting the ongoing excessive use of materials.
From Use, Reuse, Repeat section of It’s Our F***ing Backyard Designing Material Futures: Ineke Hans, Rex, 2021, chair from recycled polyamide (old office furniture, fishing nets, carpet, and industrial waste), coll. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, donation Circuform De Meern, 2022.
The depletion of natural resources
Another reason why the use of materials deserves more attention is the impending depletion of natural resources. This concerns chemical elements that are essential to the delivery of the desired functionality of all manner of consumer goods and capital goods (e.g., for sustainable energy generation, transportation of energy and energy storage).
Depletion does not mean the complete exhaustion of natural resources, but rather that these resources will have to be obtained from ores of increasingly lower grade. And that would demand greater energy consumption and generate yet more waste.
Critical raw materials
Critical raw materials are materials whose supply is not yet at risk, but whose main sources are concentrated in a handful of countries. The European Commission has classified 30 materials as critical for the society and industry of the EU. Not only are these materials of great economic importance to the EU, but many are also vital to a sustainable future. Examples of the latter include:
Cobalt, of which 68% of the EU’s supply comes from Congo—used in battery production for electric vehicles.
Lithium, 78% of the EU’s supply is from Chile—also used in battery production for electric vehicles.
So-called rare earth metals, 98% from China—used in manufacturing permanent magnets for wind turbine and in the production of energy-efficient lighting.
Precious metals, including Iridium (92%), Platinum (71%), Rhodium (80%), Ruthenium (93%), all from South Africa. Used as catalysts in car exhausts and in certain chemical processes (e.g., energy-saving processes), among other things.
Nickel, 40% from Russia—used in the production of stainless steel.
Critical raw materials can be exploited for economic gain, but can also be used as geopolitical tools. The recent nickel market crisis was an example of this.
Global awareness of raw material criticality has only arisen in the last few years, but it is vital that we intensify the search for viable substitutes all the same, even if the chances of success are slim. The recycling of critical raw materials could also help alleviate this problem; unfortunately, we have yet to establish a dedicated industry for this purpose.
About the Author
Albert (“Ab”) Stevels studied Chemical Engineering at the Technical University of Eindhoven and took a PhD degree in Physics and Chemistry at Groningen University. He has worked for Royal Philips Electronics in manifold capacities in materials research, glass production technology, as a business manager in electro-optics, and as a project manager for joint ventures and licensing in Asia. These experiences helped him develop the concept of Applied EcoDesign and integrate it into day-to-day business operations. He has also conducted a great deal of in-depth research on the treatment of discarded electronics, the findings of which helped lay the groundwork for setting up take-back and recycling systems at Philips NL. In 1995 Ab was appointed professor in Environmental Design at Delft University of Technology. He has had visiting professorships at several universities including Stanford University, TU Berlin, Georgia Institute of Technology, NTN University in Trondheim, and Tsinghua University in Beijing. He also worked with the University of Sao Paulo to develop an MBA program and Sustainability course.
Stevels is the author of some 200 journal articles and conference contributions. For more on his experiences with green design and in-house management of ‘eco’ and e-waste, see his book Adventures in EcoDesign of Electronic Products.
IT’S OUR F***ING BACKYARD
A Step-by-Step Guide to Applied Environmental Design
by Ab Stevels
Designing for the Circular Economy
by Ab Stevels
Sustainable or greenwashing?
by Ab Stevels
