Métaux et Transition Énergétique

Disclaimer

• This presentation support is for oral use only, not for independent study.
• Certain slides contain information that should not be presented without oral commentary.
• The slides are for those who attended the course.

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• Course Title: Impact humain sur son environnement
• Course Code: HUM4041
• Instructor: Loïc Roussel
• Instructor Email: [email protected]

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• Content Outline:
  • Energy
  • Climate Change
  • Natural Resources
  • Biodiversity
  • Assessment/Evaluation

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• Natural Resources: A detailed discussion of natural resources is presented.

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• Orders of Magnitude: Presentation of various quantities related to resources.

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• Key Indicators: Details are provided on indicators like global population, GDP, and various atmospheric concentrations (CO2, N2O, CH4) across time.

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• Global Annual Production: The presentation includes data on global annual production of cement, steel, and sand/gravel. These raw materials are essential components in building construction.

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• Commonly used metals: Presentation covers common metals used globally.

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• Metal Usage : Detailed breakdown of the uses for the metal aluminum.
• Key Industries: A breakdown showcasing how aluminum is used in various applications such as appliances, packaging, construction, transportation, and mechanical equipment (heating, ventilation and air conditioning).

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• Energy Consumption: A graph showing global energy consumption per person over time, including renewable, nuclear, hydro, gas, oil, coal and wood sources. Significant increases in energy consumption are clearly depicted.

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• Metal Usage in Wind Turbines: Large-scale transportation of metal components for wind energy generation is discussed.

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• Comparison of Wind and Nuclear Energy: The equivalent amount of wind turbines needed to equal the energy output of a single nuclear reactor is noted. 60% capacity factor is also addressed.

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• Key Takeaways:
  • High consumption of metals for various applications.
  • The major metals used are steel, aluminum, manganese, chromium, copper, and zinc.
  • The energy transition will require more energy and significant quantities of additional metals.

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• Metal Sufficiency: Questioning whether enough metal is available to support current and future needs.

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• Model Requirements: Requirements for a model to estimate future raw material needs. Key factors like storage, lifespan, and technological efficiency are part of the model.

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• Energy Production and Consumption: A Sankey diagram showing the flow of energy in the global economy is given, with detail examples featuring crude oil, and other energy production types.

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• Hypothesis Generation: Discussion of relevant factors for estimating future requirements, such as vehicle numbers per capita, lifespan, materials content, and recycling.

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• Model Complexity: Models for understanding resource needs, specifically for metals, must be tailored to specific geographic regions, as development and infrastructure vary greatly between nations.

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• The ISTerre Model: Discussion of the model's scope, with aspects as infrastructure types, raw materials, resources. A time range from 1900 to 2100. Also factors that will be included in the model like the lifetime of infrastructures, embodied energy, material content, recycling rates, and demographic data (population, GDP, energy consumption).

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• Global Vehicle Trends: Graphs and data illustrating increasing vehicle ownership per capita, globally.

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• Replacement of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) : Discussion on the shift towards electric cars.
• Historical Comparison: Comparing historical data related to the use of horses and cars.

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• Copper Consumption: Scenarios of copper consumption are illustrated, using charts.

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• 1924 Prediction: A quote from Ira Joralemon, a geologist, predicting the limited lifespan of copper reserves.

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• Copper Production: Historical graph of copper production. A discrepancy between Joralemon's prediction and actual production noted.

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• Resource vs. Reserves: A distinction between available resources and those economically/politically viable for immediate exploitation.

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• Grade of Copper Ore: A focus on the declining copper concentration in current mines.

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• Summary Points:
  • Metal extraction challenges due to declining concentration levels in ores.
  • The complexity of modeling future demand due to varied regional development.
  • Escalating demand of metals will overwhelm environmental limitations.
  • Technological advances are not assured to compensate for decreased concentration and demand.

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• Environmental Costs: Heavy environmental impact of extraction processes for metals, including pollution and environmental damage.

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• Rare Earth Elements: Presentation details varying quantities of metals that are rare and frequently used in modern technology, such as iron, aluminum, zinc, nickel, cobalt and copper.

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• Metal Extraction Processes: A flowchart illustrating that extraction of metals involves more than just the initial excavation, but also significant processing steps like concentration, chemical extraction, and refining. Focuses on copper.

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• World's Largest Copper Mine: Location of the world's largest copper mine highlighted.

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• Mining Equipment: Images of large mining trucks.

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• Palabora Mine: Data concerning the Palabora copper mine is shown, focusing on the vast acreage of its footprint.

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• Land Use: Visual representation of land usage between agriculture and mining.

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• Hambach Mine: The environmental impact of the Hambach lignite mine highlighted. The scale of land and forest loss noted.

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• Norilsk Mine: Impact of Norilsk mine on air and water quality are noted. Emissions of sulfur dioxide comparable to France-wide emissions noted.

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• Grasberg Mine: The Grasberg copper mine's huge waste-product load (250 km2 contaminated). The site footprint is further discussed.

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• Rosia Poieni Mine: Focus on the potential displacement of inhabitants due to mining.

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• Mining Waste: Global accumulation of toxic mining waste (tailings) is addressed. A comparison with a volume of water and a global footprint provided.

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• Mining Waste Volume: Estimated volumes of mining waste displayed.

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• Metal Extraction Costs: The implication of declining ore concentration on extraction costs.

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• Technological Advancements: Pointing out that technological advancements may help maintain efficiency in higher-cost exploitation.

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• Exponential Increase: The projected exponential increases in energy demands, water demands, and waste generation.

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• Geopolitical Impacts: Emphasis on the importance of geopolitical considerations affecting the acquisition of raw materials.

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• Global Infrastructure Development: A map showing regions impacted by Chinese infrastructure projects highlighted, emphasizing potential geopolitical implications.

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• Summary of Environmental Impacts: A summary about the potential environmental damage due to mining and the increase in demand for raw materials for energy transition.

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• Summary Summary: A concise summary about the exponential increase in demand for resources and the problems associated with this increase.

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• Continued Growth in Demand: A note about the continuing increase in the world's demand for metals.

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• The Modern Dependence on Metals: Illustrative summary of how modern technology's complex global processes depend on metals, from mechanization to the production of computers and cyber physical systems.

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• Historical Metal Use and Increase: The ever-increasing usage of different types of metals over time is graphically displayed.

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• Smartphone Metals: Chart visualizes the various metals used in the modern smartphone, emphasizing the large quantities of various metals required for the end product.

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• EV Metals: List and distribution of the elements used in electric vehicles. The chart compares the current elements to the wider range of elements found in nature.

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• Conclusion: An overall summary on the increasing demand for raw materials across the modern economy, the growth in the demand, and the projected future difficulties.