Win-Win: Anthropogenic circularity for metal criticality and carbon neutrality

Highlights

● Anthropogenic circularity science is an emerging interdisciplinary field.

● Anthropogenic circularity was one effective strategy against metal criticality.

● Carbon neutrality is becoming the new industry paradigm around the world.

● Growing circularity could potentially minimize the CO₂ emission.

Abstract

Resource depletion and environmental degradation have fueled a burgeoning discipline of anthropogenic circularity since the 2010s. It generally consists of waste reuse, remanufacturing, recycling, and recovery. Circular economy and “zero-waste” cities are sweeping the globe in their current practices to address the world’s grand concerns linked to resources, the environment, and industry. Meanwhile, metal criticality and carbon neutrality, which have become increasingly popular in recent years, denote the material's feature and state, respectively. The goal of this article is to determine how circularity, criticality, and neutrality are related. Upscale anthropogenic circularity has the potential to expand the metal supply and, as a result, reduce metal criticality. China barely accomplished 15 % of its potential emission reduction by recycling iron, copper, and aluminum. Anthropogenic circularity has a lot of room to achieve a win-win objective, which is to reduce metal criticality while also achieving carbon neutrality in a near closed-loop cycle. Major barriers or challenges for conducting anthropogenic circularity are deriving from the inadequacy of life-cycle insight governance and the emergence of anthropogenic circularity discipline. Material flow analysis and life cycle assessment are the central methodologies to identify the hidden problems. Mineral processing and smelting, as well as end-of-life management, are indicated as critical priority areas for enhancing anthropogenic circularity.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Anthropogenic circularity / Material flow analysis / Criticality / Carbon neutrality / Solid waste / Circular economy

Dr. Xianlai Zeng is currently an associate professor in the School of Environment at Tsinghua University, China. He obtained his Bachelor (2002) and Master (2005) degrees from Northwest A&F University, and Ph. D (2014) from Tsinghua University. He worked as a technical advisor for the United Nations Development Programme (2015), visiting staff at Coventry University (2012), visiting professor at Macquarie University (2017), and Fulbright fellow at Yale University (2018–2019). His areas of specialization and interest include waste recycling and circular economy. He proposed the emerging concept and framework of anthropogenic circularity. He has published around 100 articles and books, which have been cited for more than 8000 times with an H-index of 38 (Google Scholar). As the PI, he has chaired over 20 international and national competitive projects related to waste management, metal sustainability, and circular economy. In addition, Dr. Zeng has received 10 granted patents and led one group standard of resource and environmental properties of industrial solid waste. He has chaired or organized a dozen leading international academic meetings or workshops on material flow and waste management

References

[1] Al-ObaidyM, SantosM C, BaskarM, AttiaS. (2021). Assessment of the circularity and carbon neutrality of an office building: The case of Centrum in Westerlo, Belgium. IOP Conference Series. Earth and Environmental Science, 855( 1): 012025

[2] AliS H, GiurcoD, ArndtN, NicklessE, BrownG, DemetriadesA, DurrheimR, EnriquezM A, KinnairdJ, LittleboyA. . (2017). Mineral supply for sustainable development requires resource governance. Nature, 543( 7645): 367– 372

[3] AnctilA, FthenakisV. (2013). Critical metals in strategic photovoltaic technologies: abundance versus recyclability. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, 21( 6): 1253– 1259

[4] AshbyM F, JohnsonK. (2014). Materials and design: the art and science of material selection in product design. Waltham, USA : Butterworth– Heinemann

[5] AwasthiA K, CheelaV R S, D’adamoI, IacovidouE, IslamM R, JohnsonM, MillerT R, ParajulyK, ParchomenkoA, RadhakrishanL, ZhaoM, ZhangC, LiJ. (2021). Zero waste approach towards a sustainable waste management. Resources. Environment and Sustainability, 3 : 100014

[6] AzadiM, NortheyS A, AliS H, EdrakiM. (2020). Transparency on greenhouse gas emissions from mining to enable climate change mitigation. Nature Geoscience, 13( 2): 100– 104

[7] BabbittC W, AlthafS, Cruz RiosF, BilecM M, GraedelT E. (2021). The role of design in circular economy solutions for critical materials. One Earth, 4( 3): 353– 362

[8] BacciniP, BrunnerP H ( 2012). Metabolism of the Anthroposphere: Analysis, Evaluation, Design. Cambridge: MIT Press

[9] BiermannF, AbbottK, AndresenS, BäckstrandK, BernsteinS, BetsillM M, BulkeleyH, CashoreB, ClappJ, FolkeC. . (2012). Navigating the anthropocene: improving Earth system governance. Science, 335( 6074): 1306– 1307

[10] BloodworthA. (2014). Resources: Track flows to manage technology-metal supply. Nature, 505( 7481): 19– 20

[11] BrunnerP H, RechbergerH ( 2016). Handbook of Material Flow Analysis: For Environmental, Resource, and Waste Engineers. Boca Raton: CRC Press

[12] Charpentier PonceletA, HelbigC, LoubetP, BeylotA, MullerS, VilleneuveJ, LaratteB, ThorenzA, TumaA, SonnemannG ( 2022). Losses and lifetimes of metals in the economy. Nature Sustainability,

[13] ChenJ M. (2021). Carbon neutrality: toward a sustainable future. Innovation, 2( 3): 100127

[14] ChenM, OgunseitanO A. (2021). Zero E-waste: regulatory impediments and blockchain imperatives. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 15( 6): 114

[15] ChenW, WangM, LiX ( 2016). Analysis of copper flows in the United States: 1975–2012. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 111: 67– 76

[16] CiacciL, VassuraI, PassariniF. (2017). Urban mines of copper: size and potential for recycling in the EU. Resources, 6( 1): 6

[17] ColonC, HallegatteS, RozenbergJ. (2021). Criticality analysis of a country’s transport network via an agent-based supply chain model. Nature Sustainability, 4( 3): 209– 215

[18] DaigoI, HashimotoS, MatsunoY, AdachiY ( 2009). Material stocks and flows accounting for copper and copper-based alloys in Japan. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 53( 4): 208– 217

[19] DasS. (2012). Achieving carbon neutrality in the global aluminum industry. Journal of the Minerals Metals & Materials Society, 64( 2): 285– 290

[20] DieterleM, ViereT. (2022). Life cycle gap analysis for product circularity and sustainability: a case study with three different products. Materials Circular Economy, 4( 1): 12

[21] EheliyagodaD, LiJ, GengY, ZengX. (2022). The role of China’s aluminum recycling on sustainable resource and emission pathways. Resources Policy, 76 : 102552

[22] EheliyagodaD, ZengX, LiJ. (2020). A method to assess national metal criticality: the environment as a foremost measurement. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 7( 1): 43

[23] ErdmannL, GraedelT E. (2011). Criticality of non-fuel minerals: a review of major approaches and analyses. Environmental Science & Technology, 45( 18): 7620– 7630

[24] GengY, SarkisJ, BleischwitzR. (2019). How to globalize the circular economy. Nature, 565( 7738): 153– 155

[25] BîrgovanA L, LakatosE S, SzilagyiA, CiocaL I, PacurariuR L, CiobanuG, RadaE C. (2022). How should we measure? A review of circular cities indicators. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19( 9): 5177

[26] GlöserS, SoulierM, Tercero EspinozaL A ( 2013). Dynamic analysis of global copper flows. Global stocks, postconsumer material flows, recycling indicators, and uncertainty evaluation. Environmental Science & Technology, 47( 12): 6564– 6572

[27] Glöser-ChahoudS, TerceroEspinoza L, WalzR, FaulstichM. (2016). Taking the step towards a more dynamic view on raw material criticality: an indicator based analysis for Germany and Japan. Resources, 5( 4): 45

[28] GraedelT E, BarrR, ChandlerC, ChaseT, ChoiJ, ChristoffersenL, FriedlanderE, HenlyC, JunC, NassarN T, SchechnerD, WarrenS, YangM Y, ZhuC. (2012). Methodology of metal criticality determination. Environmental Science & Technology, 46( 2): 1063– 1070

[29] GraedelT E, HarperE M, NassarN T, NussP, ReckB K. (2015). Criticality of metals and metalloids. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112( 14): 4257– 4262

[30] GraedelT E, NussP. (2014). Employing considerations of criticality in product design. Journal of the Minerals Metals & Materials Society, 66( 11): 2360– 2366

[31] GraedelT E, vanBeers D, BertramM, FuseK, GordonR B, GritsininA, KapurA, KleeR J, LifsetR J, MemonL. . (2004). Multilevel cycle of anthropogenic copper. Environmental Science & Technology, 38( 4): 1242– 1252

[32] GruberN, GallowayJ N. (2008). An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature, 451( 7176): 293– 296

[33] HarperE M, DiaoZ, PanousiS, NussP, EckelmanM J, GraedelT E ( 2015a). The criticality of four nuclear energy metals. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 95( 0): 193– 201

[34] HarperE M, KavlakG, BurmeisterL, EckelmanM J, ErbisS, Sebastian EspinozaV, NussP, GraedelT E. (2015b). Criticality of the Geological Zinc, Tin, and Lead Family. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 19( 4): 628– 644

[35] HodgesC A. (1995). Mineral resources, environmental issues, and land use. Science, 268( 5215): 1305– 1312

[36] HoolA, SchrijversD, Van NielenS, CliftonA, GanzeboomS, HageluekenC, HaradaY, KimH Y, KuA, Meese-MarktscheffelJ, NemotoT. (2022). How companies improve critical raw material circularity: five use cases. Mineral Economics, 35( 2): 325– 335

[37] HoornwegD, Bhada-TataP, KennedyC. (2013). Waste production must peak this century. Nature, 502( 7473): 615– 617

[38] HouZ, ChenJ, ZhaiM. (2020). Current status and frontiers of research on critical mineral resources. Chinese Science Bulletin, 65( 33): 3561– 3652

[39] IranpourR, StenstromM, TchobanoglousG, MillerD, WrightJ, VossoughiM. (1999). Environmental engineering: energy value of replacing waste disposal with resource recovery. Science, 285( 5428): 706– 711

[40] IRP ( 2019). Global Resources Outlook 2019: Natural Resources for the Future We Want. Nairobi, Kenya: A Report of the International Resource Panel. United Nations Environment Programme

[41] JinM. (2014). Advance of cyclical chemistry. Chemical World, 55( 3): 187– 192

[42] KanwalQ, LiJ, ZengX. (2021). Mapping recyclability of industrial waste for anthropogenic circularity: a circular economy approach. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 9( 35): 11927– 11936

[43] KapurA, BertramM, SpatariS, FuseK, GraedelT E. (2003). The contemporary copper cycle of Asia. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 5( 2): 143– 156

[44] KerrR A. (2014). The coming copper peak. Science, 343( 6172): 722– 724

[45] KlotzM, HauptM, HellwegS ( 2022). Limited utilization options for secondary plastics may restrict their circularity. Waste Management (New York, N.Y.), 141: 251– 270

[46] KnoblochV, ZimmermannT, Gößling-ReisemannS ( 2018). From criticality to vulnerability of resource supply: The case of the automobile industry. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 138: 272– 282

[47] KrausmannF, LaukC, HaasW, WiedenhoferD. (2018). From resource extraction to outflows of wastes and emissions: the socioeconomic metabolism of the global economy, 1900–2015. Global Environmental Change, 52 : 131– 140

[48] LambW F, WiedmannT, PongratzJ, AndrewR, CrippaM, OlivierJ G J, WiedenhoferD, MattioliG, KhourdajieA A, HouseJ. . (2021). A review of trends and drivers of greenhouse gas emissions by sector from 1990 to 2018. Environmental Research Letters, 16( 7): 073005

[49] LiangY, SongQ, WuN, LiJ, ZhongY, ZengW. (2021). Repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic on solid waste generation and management strategies. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 15( 6): 115

[50] LinderM, SarasiniS, Van LoonP. (2017). A metric for quantifying product-level circularity. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 21( 3): 545– 558

[51] LiuS ( 2014). Analysis of Electronic Waste Recycling in the United States and Potential Application in China. New York: Columbia University

[52] LiuX, ShengH, JiangS, YuanZ, ZhangC, ElserJ J. (2016a). Intensification of phosphorus cycling in China since the 1600s. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113( 10): 2609– 2614

[53] LiuZ, GengY, UlgiatiS, ParkH S, TsuyoshiF, WangH. (2016b). Uncovering key factors influencing one industrial park’s sustainability: a combined evaluation method of emergy analysis and index decomposition analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 114 : 141– 149

[54] LuX, ZhangZ, HirakiT, TakedaO, ZhuH, MatsubaeK, NagasakaT. (2022). A solid-state electrolysis process for upcycling aluminium scrap. Nature, 606( 7914): 511– 515

[55] MangoldH, Von VacanoB. (2022). The Frontier of Plastics Recycling: Rethinking Waste as a Resource for High-Value Applications. Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 223( 13): 2100488

[56] NassarN T, BarrR, BrowningM, DiaoZ, FriedlanderE, HarperE M, HenlyC, KavlakG, KwatraS, JunC, WarrenS, YangM Y, GraedelT E. (2012). Criticality of the geological copper family. Environmental Science & Technology, 46( 2): 1071– 1078

[57] NassarN T, DuX Y, GraedelT E. (2015). Criticality of the rare Earth elements. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 19( 6): 1044– 1054

[58] NorgateT, HaqueN. (2010). Energy and greenhouse gas impacts of mining and mineral processing operations. Journal of Cleaner Production, 18( 3): 266– 274

[59] NussP, EckelmanM J. (2014a). Life cycle assessment of metals: a scientific synthesis. PLoS One, 9( 7): e101298

[60] NussP, HarperE M, NassarN T, ReckB K, GraedelT E. (2014b). Criticality of iron and its principal alloying elements. Environmental Science & Technology, 48( 7): 4171– 4177

[61] O’ConnorM P, ZimmermanJ B, AnastasP T, PlataD L. (2016). A strategy for material supply chain sustainability: enabling a circular economy in the electronics industry through green engineering. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 4( 11): 5879– 5888

[62] OlivettiE A, CullenJ M. (2018). Toward a sustainable materials system. Science, 360( 6396): 1396– 1398

[63] PanousiS, HarperE M, NussP, EckelmanM J, HakimianA, GraedelT E. (2016). Criticality of seven specialty metals. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 20( 4): 837– 853

[64] ParchomenkoA, NelenD, GillabelJ, RechbergerH. (2019). Measuring the circular economy: a multiple correspondence analysis of 63 metrics. Journal of Cleaner Production, 210 : 200– 216

[65] RaabeD, TasanC C, OlivettiE A. (2019). Strategies for improving the sustainability of structural metals. Nature, 575( 7781): 64– 74

[66] RademakerJ H, KleijnR, YangY. (2013). Recycling as a strategy against rare earth element criticality: a systemic evaluation of the potential yield of NdFeB magnet recycling. Environmental Science & Technology, 47( 18): 10129– 10136

[67] RauchJ N, GraedelT E. (2007). Earth’s anthrobiogeochemical copper cycle. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 21( 2): GB2010

[68] RechbergerH, GraedelT E. (2002). The contemporary European copper cycle: statistical entropy analysis. Ecological Economics, 42( 1–2): 59– 72

[69] ReckB K, GraedelT E. (2012). Challenges in metal recycling. Science, 337( 6095): 690– 695

[70] RostekL, Tercero EspinozaL A, GoldmannD, LoiblA ( 2022). A dynamic material flow analysis of the global anthropogenic zinc cycle: p roviding a quantitative basis for circularity discussions. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 180: 106154

[71] Ruiz-PastorL, ChulviV, MuletE, RoyoM. (2022). A metric for evaluating novelty and circularity as a whole in conceptual design proposals. Journal of Cleaner Production, 337 : 130495

[72] SondereggerT, PfisterS, HellwegS. (2015). Criticality of water: aligning water and mineral resources assessment. Environmental Science & Technology, 49( 20): 12315– 12323

[73] SongQ, WangZ, LiJ. (2013). Sustainability evaluation of e-waste treatment based on emergy analysis and the LCA method: a case study of a trial project in Macau. Ecological Indicators, 30 : 138– 147

[74] SoulierM, Glöser-ChahoudS, GoldmannD, Tercero EspinozaL A ( 2018). Dynamic analysis of European copper flows. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 129: 143– 152

[75] SpatariS, BertramM, FuseK, GraedelT E, RechbergerH ( 2002). The contemporary European copper cycle: 1 year stocks and flows. Ecological Economics, 42( 1– 2): 27– 42

[76] SpatariS, BertramM, GordonR B, HendersonK, GraedelT E. (2005). Twentieth century copper stocks and flows in North America: a dynamic analysis. Ecological Economics, 54( 1): 37– 51

[77] SteffenW, BroadgateW, DeutschL, GaffneyO, LudwigC. (2015). The trajectory of the Anthropocene: the great acceleration. Anthropocene Review, 2( 1): 81– 98

[78] TanW, CuiD, XiB. (2021). Moving policy and regulation forward for single-use plastic alternatives. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 15( 3): 50

[79] Tercero Espinoza L, Schrijvers D, Chen W Q, Dewulf J, Eggert R, Goddin J, Habib K, Hagelüken C, Hurd A J, Kleijn R, . (2020). Greater circularity leads to lower criticality, and other links between criticality and the circular economy. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 159: 104718

[80] TeseletsoL S, AdachiT. (2022). Long-term sustainability of copper and iron based on a system dynamics model. Resources, 11( 4): 37

[81] UNEP and ISWA ( 2015). Global Waste Management Outlook. UNEP

[82] USEPA ( 2012). Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator. FEC Publications and Resources: Life Cycle Assessment Data for Multi-Function Devices & Printers

[83] VelenturfA P M, PurnellP, JensenP D. (2021). Reducing material criticality through circular business models: Challenges in renewable energy. One Earth, 4( 3): 350– 352

[84] WangA, WangG, DengX, ZhouF, AnH, ZhongW, LiH, LiuG, MaZ, HuD. . (2019). Security and management of China’s critical mineral resources in the new era. Science Foundation in China, 33( 2): 133– 140

[85] WangM, ChenW, LiX ( 2015). Substance flow analysis of copper in production stage in the U.S. from 1974 to 2012. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 105: 36– 48

[86] WangP, WangH, ChenW Q, PauliukS. (2022). Carbon neutrality needs a circular metal-energy nexus. Fundamental Research, 2( 3): 392– 395

[87] WatersC N, ZalasiewiczJ, SummerhayesC, BarnoskyA D, PoirierC, GałuszkaA, CearretaA, EdgeworthM, EllisE C, EllisM. . (2016). The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene. Science, 351( 6269): aad2622

[88] YanW, WangZ, CaoH, ZhangY, SunZ. (2021). Criticality assessment of metal resources in China. iScience, 24( 6): 102524

[89] ZengX, LiJ. (2021). Emerging anthropogenic circularity science: principles, practices, and challenges. iScience, 24( 3): 102237

[90] ZengX, XiaoT, XuG, AlbalghitiE, ShanG, LiJ. (2022). Comparing the costs and benefits of virgin and urban mining. Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 7( 1): 98– 106

[91] ZhangL, YangJ, CaiZ, YuanZ. (2014). Analysis of copper flows in China from 1975 to 2010. Science of the Total Environment, 478( 0): 80– 89

[92] ZhouY, LiJ, RechbergerH, WangG, ChenS, XingW, LiP. (2020). Dynamic criticality of by-products used in thin-film photovoltaic technologies by 2050. Journal of Cleaner Production, 263 : 121599

[93] ZhouY, LinX T, FanZ P, WongK H. (2022). Remanufacturing strategy choice of a closed-loop supply chain network considering carbon emission trading, green innovation, and green consumers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19( 11): 6782

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (No. 92062111) and the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2019YFC1908501).

Open Access

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1623-2 and is accessible for authorized users.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2023 The Author(s) . This article is published with open access at link.springer.com and journal. hep. com.cn