Evaluation of global niobium flow modeling and its market forecasting

Abstract

Metal, as the indispensable material, is functioning the society from technology to the environment. Niobium (Nb) is considered a unique earth metal as it is related to many emerging technologies. The increasing economic growth exerts an increasing pressure on supply, which leads to its significance in the economic sector. However, few papers have addressed Nb sustainability, which forms the scope of this paper in order to start the process of Nb market forecasting based on some previous data and some assumptions. Therefore, this paper will discuss different thoughts in material substitution and the substance flow of Nb throughout a static flow using Nb global data to have a better understanding of the process of Nb from production to end of life. This shall lead to the identification of the market needs to determine its growth which is around 2.5% to 3.0%. Moreover, due to China’s huge Nb consumption which comes from the continuous development that is happening over the years, it will also briefly mention the Nb situation as well as its growth which according to statistics will grow steadily till 2030 by a rate of 4.0% to 6.0%. The results show that there should be some enhancement to Nb recycling potentials out of steel scrap. In addition, there should be more involvement of Nb in different industries as this would lead to less-used materials which can be translated to less environmental impact.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

niobium (Nb) / sustainability / substance flow analysis / recycling / industrial ecology

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 92062111) and the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFC1903711).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-022-0823-y and is accessible for authorized users.

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