Is Gaia becoming Thanatia, a resource exhausted planet? For how long can our high-tech society be sustained in the light of declining mineral ore grades, heavy dependence on un-recycled critical metals and accelerated material dispersion? These are all root causes of future disruptions that need to be addressed today.This book presents a cradle-to-cradle view of the Earth's abiotic resources through a novel and rigorous approach based on the Second Law of Thermodynamics: heat dissipates and materials deteriorate and disperse. Quality is irreversibly lost. This allows for the assessment of such depletion and can be used to estimate the year where production of the main mineral commodities could reach its zenith. By postulating Thanatia, one acquires a sense of destiny and a concern for a unified global management of the planet's abiotic resource endowment.The book covers the core aspects of geology, geochemistry, mining, metallurgy, economics, the environment, thermodynamics and thermochemistry. It is supported by comprehensive databases related to mineral resources, including detailed compositions of the Earth's layers, thermochemical properties of over 300 substances, historical energy and mineral resource inventories, energy consumption and environmental impacts in the mining and metallurgical sector and world recycling rates of commodities.

Rare Earth Elements are a group of 17 metals which have a central role in modern industry, increasingly used in the fields of green technologies, high technological consumer goods, industrial and medical appliances and modern weapons systems. Although deposits of Rare Earths are globally dispersed, over 90% of global demand has been provided by Chinese mines since the late 1990s, leading to a situation where China has a virtual monopoly. This book surveys the Rare Earths mining industry, discusses the extent to which Rare Earths really are scarce elsewhere in the world and assesses the economics of production, considering arguments for the rationing of supply, for higher pricing and for a total export embargo. This actually occurred in 2010, demonstrating the vulnerability of the rest of the world to China’s control of these increasingly vital resources.

Understanding future supply and demand of raw materials and the associated environmental and social implications is essential to supporting the transition towards greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. In this Special Issue, we present a range of research papers with a focus on future outlooks of material supply and use, the consideration of associated environmental and social implications, and issues of raw material criticality and a circular economy. These are complemented by an editorial paper that provides, amongst other aspects, an overview of the corresponding policy and institutional framework. Knowledge of materials availability, their use patterns in modern economies, and associated environmental and social trade-offs is essential for informed decision-making in support of the necessary transition towards more resource-efficient and greenhouse-gas-neutral societies in the coming years.

Is Gaia becoming Thanatia, a resource exhausted planet? For how long can our high-tech society be sustained in the light of declining mineral ore grades, heavy dependence on un-recycled critical metals and accelerated material dispersion? These are all root causes of future disruptions that need to be addressed today. This book presents a cradle-to-cradle view of the Earth's abiotic resources through a novel and rigorous approach based on the Second Law of Thermodynamics: heat dissipates and materials deteriorate and disperse. Quality is irreversibly lost. This allows for the assessment of such depletion and can be used to estimate the year where production of the main mineral commodities could reach its zenith. By postulating Thanatia, one acquires a sense of destiny and a concern for a unified global management of the planet's abiotic resource endowment. The book covers the core aspects of geology, geochemistry, mining, metallurgy, economics, the environment, thermodynamics and thermochemistry. It is supported by comprehensive databases related to mineral resources, including detailed compositions of the Earth's layers, thermochemical properties of over 300 substances, historical energy and mineral resource inventories, energy consumption and environmental impacts in the mining and metallurgical sector and world recycling rates of commodities.

This book examines ways of assessing the rational management of nonrenewable resources. Integrating numerous methods, it systematically exposes the strengths of exergy analysis in resources management. Divided into two parts, the first section provides the theoretical background to assessment methods, while the second section provides practical application examples. The topics covered in detail include the theory of exergy cost and thermo-ecological cost, cumulative calculus and life cycle evaluation. This book serves as a valuable resource for researchers looking to investigate a range of advanced thermodynamic assessments of the influence of production processes on the depletion of nonrenewable resources.

Earth has become a huge mine, with a greater quantity and variety of fundamental mineral resources being extracted year after year. Technology, from electric cars to everyday electrical equipment, consume vast amounts of scarce raw materials. On a planet with limited resources, are these minerals being properly assessed? Will there be enough raw materials to meet the demand of a world population on track to reach 10 billion people? What will be the consequences of accelerated resource depredation? Will the planet one day become 'Thanatia', a resource-exhausted Earth? This book allows readers to understand the mineral heritage of the Earth, considering the demand for raw materials in society, comparing it with the availability of resources on Earth and the impact of mining. The basics of physical geonomics are exlpained, allowing readers to analyse the loss of mineral resources on the planet. The impact of renewable energies and technologies, including electric vehicles, are studied. The book concludes with possible solutions to mineral depletion, from increasing recycling rates, ecodesign measures or alternative sources of mineral resources. Providing numerous tables and illustrations, 'The Material Limits of Energy Transition: Thanatia' gives readers a thorough understanding of mineral depletion. Exploring geology, geochemistry, mining, metallurgy, the environment and thermodynamics, this is a truly holistic book.

Aimed at students, lecturers, researchers, and policy makers, this work describes current developments and points the way forward for new developments regarding materials in our society and how they relate to sustainability.

Fully updated throughout, Electric Vehicle Technology, Second Edition, is a complete guide to the principles, design and applications of electric vehicle technology. Including all the latest advances, it presents clear and comprehensive coverage of the major aspects of electric vehicle development and offers an engineering-based evaluation of electric motor scooters, cars, buses and trains. This new edition includes: important new chapters on types of electric vehicles, including pickup and linear motors, overall efficiencies and energy consumption, and power generation, particularly for zero carbon emissions expanded chapters updating the latest types of EV, types of batteries, battery technology and other rechargeable devices, fuel cells, hydrogen supply, controllers, EV modeling, ancillary system design, and EV and the environment brand new practical examples and case studies illustrating how electric vehicles can be used to substantially reduce carbon emissions and cut down reliance on fossil fuels futuristic concept models, electric and high-speed trains and developments in magnetic levitation and linear motors an examination of EV efficiencies, energy consumption and sustainable power generation. MATLAB® examples can be found on the companion website www.wiley.com/go/electricvehicle2e Explaining the underpinning science and technology, this book is essential for practicing electrical, automotive, power, control and instrumentation engineers working in EV research and development. It is also a valuable reference for academics and students in automotive, mechanical, power and electrical engineering.

As the importance and dependence of specific mineral commodities increase, so does concern about their supply. The United States is currently 100 percent reliant on foreign sources for 20 mineral commodities and imports the majority of its supply of more than 50 mineral commodities. Mineral commodities that have important uses and face potential supply disruption are critical to American economic and national security. However, a mineral commodity's importance and the nature of its supply chain can change with time; a mineral commodity that may not have been considered critical 25 years ago may be critical today, and one considered critical today may not be so in the future. The U.S. Geological Survey has produced this volume to describe a select group of mineral commodities currently critical to our economy and security. For each mineral commodity covered, the authors provide a comprehensive look at (1) the commodity's use; (2) the geology and global distribution of the mineral deposit types that account for the present and possible future supply of the commodity; (3) the current status of production, reserves, and resources in the United States and globally; and (4) environmental considerations related to the commodity's production from different types of mineral deposits. The volume describes U.S. critical mineral resources in a global context, for no country can be self-sufficient for all its mineral commodity needs, and the United States will always rely on global mineral commodity supply chains. This volume provides the scientific understanding of critical mineral resources required for informed decisionmaking by those responsible for ensuring that the United States has a secure and sustainable supply of mineral commodities.