Sherwood, James Richard orcid.org/0000-0001-5431-2032, Tun Gongora, Gerardo and Velenturf, Anne (2022) A circular economy metric to determine sustainable resource use illustrated with neodymium for wind turbines. Journal of Cleaner Production. 134305. ISSN 0959-6526
Abstract
The finite capacity of the Earth to provide the resources needed to make products is beginning to dictate policy decisions and citizen behaviours. Herein a methodology is proposed that considers the function (i.e., efficiency and durability) of a product as a way of normalising and hence justifying its resource use. Titled ‘Performance-weighted abiotic Resource Depletion’ (PwRD), this approach allows the resource use of different products to be directly compared, analogous to an absolute sustainability assessment. The PwRD metric quantifies concerns over the supply risk of elements and indicates reasonable actions to sustain a circular economy. This new format of circularity indicator is explained with the case study of neodymium for wind turbine magnets. Individual products as well as larger infrastructure projects such as wind farms can be assessed. It was found that the electrical energy produced by a wind turbine in the USA does not justify the quantity of neodymium required. Demand for the function of products is a variable in PwRD and is equally important as resource use in sustaining a circular economy. In regions of low electricity demand per capita such as the Philippines and Pakistan, the same quantity of neodymium as used in a wind turbine installed in the USA was found to be acceptable for sustaining a circular economy.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Chemistry (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 29 Sep 2022 14:00 |
Last Modified: | 17 Oct 2024 08:51 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134305 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134305 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:191290 |
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Description: A circular economy metric to determine sustainable resource use illustrated with neodymium for wind turbines
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