A resource-oriented analysis of metallic raw material flows

摘要

The use of non-renewable resources is a fundamental basis of current and future societies. In the spirit of sustainable development we are committed to prudence with respect to the limitations of those reserves. The Collaborative Research Centre 525, which is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft since the beginning of 1997, aims to set up recommendations regarding the careful use of metallic raw materials in the arena of conflicting interests of society such as economy, ecology and others. Scientists of different faculties co-operate, each representing a sub-project. The desired interaction between these projects will be presented in this paper by example of the sub-project mining/waste disposal (SP 2) and the sub-project environment (SP 5). We will take a closer look at the transportation of bauxite from a mine to an alumina refinery. The material flows which have been dtermined in the context of an inventory analysis are being classified and quantified with respect to their impact on environment and potential in view of technology and public welfare.