Urban Mining: Recycling – or more?

Paul H. BRUNNERVienna University of Technology, Austria

Urban Mining Forum, Taipeh, October 21st, 2011

Foto courtesy of Morf & Böni

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Content

• What is urban mining?

• Why urban mining?

• Four elements of an urban mining strategy

• Urban mining and re-industrializing the city

• Summary

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What is urban mining?

Systematic, goal oriented management of anthropogenic resource stocks in view of:

long-term environmental protection resource conservation economic benefits

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Why urban mining? Environmental protection

Environmental degradationby mining

Environmental burdens byprimary production

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Off-gas43

Why urban mining? large resource stocks

Source: Daxbeck et al. 1996 (updated)

Export goods

Sewage

144

Water

147

Fossil fuels

Construct. materials& consumer goods

2

12-18

Air36

3Solid wastes

3Municipalsolid wastes 0.3

Fluxes [t/(c.yr)]Stocks [t]

O ~ 195 t/c.y

Stock: 350 + 7

4-10

I ~ 200 t/c.y

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Why urban mining? large resource stocks

plastic flows in Austria 1994[in kt/year]

Source: R. Fehringer, 1998

Einsatz

1.100 primary processing

productmanufacturing

collection,transporting, sorting

energyrecoveryrecycling landfill

raw material

intermediate products

plastic products

plasticproducts

duro- andpolymers

duro- and polymers

plastic products

intermediateproducts

wastes

productionwastes

wastes

stock: 40

stock: 50

stock: 7100+400

stock: 45+42

stock: 0 stock: 9700+590

off gas

wastes wastes

consumption

regranulate

stock: 0

regranulate

IMPORT EXPORT

990

530

720

600

250

17

26

49 71

59

28

590

420

210

850

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Why urban mining? resource conservation

34

6 0,3 2,7

1

11

1,5

7

2

4140*

0,8

0,8

primaryproduction

pedo-/

production wastemagment

otherdisposal

2000 2050 21000

350

150

50

100

200

250

300 anthropogeniciron stock

44

194

344

2000 2050 21000

350

150

50

100

200

250

300 geogeniciron reserve

140

40 0

140*lithosphere

44

344consumptIron flows

through Austria

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The 4 elements of an urban mining strategy

Topic

1. Design for Urban Mining

2. New knowledge base:

• Urban prospection methodology

• Resource cadastre

3. High-Technology logistics, separation,

and recovery processes

4. Final sinks for the „useless“

Actor

industry & academia

public -> private sector

public & private sector

public sector

industry & academia

public & private sector

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The 4 elements of an urban mining strategy

1. Design for Urban Mining: example lead

00 5 000 10 000 15 000 20 000 25 000 30 000 35 000

market price

Available stock [tons]

[cos

t for

reco

very

/ton

]

lead accumulators

water pipes inhouse

sewerpipes

powercable

telecomcable

source: Lohm et al., 1998

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The 4 elements of an urban mining strategy

1. Design for Urban Mining: example copper

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The 5 elements of an urban mining strategy

1. Design for Urban Mining

2. New knowledge base: Resource cadastre

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New knowledge base: the case of aluminum

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

wastelandfills

red mud landfills

consumptionstock

Alu

min

um -

stoc

k [k

g/c]

2000 2030

aluminum in packaging wastes:

1.9 kg/c.year

= 3 % of total Al-turnover

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New knowledge base: the case of Vienna

Groundwater

Vienna stock in use and hybernatingLead 200Iron 5,000

Stock in Vienna landfillsLeadIron

20350

[ kg/capita ]

Source: R. Obernosterer et al, 1998

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The 4 elements of an urban mining strategy

1. Design for Urban Mining

2. New knowledge base: Resource cadastre and

Urban prospection (analogon to geophysical prospection)

– Concentration [mass per mass]– Density [mass per area]– Total mass of substance– Speciation– Other constituents– Costs of exploitation– others

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The 4 elements of an urban mining strategy

1. Design for Urban Mining

2. New knowledge base

3. High-Tech logistics, separation, and recovery processes

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High-Tech logistics and recovery processes

from MSW to material resourcesby means of MSW incineration

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High-Tech logistics and recovery processes

from Morf & Böni, 2011

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The 4 elements of an urban mining strategy

1. Design for Urban Mining

2. New knowledge base

3. High-Tech logistics, separation, and recovery processes

4. Final sinks for the „useless“

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solid waste

sewage

corrosion & weathering

consumption emissions(CO2 et al.)

recycling

Not all flows go in cycles -> need for sinks!

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The sinks on planet earth are limited

After A. Nieman supplemented by G. Döberl

Atmosphere 4.200 [Mio. km³]

Pedosphere 0,3 [Mio. km³]

Hydrosphere 1.400 [Mio. km³]

.

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Summary

1. Goal of urban mining: resource conservation and environmental protection economic benefits

2. Reason for urban mining: large anthropogenic stocks ( larger than geogenic stocks?)

3. Challenges: new knowledge base new design for “urban mining” new technologies

urban prospection high-tech separation processes (clean cycles!)

economics of secondary versus primary resource use demand for final sinks!

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Thank you

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Stock dynamics and waste generationm

ass

[t/ca

p.yr

]

Input of solidmaterials into use

1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040

Mean residence time

of materials

5

10

15

20

Output of solid materials from use (wastes)waste today

waste in 40 years

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Urban mining and re-industrializing the cityCoupling materials and energy by MSW incineration

from Morf & Böni, 2011