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From Grave to Cradle

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  • Alicia Valero
  • Antonio Valero

Abstract

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a promising tool in the pursuit of sustainable mining. However, the accounting methodologies used in LCA for abiotic resource depletion still have some shortcomings and need to be improved. In this article a new thermodynamic approach is presented for the evaluation of the depletion of nonfuel minerals. The method is based on quantifying the exergy costs required to replace the extracted minerals with current available technologies, from a completely degraded state in what we term “Thanatia” to the conditions currently found in nature. Thanatia is an estimated reference model of a commercial end of the planet, where all resources have been extracted and dispersed, and all fossil fuels have been burned. Mineral deposits constitute an exergy bonus that nature gives us for free by providing minerals in a concentrated state and not dispersed in the crust. The exergy replacement costs provide a measure of the bonus lost through extraction. This approach allows performing an LCA by including a new stage in the analysis: namely the grave to cradle path. The methodology is explained through the case study of nickel depletion.

Suggested Citation

  • Alicia Valero & Antonio Valero, 2013. "From Grave to Cradle," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 17(1), pages 43-52, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:17:y:2013:i:1:p:43-52
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2012.00529.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Palacios, Jose-Luis & Calvo, Guiomar & Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio, 2018. "The cost of mineral depletion in Latin America: An exergoecology view," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 117-124.
    2. Knobel, Alexander, 2013. "The risks of fiscal policy in countries rich in natural resources," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, pages 29-38, October.
    3. Kai Whiting & Luis Gabriel Carmona & Angeles Carrasco & Tânia Sousa, 2017. "Exergy Replacement Cost of Fossil Fuels: Closing the Carbon Cycle," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-21, July.
    4. Antonio Valero & Alicia Valero, 2015. "Thermodynamic Rarity and the Loss of Mineral Wealth," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-16, January.
    5. Calvo, Guiomar & Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio & Carpintero, Óscar, 2015. "An exergoecological analysis of the mineral economy in Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 2-8.
    6. Abel Ortego & Alicia Valero & Antonio Valero & Eliette Restrepo, 2018. "Vehicles and Critical Raw Materials: A Sustainability Assessment Using Thermodynamic Rarity," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(5), pages 1005-1015, October.
    7. Northey, S. & Mohr, S. & Mudd, G.M. & Weng, Z. & Giurco, D., 2014. "Modelling future copper ore grade decline based on a detailed assessment of copper resources and mining," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 190-201.
    8. Kieran Campbell‐Johnston & Erik Roos Lindgreen & Giovanni Mondello & Teresa Maria Gulotta & Walter J. V. Vermeulen & Roberta Salomone, 2023. "Thermodynamic rarity of electrical and electronic waste: Assessment and policy implications for critical materials," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(2), pages 508-521, April.
    9. Pauline Deutz & Giuseppe Ioppolo, 2015. "From Theory to Practice: Enhancing the Potential Policy Impact of Industrial Ecology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-15, February.
    10. Goran Finnveden & Yevgeniya Arushanyan & Miguel Brandão, 2016. "Exergy as a Measure of Resource Use in Life Cycle Assessment and Other Sustainability Assessment Tools," Resources, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-11, June.
    11. Guiomar Calvo & Alicia Valero & Luis Gabriel Carmona & Kai Whiting, 2015. "Physical Assessment of the Mineral Capital of a Nation: The Case of an Importing and an Exporting Country," Resources, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-14, November.

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