A sustainable materials system research agenda

Modern society is unsustainable: biodiversity loss is occurring at an unprecedented rate; anthropogenic activities dominate material cycles, putting upward pressure on resource supply; and the industrial system is forcing Earth’s climate towards the brink of a critical transition, on a scale never before experienced by humans. Facts such as these highlight the imperative for transformational change to the industrial system and also the materials basis of modern society. Traditional materials research approaches focus on improving properties and performance of individual technologies at relatively high technical detail. On the other hand, common sustainable engineering methods such as material flow analysis and life cycle assessment are used to study material and product systems at relatively low technical detail. In this talk I present a sustainable materials system research agenda. This agenda aims to address key contemporary sustainability challenges like climate change mitigation by integrating deep technical analysis of material technologies into a whole systems modelling perspective. I will focus on cement related materials such as concrete: this material is responsible for ~50% of all materials extraction and 8-9% of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, yet also provides unique opportunities for beneficial use of industrial by-products and wastes.
 
References accompanying the talk
 

1. Lothenbach, B.; Kulik, D.A.; Matschei, T.;, Balonis, M.; Baquerizo, L.; Dilnesa, B.; Miron, G.D.; Myers, R.J. Cemdata18: A chemical thermodynamics database for hydrated Portland cements and alkali-activated materials. Cem. Concr. Res., 115, 472-506 (2019).
2. Myers, R.J.; Fishman, T.; Reck, B.K.; Graedel, T.E. Unified materials information system (UMIS): an integrated material stocks and flows data structure. J. Ind. Ecol., https://doi.org/.
3. Fishman, T.; Myers, R.J.; Rios, O.; Graedel, T.E. Implications of emerging vehicle technologies on rare earth supply and demand in the United States. Resources, 7(1), 9 (2018).
4. Olivetti, E.A.; Cullen, J.M. Toward a sustainable materials system. Science, 360(6396), 1396-1398 (2018).