Global aluminum demand is anticipated to triple by 2050, by which time global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are advised to be cut 50–85% to avoid catastrophic climate impacts. To explore mitigation strategies systematically, a dynamic material flow model was developed to simulate the stocks and flows of the U.S. aluminum cycle and analyze the corresponding GHG emissions. Theoretical and realistic reduction potentials were identified and quantified. The total GHG emissions for the U.S. aluminum cycle in 2006 amount to 38 Mt CO2-equivalence. However, the U.S. has increasingly relied on imports of aluminum embodied in various products. The in-use stock is still growing fast in most product categories, which limits current scrap availability for recycling and emissions saving. Nevertheless, there is still large emission mitigation potential through recycling. The potentials from “100% old scrap collection” and “low emission energy” were each calculated to be higher than all process technology potential. Total emissions will decrease dramatically and mitigation priorities will change significantly under a stock saturation situation as much more old scrap becomes available for recycling. The nature of in-use stock development over the coming decades will be decisive for the aluminum industry to reach deeper emission cuts.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es202211w

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Improved energy efficiency is among the key measures for CO2 emission abatement in the industry. Energy benchmark curves provide data measured at individual plants and they offer a basis to estimate the sectoral energy efficiency improvement potentials (IP) compared to a best practice technology (BPT) currently in operation worldwide. In this paper, we estimate the BPT energy use of 17 industry sectors based on such curves or energy indicators prepared at country-level. We compare BPT data with current energy use to estimate the IP. According to our analysis, BPT offers improvement potentials of 27 ± 8% worldwide. This is equivalent to 32.5 ± 9.6 EJ (exajoules) of final energy savings worldwide, of which three-quarters can be achieved in developing countries. Due to lack of benchmark curves and limited data availability for developing countries, our results include uncertainties. We used literature data at country-level and international energy statistics to fill data gaps and to develop energy indicators. Quality of these data should be improved and benchmark data needs to be collected for more sectors. By doing so, energy benchmarking could become a key tool to estimate energy saving potentials and energy indicators could serve as strong supplementary methodology.

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2011.08.025

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► Globally, 26% of liquid steel and 41% of liquid aluminium becomes process scrap, never becoming a product. ► These yield losses have more effect on ‘embodied’ emissions in products than all processes after casting. ► There are significant opportunities to reduce these yield losses, depending on co-operation along the supply chain.

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.05.021

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The team show that iron ores (Fe2O3 and Fe3O4) can be dissolved in molten lithium carbonate at temperatures of around 800°C – a process that was previously thought impossible. Adding an electrical current to the molten mix separates the iron ore into its component parts, iron and oxygen, which can be collected by two electrodes in the solution.

Less energy is required to generate the lower temperatures and power the electrolysis, but Licht also demonstrates that these can be achieved using renewable energy. The team employ their recently developed solar technique, called solar thermal electrochemical photo (Step) – which uses the Sun’s thermal energy to melt the lithium carbonate solution while the visible light energy powers the electrolysis. Using the Step process no CO₂ is produced.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c0cc01594f

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Commercial fisheries are heavily dependent upon the combustion of fossil fuels and as such contribute to increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and the concomitant impact on the world’s climate. The fuel use and greenhouse gas intensity of a fishery is a function of several variables. One that has not been previously investigated is the role of fisheries management. Using historical gear-specific fuel use and landings data, we employ scenarios to examine the potential impact that recent changes in the management of the New England fishery for Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) may have on fishery-related fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, we consider the direct effect of the seasonal ban of midwater trawling in favor of purse seine and fixed gears within Atlantic herring fishing Area 1A. We also evaluate the indirect effect of reductions to the Area 1A total allowable catch of Atlantic herring on the regional supply of bait and the resulting potential need to import bait herring from Canada. Our results indicate that because of the five-fold lower fuel intensity of purse seining, relative to midwater trawling (21 L/ton versus 108-118 L/ton), the seasonal ban on midwater trawling has the potential to markedly reduce overall fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the herring fishery. These results indicate that management decisions can strongly influence energy demands and resulting greenhouse gas emissions of fisheries. We urge those involved with fisheries management to take this into account when developing policy and management measures.

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2009.08.005

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