Informações sobre o curso: Metals are present everywhere around us and are one of the major materials upon which our economies are built. Economic development is deeply coupled with the use of metals. During the 20th century, the variety of metal applications in society grew rapidly. In addition to mass applications such as steel in buildings and aluminium in planes, more and more different metals are in use for innovative technologies such as the use of the speciality metal indium in LCD screens. A lot of metals will be needed in the future. It will not be easy to provide them. In particular in emerging economies, but also in industrialised countries, the demand for metals is increasing rapidly. Mining and production activities expand, and with that also the environmental consequences of metal production. In this course, we will explore those consequences and we will also explore options to move towards a more sustainable system of metals production and use. We will focus especially on the options to reach a circular economy for metals: keeping metals in use for a very long time, to avoid having to mine new ones. This course is based on the reports of the Global Metals Flows Group of the International Resource Panel that is part of UN Environment. An important aspect that will come back each week, are the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the SDGs. Those are ambitious goals to measure our progress towards a more sustainable world. We will use the SDGs as a touching stone for the assessment of the metals challenge, as well as the solutions we present in this course to solve that challenge.
Para quem é direcionado este curso: This course is oriented towards students, working professionals and everyone who wants to learn about the challenges related to metals production and usage, as well as the potential solutions that exist to act on these challenges. This course does not require previous knowledge on the subject.
Desenvolvido por: Universidade de Leiden
Ministrado por: Ester van der Voet, Dr.
Institute of Environmental Sciences
| Nível | Beginner |
| Compromisso | 6 weeks of study, 5-7 hours per week |
| Idioma | English |
| Como ser aprovado | Seja aprovado em todas as tarefas para concluir o curso. |
| Classificação do usuário |
Programa
SEMANA 1
Introduction
Welcome to the course! This first module aims at introducing you to the main topic of the MOOC and to the teaching staff that you will be seeing throughout the whole course. Before you start with the first lessons we encourage you to have a look at our introductory materials and to introduce yourself in the forum in order to meet your classmates.
3 vídeos, 8 leituras
- Vídeo: Introduction to the Course
- Lecture: Meet the Instructor & the Team
- Lecture: Welcome to Leiden University
- Lecture: Complete our short survey
- Lecture: Tips for studying online
- Lecture: Being successful in an international virtual learning environment
- Lecture: Behaving in an academic way
- Demande de discussion: E-tivity: Introduce Yourself
- Vídeo: Introduction to SDGs: Dr. Janez Potočnik
- Vídeo: Introduction to UNEP International Resource Panel: Dr. Patrice Christmann
- Lecture: The World Bank: The 2017 Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals
- Lecture: The Lazy Person's Guide to Saving the World
Metals in Society
In Week 1, you will be introduced to the world of metals. What are they, what are their properties, what are they used for and how essential are they? We will address the difference between major and minor metals. Major metals are used in large basic applications such as buildings, cars, pipes, cables, bridges, trains and airplanes. Minor metals that are used mostly in all kinds of electronics and in new technologies, for example for wind and solar energy. The amounts used are much smaller. The minor metals have more attention in the news, because of problems with the supply from international trade, and are subject to criticality assessments. The major metals, on the other hand, are even more important, although less in the centre of attention. Without them, society would fall apart. In this course, we will focus mostly on those major metals. We also introduce the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. These SDGs are agreed on by all nations that are part of the UN, and outline goals for the future of the global society. They include goals on economic development, social development, health and the environment and form a powerful framework to judge developments in resource use, including metal use.
7 vídeos, 2 leituras
- Vídeo: Introduction to Metals in Society
- Vídeo: The Periodic Table of Elements
- Demande de discussion: Metal Applications
- Vídeo: Insights from the Life-Cycle of Metals by Prof. dr. Thomas E. Graedel
- Vídeo: Life-Cycles of Selected Metals (Part 1)
- Vídeo: Life-Cycles of Selected Metals (Part 2)
- Lecture: Life-Cycle Impact of Rare Earth Elements
- Vídeo: Metals in the 20th Century
- Demande de discussion: Metals in the 21th Century
- Vídeo: Summary of Metals in Society
- Demande de discussion: Sustainable Development Goals
- Lecture: Suggested Readings and Materials
Nota atribuída: Test your knowledge
SEMANA 2
Metals Challenge
In week 2, the metals challenge is outlined. Metals are indispensable for society, but they are also associated with environmental impacts, especially related to climate change. The challenge is defined as how can we provide society with sufficient metals, now and in the future, without compromising environmental quality? An important part of the challenge is caused by the rapidly rising demand for metals. Over the 20th century demand has risen steeply, and this is expected to continue over the next decades. In this week, we will teach the issues around metal supply, scarcity and criticality, and environmental impacts to sketch the magnitude of the metals challenge. We also will meet the apparent contradiction between some of the SDGs: we need metals to develop societies and build up the infrastructure, on the other hand, we also need to reduce environmental impacts that will only increase if we don’t do anything about it.
12 vídeos, 4 leituras
- Vídeo: Introduction to Metals Challenge
- Demande de discussion: SDGtalk
- Vídeo: Future Demand and Supply
- Vídeo: Scarcity and Depletion
- Vídeo: Impacts of Metal Use
- Demande de discussion: Environmental Impacts of Metals
- Vídeo: Criticality of Metals
- Demande de discussion: Criticality of Metals
- Lecture: Environmental Risks and Challenges of Anthropogenic Metals Flows and Cycles: International Resource Panel's Report
- Vídeo: Summary of Metals Challenge
- Demande de discussion: Sustainable Development Goals
- Vídeo: Energy for Metals
- Vídeo: Metals for Energy
- Vídeo: Criticality of Metals by Thomas E. Graedel (Part 1)
- Vídeo: Criticality of Metals by Thomas E. Graedel (Part 2)
- Vídeo: Criticality of Metals by Thomas E. Graedel (Part 3)
- Lecture: Criticality of Metals
- Vídeo: Future Demand and Supply (Additional Material)
- Lecture: Environmental Impacts of Rare Earth Mining and Separation Based on Eudialyte: A New European Way
- Lecture: Suggested Readings and Materials
Nota atribuída: Test your knowledge
SEMANA 3
Dynamics of Metal Systems
Week 3 and all subsequent weeks focus on solving the metals challenge. Obviously, we need to make changes in the metals system to reach a more sustainable situation and reconcile the different Sustainable Development Goals. When considering changes, it is important first to understand the system. We will be discussing stocks and flows of metals in society and see how they interact. In society, we do not just obey the laws of justice and economics, but also the laws of nature. It is important to realise that when contemplating solutions for the metals challenge. This week will be rather theoretical but will provide important information for the coming weeks.
5 vídeos, 3 leituras
- Vídeo: Introduction to Dynamics of Metal Systems
- Vídeo: Stocks of Metal in Society by Thomas E. Graedel
- Vídeo: Distinguishing between Stocks and Flows by Thomas E. Graedel
- Lecture: Metal Stocks in Society: The International Resource Panel's Report
- Vídeo: Stock Dynamics and Modelling
- Demande de discussion: Stocks and Flows Dynamics
- Vídeo: Summary of Dynamics of Metal Systems
- Demande de discussion: Sustainable Development Goals
- Lecture: Urban Mines of Copper: Size and Potential for Recycling in the EU
- Lecture: Suggested Readings and Materials
Nota atribuída: Test your knowledge
SEMANA 4
Solutions to the Metals Challenge
Week 4 is rather packed with lectures on the different options to solve the metals challenge. You will meet experts from all over the world, who will lecture on materials and product design-for-environment and design-for-recycling, on the possibilities and also the barriers for remanufacturing, and on recycling as the last, but maybe most important resort to keep the metals in use. All these options aim at keeping up the stock-in-use of metals in society, while at the same time reducing the need to mine new metals. They all have their own strengths and limitations and can be regarded as pieces of the large puzzle aiming at solving the metals challenge, or in other words, reconciling the different SDGs.
11 vídeos, 3 leituras
- Vídeo: Introduction to Solution to the Metals Challenge
- Vídeo: Possible Solutions
- Vídeo: Recycling Rates for Metals by Thomas E. Graedel
- Lecture: Recycling Rates of Metals: The International Resource Panel's Report
- Vídeo: Materials Design for Recycling by Erik Offerman (Part 1)
- Vídeo: Materials Design for Recycling by Erik Offerman (Part 2)
- Vídeo: Product Design by Conny Bakker
- Demande de discussion: Product Design
- Vídeo: Remanufacturing
- Vídeo: Summary of Solutions to the Metals Challenge
- Demande de discussion: Deep-sea Mining
- Demande de discussion: Sustainable Development Goals
- Lecture: Metal Recycling: The International Resource Panel's Report
- Vídeo: Product-centric Recycling to Increase Recycling Rates by Markus Reuter (Part 1)
- Vídeo: Product-centric Recycling to Increase Recycling Rates by Markus Reuter (Part 2)
- Vídeo: Elements, materials, products, elements. Animation by Ruben Huele
- Lecture: Suggested Readings and Materials
Nota atribuída: Test your knowledge
SEMANA 5
Circular Economy as an Overarching Solution
In week 5, we try to get some idea of what the effectiveness could be of going for a circular economy. We do not consider all changes in society that have to be made to reach that, but simply have a look at whether or not, if we would reach a circular economy, we would indeed solve the metals challenge. Can we, theoretically, maintain supply and at the same time avoid supply problems and environmental issues in that way? And therefore, is it worthwhile pursuing a circular economy to reconcile the different SDGs? We use the case of aluminium to illustrate this.
6 vídeos, 5 leituras
- Vídeo: Introduction to Circular Economy as an Overarching Solution
- Vídeo: The Circular Economy
- Vídeo: Climbing the Materials Ladder
- Lecture: Re-thinking Progress: The Circular Economy
- Vídeo: Circular Economy for Aluminium (Part 1)
- Vídeo: Circular Economy for Aluminium (Part 2)
- Lecture: Product Design in a Circular EconomyDevelopment of a Typology of Key Concepts and Terms
- Vídeo: Summary of Circular Economy as an Overarching Solution
- Demande de discussion: Sustainable Development Goals
- Lecture: Suggested Readings and Materials
- Lecture: From Linear to Circular Economy: PSS conducting the transition
- Lecture: Opportunities for a circular economy
Nota atribuída: Circular Economy
Nota atribuída: Test your knowledge
SEMANA 6
Look into the Future
In this final week of the course, we will look briefly into the future. What can we expect for the next decades or even the next century? We’ll introduce the concept of scenarios, storylines about the future that have no predictive value but have their value as imagination of what could happen, and what the consequences would be if it did. And we will apply that to our major metals. Will demand go on rising? What will happen with the environmental impacts? Does it help, from the point of view of metal production, to have a renewable energy system in the background? Will more circularity in our economy make a difference? In short, is it possible to reconcile the SDG development goals with the environmental ones?
6 vídeos, 3 leituras
- Vídeo: Introduction to Look into the Future
- Vídeo: Scenarios for Resource Use
- Vídeo: Scenarios of Metal Demand and Supply and Related Environmental Impacts
- Vídeo: The Metals Challenge and the Sustainable Development Goals
- Lecture: People and the Earth
- Vídeo: Summary of Look into the Future
- Demande de discussion: Sustainable Development Goals
- Vídeo: Scenarios for Resource Use (Additional Material)
- Lecture: Suggested Readings and Materials
- Lecture: Complete our short survey
Nota atribuída: Sustainable Development Goals
Nota atribuída: Test your knowledge
Nota atribuída: Final Exam
Perguntas frequentes
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Desenvolvedores
Universidade de Leiden
Leiden University is one of Europe's foremost research universities. This prominent position gives our graduates a leading edge in applying for academic posts and for functions outside academia.
Leiden University is the oldest university in the Netherlands. It was founded in February 1575, as a gift from William of Orange to the citizens of Leiden after they had withstood a long siege by the Spanish. Our motto is: Praesidium Libertatis — Bastion of Liberty.
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