Models for Decarbonization in the Chemical Industry.

Various technologies and strategies have been proposed to decarbonize the chemical industry. Assessing the decarbonization, environmental, and economic implications of these technologies and strategies is critical to identifying pathways to a more sustainable industrial future. This study reviews recent advancements and integration of systems analysis models, including process analysis, material flow analysis, life cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, and machine learning.

Vanadium: A U.S. Perspective on an Understudied Metal.

Vanadium is an element that is little known except to those who manufacture high-performance iron alloys and other widely used metal products that are indispensable for creating improved product performance across a variety of final-use sectors. We report here on deriving a detailed material flow cycle for vanadium in the United States for 1992-2021, the most recent year for which detailed data are available. The steels [tool steel, alloy steels, and high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels] are responsible for about half of the cumulative vanadium demand (167 Gg), with significantly smaller fractions being used to create catalysts, titanium-vanadium alloys, and several smaller product groups.

Alloy information helps prioritize material criticality lists.

Materials scientists employ metals and alloys that involve most of the periodic table. Nonetheless, materials scientists rarely take material criticality and reuse potential into account. In this work, we expand upon lists of "critical materials" generated by national and regional governments by showing that many materials are employed predominantly as alloying elements, which can be a deterrent to recovery and reuse at end of product life and, likely as a consequence, have low functional end-of-life recycling rates, among other problematic characteristics.

Uncertain Future of American Lithium: A Perspective until 2050.

During the 20th century, the United States went from being the largest producer and user of lithium to being heavily reliant on imports from Asia, particularly lithium-ion batteries. To explore different futures for U.S.

Material Flow Analysis from Origin to Evolution.

Material flow analysis (MFA), a central methodology of industrial ecology, quantifies the ways in which the materials that enable modern society are used, reused, and lost. Sankey diagrams, termed the "visible language of industrial ecology", are often employed to present MFA results. This Perspective assesses the history and current status of MFA, reviews the development of the methodology, presents current examples of metal, polymer, and fiber MFAs, and demonstrates that MFAs have been responsible for creating related industrial ecology specialties and stimulating connections between industrial ecology and a variety of engineering and social science fields.