Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307, USA.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2013 Jan 28;371(1986):20120003. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2012.0003. Print 2013 Mar 13.
In this paper, we review the energy requirements to make materials on a global scale by focusing on the five construction materials that dominate energy used in material production: steel, cement, paper, plastics and aluminium. We then estimate the possibility of reducing absolute material production energy by half, while doubling production from the present to 2050. The goal therefore is a 75 per cent reduction in energy intensity. Four technology-based strategies are investigated, regardless of cost: (i) widespread application of best available technology (BAT), (ii) BAT to cutting-edge technologies, (iii) aggressive recycling and finally, and (iv) significant improvements in recycling technologies. Taken together, these aggressive strategies could produce impressive gains, of the order of a 50-56 per cent reduction in energy intensity, but this is still short of our goal of a 75 per cent reduction. Ultimately, we face fundamental thermodynamic as well as practical constraints on our ability to improve the energy intensity of material production. A strategy to reduce demand by providing material services with less material (called 'material efficiency') is outlined as an approach to solving this dilemma.
本文通过关注在材料生产中占主导地位的五种建筑材料——钢铁、水泥、造纸、塑料和铝，来审视全球范围内生产材料所需的能源。然后，我们估计通过将绝对材料生产能源减少一半，同时将产量从现在增加到 2050 年的两倍，实现材料生产能源强度降低 75%的目标。因此，我们研究了四种基于技术的策略，无论成本如何：（i）广泛应用最佳可行技术（BAT），（ii）将 BAT 应用于尖端技术，（iii）积极回收，以及（iv）显著改进回收技术。这些积极的策略加在一起，可以产生显著的收益，能源强度可降低 50-56%，但仍低于我们降低 75%的目标。最终，我们在提高材料生产能源强度的能力方面面临着根本性的热力学和实际限制。减少需求的策略是提供材料服务而使用较少的材料（称为“材料效率”），这是解决这一困境的一种方法。
