ArticlePublisher preview available

Low-Carbon Materials: Genesis, Thoughts, Case Study, and Perspectives

June 2022
Circular Economy and Sustainability 2(2)

DOI:10.1007/s43615-021-00135-9

Authors:

Muhammad Pervaiz

University of Toronto

Jimi Tjong

Ford Motor Company

Patrizia Ghisellini

Parthenope University of Naples

Show all 5 authorsHide

This study focuses the attention on clean energy and low-carbon materials as key enablers in circular economy (CE) transition and a more sustainable path of human development. Environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive economic growth has been suggested by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals since 1990s. Diverse stakeholders including governments, companies, international organizations, and scientific community are taking action in favor of the CE model. The long-sought sustainable development and CE goals encompass all endeavors of human beings. Currently clean energy transition is well defined in a broader global policy framework in many countries and areas to tackle the climate challenges, whereas materials with a low-carbon footprint are receiving less attention. This opinion article is aimed at critically reviewing the genesis; enabling conditions, some applications, and descriptions of low-carbon materials; and suggesting a way forward along with policy implications.

Illustration of the major materials timeline.

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Low-carbon materials strategies include (a) materials, designing them at atoms and molecular scales to enable higher materials circularity; (b) improved processing technologies, energy and resources efficient materials processing; (c) supply chain, sourcing materials locally as well as employing renewable energies; (d) usage and end of life management, designing products for longer life and for reuse, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling while designing out waste and pollution; and (e) design out waste and pollution, innovative business models and life style choices for doing with less or doing without materials and products.

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Illustration of carbon footprint and embodied carbon of a material in the current linear economy and emerging CE scenarios. The linear economy (rectangles) is associated with higher embodied carbon and carbon footprint owing to the inefficient materials technologies, energies used throughout the life cycle of materials including the transportation that are sourced from the non-renewable fossil fuels whereas materials are discarded as waste into the environment. The CE is associated with significantly reduced embodied carbon and carbon footprint enabled by improved materials technology, materials purposefully designed at molecular scale to be circular and long-life, maximum use of renewable energies, products designed for longer life as well as causing minimal waste and pollution, innovative business models, and life style choices for doing with less or doing without materials and products.

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Incorporating low-carbon advanced materials in transportation sector has immense potential to reduce GHG emissions and also ensuring sustainable economy.

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Indigenously developed low-carbon materials and prototypes for automotive applications by CBBP (UofT) and FORD-PERDC Canada achieving up to 30% lightweighting.

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-021-00135-9

1 3

OPINION PAPER

Low-Carbon Materials: Genesis, Thoughts, Case Study,

andPerspectives

SeeramRamakrishna1· MuhammadPervaiz3· JimiTjong3· PatriziaGhisellini2·

MohiniMSain3

Received: 29 June 2021 / Accepted: 17 November 2021

Abstract

This study focuses the attention on clean energy and low-carbon materials as key enablers

in circular economy (CE) transition and a more sustainable path of human development.

Environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive economic growth has been suggested

by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals since 1990s. Diverse stakeholders

including governments, companies, international organizations, and scientiﬁc community

are taking action in favor of the CE model. The long-sought sustainable development and

CE goals encompass all endeavors of human beings. Currently clean energy transition is

well deﬁned in a broader global policy framework in many countries and areas to tackle the

climate challenges, whereas materials with a low-carbon footprint are receiving less atten-

tion. This opinion article is aimed at critically reviewing the genesis; enabling conditions,

some applications, and descriptions of low-carbon materials; and suggesting a way forward

along with policy implications.

Keywords Circular economy· Low-carbon materials· Carbon footprint· Embodied

energy· Embodied carbon· Sustainable development

Genesis andEnsuing Background

Modern living supported by the rapid industrialization over past several decades caused a

high increase of GHGs1 pollution in the atmosphere, thus aﬀecting the weather conditions

and quality of life of people worldwide [1–3]. At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,

the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) supported

* Mohini M Sain

m.sain@utoronto.ca

1 Department ofMechanical Engineering, National University ofSingapore, Singapore117576,

Singapore

2 Department ofScience & Technology, Parthenope University ofNaples, Naples, Italy

3 Center forBiocomposites & Biomaterials Processing, University ofToronto, Toronto, Canada

1 GHGs include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydroﬂuorocarbons (HFCs),

perﬂuorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexaﬂuoride (SF6).

Circular Economy and Sustainability (2022) 2:649

664

/Published online: 29 November 2021

Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.

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