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Compiled by Dr. Joe Herbertson
June 2001
Sustainable Resource
Processing
Opportunities:
Life Cycle Driven Innovation
Examining overall
life cycles can provide innovative opportunities:
•streamlining supply
chains and eliminating process steps
•developing markets for materials
such as Light Metals, where energy savings for the end-user can far outweigh
higher embodied energy in the materials themselves
Near Net Shape Casting
•Direct casting of steel
strip should be commercialised in the coming few years
•BHP Steel in partnership
with Nucor Steel are among the world leaders
•Strip casting enables scrap
based steelmaking
[reducing the need for iron ore and coal mining, sinter plant, coke ovens and blast furnace] and
eliminates the hot
rolling mill stage
Direct Smelting
•Opportunities may exist to
streamline the path from Ni ore to stainless steel
Light Metals
•Magnesium is difficult to roll into sheet; strip casting avoids rolling, and
may provide a market opportunity for tradable sheet that can be pressed into light
weight encasements
•The extraction and processing of Ti is complex, energy intensive and
expensive; CSIRO and others are seeking to revolutionise the processing path to help
create market and business breakthroughs for this high performance material
•Sustainability should be a
strong driver for the development of new and expanded Light Metals industries