Resources for the modern world

MATS32802 Resources for the modern world 10 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 6 Simon Hunt Unit coordinator Department of Materials 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Last part of a Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 5.0 The modern world requires a vast array of raw materials, all of which are sourced from specific, but very varied locations on Earth. The location and concentration of the elements in these deposits, combined with the processes required to purify the raw material, determines the availability and price of industrial materials. These and other factors such as effectiveness, sustainability, toxicity and life span, influence the choice of materials ultimately used for specific tasks.The supply and utilisation of resources ultimately depends more broadly on what is deemed acceptable by society. Questions to be discussed in this unit include ethical considerations, is it right to exploit all resources at any cost, and security concerns, for example, is security of supply guaranteed if there is a monopoly of supply? What happens to the mining sites when they are no longer economically viable or socially acceptable? What are the broader legal, reputational and cost considerations that affect the local, regional and global supply of resources?At the end of their useful lives, resources should be recycled or disposed of in a sustainable manner. What form does this take for different materials? How do we deal with effects that are longer than human life spans and effects that are not locally contained or immediately visible such as CO2 in the atmosphere or CFCs in the Ozone layer.These problems and their solutions will be discussed using a series of case studies that address topics such as the supply of metals, hydrocarbons, bio-derived, noble gasses and other rare and finite resources. The modern world requires a vast array of raw materials, all of which are sourced from specific, but very varied locations on Earth. The location and concentration of the elements in these deposits, combined with the processes required to purify the raw material, determines the availability and price of industrial materials. These and other factors such as effectiveness, sustainability, toxicity and life span, influence the choice of materials ultimately used for specific tasks.The supply and utilisation of resources ultimately depends more broadly on what is deemed acceptable by society. Questions to be discussed in this unit include ethical considerations, is it right to exploit all resources at any cost, and security concerns, for example, is security of supply guaranteed if there is a monopoly of supply? What happens to the mining sites when they are no longer economically viable or socially acceptable? What are the broader legal, reputational and cost considerations that affect the local, regional and global supply of resources?At the end of their useful lives, resources should be recycled or disposed of in a sustainable manner. What form does this take for different materials? How do we deal with effects that are longer than human life spans and effects that are not locally contained or immediately visible such as CO2 in the atmosphere or CFCs in the Ozone layer.These problems and their solutions will be discussed using a series of case studies that address topics such as the supply of metals, hydrocarbons, bio-derived, noble gasses and other rare and finite resources. The unit aims to:Introduce students to the complete resource cycle – from the creation of deposits in the Earth, identification and discovery, economic assessments, extraction, processing/refinement, application of these materials and end of life and circular economy.The complex interdependent implications of the use of resources will be considered, for example, geological, environmental and ethical impacts, security implications and risk management. The unit will also address the drivers behind material choices i.e. ‘optimal’ vs. practical considerations. ILO 1 [Geological background] Outline and describe the general composition of the Earth and geological processes that lead to the formation of potential industrial resources.ILO 2 [Mining] Discuss and explain the broad considerations of resource extraction.ILO 3 [Processing, use of products] Analyse and appraise the full life cycle of materials and resources, including extraction, processing, use and end of life.ILO 4 [Recycling and disposal of resources, nuclear waste storage, restoration of environment, bio-remediation] Assess the implications of remediation and/or closure of depleted resource sites and disposal of problematic waste.ILO 5 [Ethical concerns] Identify and analyse ethical implications and impacts of the resource cycle and how this is balanced by other considerations in practice.ILO 6 [Risk management and security concerns of the above]  Identify and evaluate how risks are mitigated along the whole life cycle, including financial, security concerns and H&S.ILO 7 Develop concise and clear writing style. The teaching and assessment of this unit is planned to be concentrated in the 1st half of semester 2. This is to avoid high student workload with the materials coursework only unit which involves lab work (Themed research project, MATS31702) and with EES’s international field work units (EART35302, EART36302 and EARTH39302) which take place around Easter.The teaching will be delivered jointly by academic staff from the Departments of Materials and Earth and Environmental Science in the form of an in-person seminar series (lecture + discussion) that introduces the students to the scientific concepts and the complexity of resource exploitation.In the first 6 weeks of the semester there will be 10-12 sessions in which a different aspect of the resource cycle will be introduced and discussed. One or more of the sessions will include a significant section on life-cycle analysis. Each of the sessions will involve a section on effective essay structuring and writing, with a focus on how to be clear and concise rather than verbose.The sessions are structured broadly as:<ol><li>Introductions – life cycle analysis, composition of the earth and resource extraction, report writing (weeks 1-2)</li><li>Case studies around specific materials and metals (weeks 2-6)</li><li>Concluding, summarising and further discussion points (week 6)<o:p></o:p></li></ol> 2 Written assignment (inc essay) 100% Written and verbal N Cook (ed) (2021) Petroleum Economics and Risk Analysis SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers), Volume 71, Pages 1-336 <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/bookseries/developments-in-petroleum-science/vol/71/suppl/C">https://www.sciencedirect.com/bookseries/developments-in-petroleumscience/vol/71/suppl/C</a>D'Angelo & Pijpers (eds) (2022) The Anthropology of Resource Extraction 1st Edition <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Anthropology-of-Resource-Extraction/DAngelo-Pijpers/p/book/9780367687533">https://www.routledge.com/The-Anthropology-of-Resource-Extraction/DAngeloPijpers/p/book/9780367687533</a>Downey L, Bonds E, Clark K. Natural Resource Extraction, Armed Violence, and Environmental Degradation. Organ Environ. 2010 Dec;23(4):417-445. doi: 10.1177/1086026610385903. PMID: 21909231; PMCID: PMC3169238.Irarrázaval & Arias-Loyola (eds), 2021, Resource Peripheries in the Global Economy, Springer Cham, Switzerland, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84606-0">https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84606-0</a>Mitchell (2019) Resource and Environmental Management: Third Edition <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/35321">https://academic.oup.com/book/35321</a>Sörlin, (2022) Resource Extraction and Arctic Communities <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/resource-extraction-and-arctic-communities/9B174243EDD9436BBA7EA1CC817E5FDF">https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/resource-extraction-and-arcticcommunities/9B174243EDD9436BBA7EA1CC817E5FDF</a>Spurr (1920) Political and Commercial Geology and the World's Mineral Resources [an updated version of this book]. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/71082/71082-h/71082-h.htm">https://www.gutenberg.org/files/71082/71082-h/71082-h.htm</a> Lectures 24 Practical classes & workshops 5 0 71