Anticipating urban mining

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2013

In conventional mining, prospecting methods are used to increase the degree of certainty with regard to the stock of metals. Similarly, prospecting in terms of “urban mining” aims to increase the information about metal stocks available for recovery in the built environment. Infrastructure systems, such as for power supply and heating, are rich in copper, aluminum and iron (including steel). For a number of reasons, pipes and cables remain in the ground after being taken out of use or disconnected. This is also true for entire obsolete systems. In this paper, these infrastructures “cold spots” are viewed as hibernating stock with a significant potential for urban mining. The infrastructure systems for AC and DC power, telecommunication, town gas and district heating in the city of Norrköping, Sweden, have been quantified and spatially allocated with a GIS-based approach of Material Flow Analysis (MFA). About 20% of the total stock of aluminum and copper in these systems is found to be in hibernation. The findings also indicate that cables have been disconnected to a larger extent than pipes. As an example, cables for DC power, taken out of use in the late 1930s yet still in the ground, consist of 230 tonnes of copper. The results illustrate a clear tendency for larger stocks of hibernating copper and aluminum to be found in the central rather than the outer parts of the city. A reverse, ring-like pattern is true for iron, mostly because the central parts of the town gas pipes are used for fiber optics. Particular focus has been placed on the industrial area of Södra Butängen, which is slated for re-development and re-zoning from industrial to residential. Since the ground will be dug up for sanitation purposes anyway, the entire metal stock can be taken into prospecting consideration. Analysis shows that the chances of finding aluminum here are 28 times higher than in the rest of the city. We argue for an increased MFA focus on the heterogeneous complexity found in the details of the specific locale, rather than striving for generalized assumptions about the broader picture. In doing so, MFA could very well provide a tool for a future business line of urban mining of hibernating metal stocks.

2017 21st International Conference Information Visualisation (IV)

This paper presents a method and case study to visualize the urban stock of materials and its availability for use in building future cities. Re-using material from existing buildings for new buildings can be seen as a source for construction materials in times of depleting natural resources. The authors explain the concept of "urban mining" and the challenges, such as "How much resources are available in a city? Today? In the near future?" We explore what data are needed to answer the questions, and then discuss how to best visualize the data in an effective and intuitive way. We apply the concept to an exemplary real-world district in Singapore that is in transformation. Then, we discuss features of a visual tool prototype and explain the thinking behind the design, e.g., how the spatial and temporal dimensions can be presented. Lastly, we conclude the paper with an outlook of future challenges. The paper presents a multidisciplinary approach with researchers from computer science, architecture, graphic design and material science, and contributes to the discussion of how to visualize knowledge and plan sustainable future cities.

… of Minerals, 5 …, 2006

Major cities are not only the focal point for Australian's work, leisure and homes, they also are the focal point for the flow of resources into the built environment, motor cars and transportation and urban consumables. The steady increases in 'stock' and waste generation, in line with GDP growth, means that cities will become the mine sites of the future if the inherent value is recovered from these materials at end of life. The urban waste stream can be characterised as containing approximately nine per cent hydrocarbon-based materials; 57 per cent biomass-based material; 28 per cent fully mineralised materials that are inert, five per cent metals and less than one per cent of problematic materials that are potentially hazardous and toxic. In order to convert these wastes into value added inputs into the economy, a number of technological interventions are required. These 'urban waste mining techniques' revolve around source separation and material streaming. One issue that needs to be overcome when determining which mining technique to implement, is identifying the option that will deliver optimal value, both from a financial and a sustainability perspective. The difference between embodied energy and calorific value is a case in point. Highest net resource value (HNRV) is a concept that can assist in choosing between different resource recovery options. The assessment can be done at a strategic level, or can be used to work out material specific issues. For example, used tyres can be recovered for their energy content at an approximate cost of $120 per tonne, whereas mechanical processing of used tyres can deliver a net benefit of $192.

2012

Luis Enrique Sánches (EPUSP), Virgínia Sampaio Ciminelli (UFMG). A Série Tecnologia Ambiental divulga trabalhos relacionados ao setor minerometalúrgico, nas áreas de tratamento e recuperação ambiental, que tenham sido desenvolvidos, ao menos em parte, no CETEM. O conteúdo desse trabalho é de responsabilidade exclusiva do(s) autor(es).

2017

With the increasing demand of metals from industrial facilities and the construction sector, the abundance of discarded metals within the infrastructure of a typical city may be considered as an attractive source for metal recovery. The term “urban mining” refers to the process of recovering metals from secondary metal stocks in urban locations, which provide an alternative resource to conventional mountainous mines. An integrated urban mining potential assessment comprises of two steps: (a) mapping and size estimation of a certain metal reserve and (b) evaluation of the economic feasibility of its recovery, by determining the necessary extraction process. The infrastructure systems (or infrasystems) in the city of Huddersfield, and UK in general, are to a great extent buried underground and surface cables are usually immediately removed after being decommissioned. Thus, the major infrasystems (and the corresponding metals) in the studied region are (a) AC/DC power (Cu/Al), (b) tele...

Sustainability

The recycling of demolition waste is essential to lower the construction sectors primary material demand, responsible for 50% of the global primary material consumption. Almost all demolition waste is used as filler material for the construction of roads, preventing further reuse or recycling after this application. The built environment generates considerable annual material in-and outflows. However, there has been little discussion on the availability and further application of this potential supply of secondary materials as a replacement for primary materials. In this study, we quantify the percentage of demolition waste that can be repurposed as secondary materials in the Dutch construction sector. We analyzed the yearly building material flows for the municipality of Leiden using municipal data on demolition and construction to explore the viability of the Dutch government’s policy goal to reduce primary materials consumption by 50% before 2030. From this analysis, we find that...

CAADRIA proceedings

Construction and Demolition waste has started to become a target in the path for a more sustainable industry mainly due to massive resource consumption, land depletion and emissions. As a substantial amount of waste originates due to inadequate decisionmaking during design, strategies to design-out waste are required. Accurate environmental impact of, not only the whole building, but construction materials and elements are crucial to the development of these strategies, but dependent on data availability, expert knowledge and proper sharing and storage of information. Hence, this study aims to investigate the relation between data, stakeholders and environmental assessment to properly build a design-out waste framework. An in-depth data collection from literature review and stakeholders' interviews guided the development of a conceptual framework to assist designers with information related to waste production and its reduction. After that, the necessary technical specifications for its adoption through a BIM environment were analysed. Its contribution is firstly on a shift of thinking during the design phase, as the goal is to provide environmental information so designers can take into consideration the long-term consequences of waste from different strategies and solutions; and secondly in the development of a computational tool that facilitates the design-out process.

IIMB Management Review, 2017

The objective of urban mining is the safeguarding of the environment and the promotion of resource conservation through reuse, recycling, and recovery of secondary resources from waste. Urban mining maximises the resource and economic value of the waste streams generated in urban spaces and will be a significant concept in the planning and designing of sustainable cities, making the process consistent with the sustainable development goals. This review article brings out comprehensive information on urban mining as a concept and its relevance to the Indian and international context as a source of secondary raw material.

2018

The energy transition plays an important role in the building industry. Energy efficient buildings with smart and renewable energy technologies are developments to realize a more sustainable built environment. Photovoltaics, energy efficient lightning and smart grids are examples of these active building components which are broadly implemented to optimize energy efficiency. However, crucial resources for these technologies are critical materials. The European Union outlines critical materials (CRMs) as materials which are highly important for our current economy while the risk of disruption of supply is high. This is not only depending on the limited availability in the earth’s crust, but also on the concentration of their mining areas which causes political interventions. To become less dependent on the import of these materials, more attention must be paid on the current stocks of the EU and an optimized use of critical materials. Hence, a circular use of these materials is requi...

2020

If we strive for a de-carbonized future, we need to think of buildings within a city as resources that can be re-used rather than being disposed of. Together with considerations on refurbishment options and future building materials, this gives a decision field for stakeholders which depends on the current ``building stock'' the set of pre-existing buildings which are characterized e.g. by building period, location and material composition. Changes in that context are hard to argue for since (1.) some depend on statistics, other (2.) on the concrete neighborhood and thus the space in which buildings are embedded, yet again others on (3.) future extrapolations again dealing with both of the aforementioned environments. To date, there exists no tool that can handle this back-and-forth between different abstraction levels and horizons in time; nor is it possible to pursue such an endeavor without a proper framework. Which is why the authors of this paper are aiming to provide o...

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science

The built environment is the cause of most of the material flows in the anthroposphere and the biggest material storage: Over 90 % of the anthropogenic stock stored in durable goods can be found in the built environment, with non-metallic minerals being the main contributor. In Germany, most of the materials that leave the stock due to demolition or renovation are recovered. In Saxony, a German state, the recovery rate is nearly 99 % but only 55% of mineral construction and demolition waste is recycled. There is still substantial potential for closing recycling loops. This requires the combined effort of all those actors that influence these material flows – from the investor and constructor of the single building to those responsible for waste management at municipal level and the waste disposal and construction materials industry. However, the information currently available is insufficient to support an effective urban mining. This will be encountered by an ongoing research proje...

Proceeding of the 38th eCAADe conference; Anthropologic - Architecture and Fabrication in the cognitive age, (Berlin, Germany, 2020 | virtual conference), 2020

If we strive for a decarbonized future, we need to think of buildings within a city as resources that can be re-used rather than being disposed of. Together with considerations on refurbishment options and future building materials, this gives a decision field for stakeholders which depends on the current``building stock''-the set of pre-existing buildings which are characterized e.g. by building period, location and material composition. Changes in that context are hard to argue for since (1.) some depend on statistics, other (2.) on the concrete neighborhood and thus the space in which buildings are embedded, yet again others on (3.) future extrapolations again dealing with both of the aforementioned environments. To date, there exists no tool that can handle this back-and-forth between different abstraction levels and horizons in time; nor is it possible to pursue such an endeavor without a proper framework. Which is why the authors of this paper are aiming to provide one, giving a model of change in the context of re-using material resource of the city, when faced with numerous abstraction levels (spatial or abstract; past, current or future) which have feedback loops between them. The paper focuses on a concrete case study in the city of Vienna, however, chances are high that this will apply to every other building stock throughout the world if enough data is available. As a matter of fact, this approach will ensure that argumentation can happen on multiple levels (spatial, statistical, past, now and future) but keeps its focus on making the building stock of a city a resource for sustainable development. Keywords: material reuse, sustainability, waste reduction, Design and computation of urban and local systems-XS to XL, Health and materials in architecture and cities D1.T2.S1. HEALTH AND MATERIALS IN ARCHITECTURE AND CITIES-Volume 1-eCAADe 38 | 127

2018

The recent investigations about sustainabletransformations of urban areas in the industrialor post-industrial districts of European and Mediterranean countries showed the need to face new possible urban assets within the framework of migration, climate change, global economy changing and adaptation to the new situation with holistically sustainable approaches. Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Management is here clearly a strategic tool, supporting all the operational activities and even contributing to manage the revitalization of the building heritage during the entire life cycle. For this reason, industrial heritage can be seen as a special experimentation field of a new balance across the urban tissue, capable to pass from decay to resource or getting lost for ever.

IAEG/AEG Annual Meeting Proceedings, San Francisco, California, 2018 - Volume 3, 2018

In addition to the increasing population and structuring in the growth/development process of a country or megacity, the obligation to maintain industrial and infrastructure investments makes aggregate (crushed stone, etc.) one of the most consumed building materials per capita. Crushed stone, cement and ready-mixed concrete are the basic building blocks of the construction sector and have a great contribution to the development of the industry as well as the increase in national income and employment. However, work safety, environmental problems and increased social opposition to aggregate (crushed stone) open pit mines is intensive and unplanned/irregular urbanization areas are hampering the future sustainable production of medium and large sized enterprises in technical, environmental and economic aspects. The city of İstanbul which has a high aggregate production (90 million tone/year) provides a good example of those issues. In order to maintain efficient and sustainable aggregate resources in İstanbul and its surrounding region, plan and program should be reviewed and new strategies evaluated to facilitate the sustainable management of resources. In this regard, the importance of existing resources and their possibilities, determining operable new resources and their management have been considered.

Sustainability

Construction and demolition waste (C&DW) contribute to approximately 30% of the total waste generation worldwide, by which heterogeneous ecological impacts, such as resource depletion, global warming, and land degradation, are engendered. Despite ongoing research efforts to minimize construction waste via the Building Information Modeling (BIM)-aided design, there is a paucity of research on integrating BIM in demolition waste management (DWM). This study investigates prominent barriers and future research directions toward the wider adoption of BIM in C&DWM by conducting a systematic literature review. First, this study identifies the barriers that hinder the implementation of C&DWM in Australia; then, it explores the benefits and challenges of leveraging BIM applications for C&DWM. The findings suggest that, for existing buildings without up-to-date design drawings, it is imperative to improve the accuracy of data capturing and object recognition techniques to overcome the bottlen...