The contemporary European silver cycle |
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| Institution: | 1. Center for Industrial Ecology, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 205 Prospect St., Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA;2. Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland;1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Xinjiekouwai Street No. 19, Beijing 100875, PR China;2. Colloge of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Xinjiekouwai Street No. 19, Beijing 100875, PR China;1. Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER), Weberplatz 1, 01217 Dresden, Germany;2. Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Section III 2.2: Resource Conservation, Material Cycles, Minerals and Metal Industry, 06813 Dessau-Roßlau, Germany;1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China;2. Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China;3. School of Business, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China;4. Circular Economy Research Institute, Tongji University, Shanghai 200433, China;5. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria;1. School of Economics and Management, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Changping, Beijing, 102249, China;2. Academy of Chinese Energy Strategy, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Changping, Beijing, 102249, China;3. Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Japan |
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| Abstract: | This paper examines the 1-year anthropogenic stocks and flows of silver as it progresses from extraction to final disposal on the European continent. The primary flows of silver include production, fabrication and manufacturing, use, and waste management. A substance flow analysis (SFA) was used to trace the flows and inventory data, and mass balance equations were used to determine the quantity of flows. The results reveal that Europe has a low level of silver mine production (1580 Mg Ag/year) and instead relies on silver imports and the recycling of scrap in production and fabrication. In the year 1997, Europe imported 1160 Mg Ag of ore concentrate and 2010 Mg Ag of refined silver, and recycled 2750 Mg Ag of new and old scrap. There is a net addition of 3320 Mg Ag/year into silver reservoirs at the use stage. This is the result of a greater amount of silver entering the system from manufacturing than is leaving the system into waste management. The waste flow with the highest content of silver is municipal solid waste, which contains 1180 Mg Ag/year. In total, 62% of all discarded silver is recycled and 38% is sent to landfills. The results of this study and other element and material flow analyses can help guide resource managers, environmental policy makers, and environmental scientists in their efforts to increase material recovery and recycling, address resource sustainability, and ameliorate environmental problems. |
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