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Sustainable Development in Materials Science - seminars
Duration of the course
- 30 hours (2 hours a week)
Prerequisite for getting a pass
- attendance durng classes, online test, presentation
Program of the course
- Introduction: What is Sustainable Development?
- Idea of Sustainable Development (PPP = profit, people, planet); data and parameters important during materials selection; CES EduPack Sustainable Design database - Material Dependence
- Short history of materials, reliance on nonrenewable sources, problem of growing population, materials and environment. - Resource consumption and its drivers
- Materials, energy, water; exponential growth and doubling times; reserves, resource base and resource life. - The materials life-cycle
- Qualitative and quantitative life-cycle assessment; streamlined LCA; strategies of eco-selection of materials. - End of first life: Problem or resource?
- What determines the products life-time; used product – options; problem of packaging; recycling. - Long reach of legistlation
- Growing awareness and legislative response; international treaties, protocols, conventions; economic instruments: taxes and trading schemes; consequences. - Eco-properties of materials and processes
- Values and data precision; eco-attributes of materials; energy and carbon footprint of energy, transport and use; data analysis. - Eco-audits and eco-audit tools
- What is eco-audit and how to perform it; five basic steps of eco-audit; eco-audit in practice (case studies); computer-aided eco-auditing. - Selection Strategies
- Principles of materials selection; selection criteria and property charts; resolving conflicting objectives – tradeoff methods; computer-aided selection. - Sustainable energy and sustainable materials
- Concept of sustainability in different time-scales; the ecological metaphor; sustainable energy; sustainable and quasi-sustainable materials. - Bigger picture: future options
- Material value; carbon, energy and GDP; threats and opportunities.
Presentation topics
- The 17 Sustainable Development Goals - plans and challenges.
- Problem of Population Growth and How to prevent it.
- Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic on Three Capitals (PPP).
- How Alternative Materials Could Shrink Concrete’s Giant Carbon Footprint.
- Water as Critical Material. Do We Face a Water Crisis?
- Removing CO2 from the Atmosphere - Technological Solutions.
- Zero-Waste Economy - Life Without Waste.
- Sustainable Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion.
- Novel Solutions in Solar Energy Harvesting.
- Novel Solutions in Wind Energy Harvesting.
- Hydrogen as Energy Source.
- Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement and Other Treaties Saving the Environment.
- Energy Sources in the EU and Member States.
- How and when European Union Plans to Achieve Climate Neutrality.
- Sustainability in China - How the Biggest CO2 Producer Plans to Achieve Climate Neutrality.