Economic benefits may be the main driver of secondary metal production

Abstract

Abstract The current scientific community regards secondary metal production not only as a solution that may alleviate future resource shortages but also as an effective way to achieve energy savings and reduce environmental pollution. However, such studies usually assumes a linear value chain and ideal production conditions with high grades of scraps. More evidence needs to be provided to demonstrate the advantages of secondary production over primary production. In this work, we conducted an empirical analysis through production data of 6 categories of metals from 44 countries and 5 rest-of-the-world regions from 1995 to 2015, so as to partially illustrate the actual difference between primary production and secondary production in the world. Results show that secondary production has an advantage only in terms of economic profitability, and lags behind primary production in terms of energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions, and resource efficiency. We explored the reason for contradiction with the mainstream viewpoint, and discussed influencing factors and implications of our results. This study reveals the importance of both contextualization and globalization when establishing circular economy strategies and more sustainable metals management.