Tracing the fate of lithium––The development of a material flow model

Saskia Ziemann, Marcel Weil and Liselotte Schebek

Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 2012, vol. 63, issue C, 26-34

Abstract: Developments in electric mobility are strongly focussed on lithium-ion batteries entailing a rising interest in lithium by science, industry, and politics. As several studies forecast a strong increase of demand, controversial statements are circulating about the element's future availability. This indicates that a more comprehensive understanding of the global lithium cycle is necessary. Therefore, a study was carried out to describe the global lithium flows by means of a material flow analysis. A static material flow model of lithium comprehending key processes and flows was developed based on data about production, manufacture, and use for the year 2007. The work provides the first global lithium model and shows how supply and demand of lithium as well as flows into the environment are connected on a global scale.

Keywords: Lithium; Material flow analysis; Supply and demand; Recycling; Dissipative use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:recore:v:63:y:2012:i:c:p:26-34

DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2012.04.002

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