Materials Economy - Explained

• Engineering
• Engineering Materials
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Materials Economy - Explained

By Kyle Smith

From your current knowledge, describe 'materials economy'.

Material Class and Property

Class = Economics and Environment

Properties = Price & Availability, Sustainability and Recyclability

Please provide definitions of the following words: Price - Availability - Sustainability - Recyclability

www.lme.com

What causes 'fluctuations' in the materials market?

1. Rate of Supply
2. Demand
3. Government Policy
4. Transportation

Inflation

A term used to describe rising prices

Energy - In Cost Terms

The 'cost of' electricity, fuel oil, gasoline, heating oil, natural gas, or other source of energy connected to the operation

www.ons.gov.uk

11bn of this is for engineering materials (20% of most imports)

Comment on the terms: Material Resource & Materials Reserve

Materials Reserve

'Your money in the bank'

Materials Resource

'Total money you can earn over 

a lifetime'

What does the future hold for engineering materials ??

Let's explore further.....

How are we going to cope with shortages of engineering materials in the future?

• Material Efficient Design
• Substitution
• Recycling

Outline a current waste problem and propose two new solutions to resolve this problem - consider the circular economy approach.

Using what you have learned in todays lesson, outline the key aspects of the 'material economy'