Sustainability and materials

MSE-341 / 3 credits

Teacher: Abitbol Tiffany

Language: English

Summary

The aim of the course is to provide an overview of sustainability issues as they relate to materials science.

Content

Overview of sustainability concepts

  • Relevant terminology, such as materials life cycle, linear vs. circular economy, UN sustainable development goals, green chemistry, end-of-life scenarios
  • Metrics and tools to assess sustainability, such as material intensity, carbon footprint/handprint, life cycle assessment

Case studies

  • Identifying environmental impacts across material lifecycles, from raw material extraction, processing, manufacture, transport, use, to end of life
  • Learning via case studies, such as packaging, plastics, batteries, textiles, engineered foods, metals, ceramics, rare earth materials, scarce materials, conflict materials

Challenges and opportunities

  • Biorefinery
  • Recycling and biodegradability
  • Materials from renewable resources
  • Local value chains/sustainable business models (e.g., materials as a service)
  • Socio-political contexts of materials

Guest lectures

  • Guest lecture from industry (TBD), on sustainability drivers and strategies
  • Guest lecture from  different academic discipline (TBD)

 

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

No specific prerequisites required

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

  • Define the concepts and terminology that underpin material circularity and sustainability
  • Describe the main challenges around sustainable materials development
  • Examine case studies considering different materials classes
  • Assess / Evaluate potential solutions to improve the sustainability profiles of different materials
  • Describe the main environmental impacts of different materials classes and key products
  • Formulate strategies to improve material circularity
  • Design sustainability into materials, process development, and products

Supervision

Office hours Yes
Assistants Yes
Forum No

Resources

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

No

Moodle Link

In the programs

  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Sustainability and materials
  • Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: mandatory
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Sustainability and materials
  • Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Sustainability and materials
  • Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Sustainability and materials
  • Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Sustainability and materials
  • Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional

Reference week

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