In this study, the benefits and disadvantages of magnesium compared to aluminium in terms of ecological burdens due to greenhouse gas emissions were analyzed. The whole life cycle from cradle to grave is taken into account. One main influencing factor is the origin of primary magnesium. Nowadays, about 80 % of the magnesium worldwide comes from China. There have been various studies in the past showing the high environmental burdens resulting from the energy intensive production process in China. It is explained how this process has been improved during the past years and what the effects on the environmental performance are. Moreover, it is shown how this development compares to the environmental burdens of magnesium produced by electrolysis. The use of magnesium which was analyzed exemplarily in this paper is a lightweight application in a passenger car. Magnesium offers considerable weight savings for vehicle components compared to steel or aluminium. Main aspect is the amount of fuel that could be saved due to the lower weight of magnesium parts. This saved fuel leads to lower greenhouse gas emissions during vehicle use. These reductions should not be compensated by higher emissions in production or end-of-life stage. For the end-of-life phase, the present situation was analyzed as well as potential recycling paths. Main competitor lightweight material is aluminium. The ecological performance of both lightweight materials compared to steel is shown.
Greenhouse gas balance of magnesium parts for automotive applications
Treibhausgasbilanz von Magnesiumbauteilen für Fahrzeuganwendungen
2012
8 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 25 Quellen
Conference paper
Storage medium
English
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