Abstract
Metal, as the indispensable material, is functioning the society from technology to the environment. Niobium (Nb) is considered a unique earth metal as it is related to many emerging technologies. The increasing economic growth exerts an increasing pressure on supply, which leads to its significance in the economic sector. However, few papers have addressed Nb sustainability, which forms the scope of this paper in order to start the process of Nb market forecasting based on some previous data and some assumptions. Therefore, this paper will discuss different thoughts in material substitution and the substance flow of Nb throughout a static flow using Nb global data to have a better understanding of the process of Nb from production to end of life. This shall lead to the identification of the market needs to determine its growth which is around 2.5% to 3.0%. Moreover, due to China’s huge Nb consumption which comes from the continuous development that is happening over the years, it will also briefly mention the Nb situation as well as its growth which according to statistics will grow steadily till 2030 by a rate of 4.0% to 6.0%. The results show that there should be some enhancement to Nb recycling potentials out of steel scrap. In addition, there should be more involvement of Nb in different industries as this would lead to less-used materials which can be translated to less environmental impact.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Deardo A. Niobium in modern steels. International Materials Reviews, 2003, 48(6): 371–402
Solomon J. Significant opportunities to recycle niobium. 2020-6-26, available at website of globe metal
Ziolek M. Niobium-containing catalysts —the state of the art. Catalysis Today, 2003, 78(1–4): 47–64
Metalary. Niobium price 2020. 2021-10-21, available at website of metalary
Cripps Z. Niobium: Outlook to 2030 16th edition. 2020-12-14, available at website of Roskill interactive
Danilina V, Grigoriev A. Information provision in environmental policy design. Journal of Environmental Informatics, 2020, 36(1): 1–10
Golroudbary R S, Mujkic Z, ElWali M, et al. Study on modeling material flow of niobium. Lappeenranta Finland: Lappeenranta University of Technology, 2017
Yiougo L, Spuhler D. Material flow analysis (MFA). 2011, available at website of sswm.info
Alves A R. Coutinho A R The evolution of the niobium production in Brazil. Materials Research, 2015, 18(1): 106–112
Silva A, Schons E, Barros M, et al. Manufacture and characterization of ferroniobium alloy briquettes. In: International Mining Congress and Exhibition of Turkey, Antalya, Turkey, 2018
Statista. Niobium mine production in Brazil. 2021-4-5, available at website of statista
Metalary. Live niobium price-niobium pentoxide and ferro niobium news. 2022-2-10, available at website of metalary
Cradle Resources Ltd. What is niobium. 2021-9-8, available at website of cradle resources
Globe Metals and Mining. Niobium markets. 2021-7-11, available at website of globemm
Yan K, Xu J, Gao W, et al. Human perturbation on phosphorus cycles in one of China’s most eutrophicated lakes. Resource, Environment and Sustainability, 2021, 4: 100026
Vasconcelos Y. The niobium controversy. 2019-12, available at website of revistapesquisa.fapesp.br
Zhang L, Ran W, Jiang S, et al. Understanding consumers’ behavior intention of recycling mobile phone through formal channels in China: the effect of privacy concern. Resources, Environment and Sustainability, 2021, 5: 100027
Rahimpour Golroudbary S, Krekhovetckii N, El Wali M, et al. Environmental sustainability of niobium recycling: the case of the automotive industry. Recycling, 2019, 4(1): 5–13
Dufresne C. Niobay metals pre presentation. 2020-8, available at website of niobay metals
Mordor Intelligence. Niobium market-growth, trends, COVID-19 impact, and forecasts (2022–2027). 2021-2-13, available at website of mordor intelligence
Grill R. Niobium for coins. 1999, available at website of tanb.org
Livingstone S. A review of: “The Early Transition Metals D. L. Kepert. Academic Press, London and New York. 499pp. $25. Synthesis and Reactivity in Inorganic and Metal-Organic Chemistry, 1973, 3(4): 423–424
Ward K, Varda D, Epstein D, et al. Institutional factors and processes in interagency collaboration: the case of FEMA corps. American Review of Public Administration, 2018, 48(8): 852–871
Marchese D, Reynolds E, Bates M, et al. Resilience and sustainability: similarities and differences in environmental management applications. Science of the Total Environment, 2018, 613–614: 1275–1283
Renneberg T. Towards a circular economy of critical raw materials: the case of niobium. Dissertation for the Master’s Degree. Enschede: University of Twente, 2021
Liang Y, Song Q, Wu N, et al. Repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic on solid waste generation and management strategies. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 2021, 15(6): 115
Baktash A, Amiri O, Saadat M. High efficient perovskite solar cells base on niobium doped TiO2 as a buffer layer. Nanostructures, 2020, 10(1): 119–127
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 92062111) and the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFC1903711).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic Supplementary material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bakry, M., Li, J. & Zeng, X. Evaluation of global niobium flow modeling and its market forecasting. Front. Energy 17, 286–293 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-022-0823-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-022-0823-y