Critical Materials and Environmental Impact

Abstract

Upon development of  technological innovation, many metals and rare elements are already recognized or become critical material in the near future due to their limited availability and growing  demand for various products worldwide. Besides economic and political issues, the critical materials are  also associated with multiple environmental problems. The extraction of many raw elements which needs  extensive resources  and energy may cause significant environmental impacts. Furthermore, increasing of  e-waste contaminated with  toxic elements places our environment in danger. To reduce amount of critical raw material loss in the product’s life cycle, recycling concept is integrated into product design and revolving  economy. Moreover, it reduces environmental pollution resulting  from  primary raw material extraction and  huge  waste management.