Life cycle assessment of electrolytic manganese metal production

Electrolytic manganese metal is widely used in various industrial fields, especially in the steel industry because of its characteristics. However, Electrolytic manganese metal production is one of the industries with high resource and energy consumption and substantial waste discharge. The study quantified the environmental performance of electrolytic manganese metal production by conducting a life cycle assessment using the ReCiPe2016 method. Uncertainty analysis via Monte-Carlo simulation was also implemented. Environmental burden was mainly ascribed to manganese resource-related production processes and electricity generation. Although production in China has progressed compared with the previous years, a gap remains compared with South Africa's use of selenium-free technology. Analysis of coal-based electricity generation replaced by other renewable energy sources showed considerable environmental benefits. This study aims to provide information for the improvement of electrolytic manganese metal production. The reduction of the environmental burdens of electrolytic manganese metal production can be achieved by utilizing an advanced production technology to control the amount of raw materials and improve resource efficiency, recycling resources in waste, and converting coal-based electricity into other renewable alternatives (e.g., hydropower, wind, and solar energy). (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.