Ecosystem goods and services (EGSs) are of crucial importance for the economic and socialdevelopment of human communities. The well-established life cycle assessment (LCA) methodis facing a number of challenging improvements to define new Characterization factors(CFs) for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) of EGSs. Very recently, extensive workconducted under the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle initiative has been completed with the goal ofproviding new LCIA methods and spatially differentiated mid-point CFs for land use andland use change impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, the implementedmodels do not enable one to assess the actual damage to ecosystem functionality, and thusthe relationship among EGSs and related areas of protection (e.g. AoP of “NaturalResources”) remains undefined. This paper aims at investigating the potentialcharacterization ability of the Emergy method for LCIA of EGSs. The goal is to use theextensive libraries of Unit Emergy Values (UEVs) of primary services and resources as CFsfor LCIA to evaluate the physical contribution of EGSs in supporting life cycle processes.Having its roots in thermodynamics and systems ecology, Emergy can appraise a larger andmore diversified (than LCA) number of EGSs through a common physical denominator, i.e. thesolar emjoule or seJ, which measures the solar energy embodied in natural products. Emergythus has a typical Nature-oriented perspective, accounting for the available energy thatis used up by the natural cycles, directly and indirectly, to generate biotic and abioticresources. A library of selected UEVs (more than 100) for biophysical EGS valuation hasbeen framed including values collected from the Emergy literature and formulated on thelatest planetary baseline (i.e. 15.2E + 24 seJ/yr). Advantages and limitations for futureapplication of these values toward an LCIA mid-point impact characterization of Emergy arediscussed. UEVs may represent mid-point LCIA factors for ecological contribution analysis,enabling one to account for the memory of energy previously required to produce EGSs,which can be used as a proxy to assess the future environmental work necessary toregenerate the used EGSs. However, the added value of Emergy for LCA is still debated,mainly because of the low accuracy and unclear meaning of the UEVs in relation to theavailability of resources. Therefore, Emergy can be conceived as a suitable physicalmeasure complementary to the economic valuations and current “user-side” tools applied inLCA.

To optimize the process and improve the degree of reduction, a two-stage experiment wasdesigned. It was carried out in a micro-fluidized bed. It is operated as a differentialreactor to ensure every particle in the micro-fluidized bed is at equal temperature,concentration and residence time. The experiment used iron ore powder from Yangdi. Thereducing gas and temperature in the pre-reduction stage were, respectively, pure CO and625 °C. In the final reduction stage, the temperature and reducing gas were, respectively,800 °C and pure CO. The residence time was between 10 min and 60 min. In addition to theexperiment, a microscopic technique was also carried out. The test shows a significantinfluence of the temperature and residence time of the two-step experiment on the finalreduction degree.

Static immersion experiments were conducted to assess the reactivity of austeniticstainless steel grade 316L in contact with molten 55%Al-Zn alloys. The static immersiontests were carried out at bath temperatures of 600 to 650 °C and continuous immersiontimes of 24 to 645 h. The level of reactivity was assessed by measuring the alloy layerthickness that formed on the test coupons after the immersion experiments. The reaction of316L in contact with molten 55%Al-Zn bath results in the formation of two distinct alloylayers on the surface of the steel: one alloy layer forms adjacent to the steel surface(designated “alloy layer 1”) and the other formed between alloy layer 1 and the bath(designated “alloy layer 2”). Characterization of the nature of the alloy layers wascarried out by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Analyses of the chemicalcomposition of alloy layer 1 by SEM/EDS (and taking into account the Al/(Fe + Cr + Ni)ratio) suggest that the alloy layer is most likely based on FeAl2 intermetallicphase. Alloy layer 2, on the other hand, consists of modified ø5c (the normaldross intermetallic phase modified by the substitution of Fe by Cr). After 27 days ofcontinuous immersion at 600 °C, the 316L sample immersed in 55%Al-Zn bath had a totalalloy layer thickness of 423 ¯m. The alloy layer growth is diffusion controlled andfollows a parabolic rate law: at bath temperatures of 600 to 650 °C and continuousimmersion times of up to 27 days, the alloy layer thickness increases approximately withthe square root of immersion time. The parabolic rate constants for the total alloy layerthickness growth were: 2.84 × 10-7 m.s−1/2 at 600 °C,3.34 × 10-7 m.s−1/2 at 615 °C and 6.76 × 10-7m.s−1/2 at 650 °C. Growth of the alloy layers takes place predominantly atthe interface between alloy layer 1 and alloy layer 2, and in part at the substrate/alloylayer 1 interface. The growth of alloy layer 2 is dominated by the inward diffusion ofaluminium, while both inward diffusion of aluminium and outward diffusion of iron arebelieved to play a role in the formation of alloy layer 1.

In this paper, the effect of an annealing treatment on the microstructure, mechanicalproperties and electrical conductivity of a deformed Cu-12.8 wt%Fe composite prepared bythe “casting/cold working” process is investigated. The Fe filaments exhibit the shapecharacteristic in the as-drawn composite as the annealing temperature is lower than 500°C. When the annealing temperature is above 500 °C, the Fe filaments undergo theinstability process in terms of boundary splitting, coarsening and breakup gradually. Thetensile strength gradually decreases with increasing annealing temperature due to thecoarsening of filament spacing. The work hardening for the composite annealed above 600 °Cis slower than that annealed at a lower temperature. The electrical conductivity reaches amaximum of 60%IACS at a temperature of 450 °C for one hour of annealing, and it furtherincreases with increasing annealing time at 450 °C to reach a plateau of 68% IACS. Thecurve between the tensile strength and electrical conductivity under different annealingprocesses indicates that the optimum annealing temperature for the Cu-Fe composite is 450°C.

Cette étude expérimentale présente de nouveaux matériaux composites développés récemmentpour le brasage de pièces en cuivre. Il s’agit de compositions à base d’agarose quipeuvent être mises en forme par moulage par injection de poudres. Cette facilité de miseen œuvre ouvre comme possibilité d’application la fabrication de préformes de brasage deformes complexes. Deux exemples d’utilisations sont présentés, l’un porte sur le brasagetendre et l’autre concerne le brasage fort. Les brasures finales obtenues permettentd’obtenir une résistance mécanique et une qualité métallurgique similaires à cellesobtenues à partir des matériaux conventionnels (bases SnPb ou CuP) utilisés pour lebrasage manuel de tubes en cuivre.

Les plus grands gisements technogènes des métaux de platine du monde sont situés dans la région industrielle de Norils. Ils se sont formés pendant plusieurs décennies lors du traitement des minerais de sulfure de cuivre-nickel de l’usine Norilsk nickel (Mining and Metallurgical Company Norilsk nickel, MMC NN). Dans cette usine, se sont accumulés au fil du temps plus de 300 millions de tonnes de résidus technogènes secs, qui constituent une source prometteuse de métaux précieux. Il est à noter que tous les principaux producteurs mondiaux de MPG (les métaux du groupe du platine) possèdent des dépôts de résidus technogènes de diverses importances, mais les plus grands gisements technogènes de platine sont liés uniquement aux secteurs d’exploitation minière et métallurgique russe. La nécessité du développement du complexe de production des métaux de platine russe et du renforcement de sa position sur le marché mondial de MPG est conditionnée à la rationalité de l’élaboration d’une technologie de traitement de matières premières technogènes efficace et sûre pour l’environnement.