Based on this article and conversation with Thijs, I wondered how things actually stacked up with regard to raw materials usage per TWh of energy delivered. https://twitter.com/WattisDuurzaam/status/1261940997610749953">https://twitter.com/WattisDuu...
Most people know this image:
It shows how many 1,000 tons per TWh of energy is used. Though this is a bit deceiving.
A. Tons of material does not equate ton tons of raw materials.
B. It doesn& #39;t show the impact of fuel use

The original table is presented (from the DOE QTR 2015)
To get to raw materials (mining) I added some conversion rates.

E.g.: it takes 8 tons of bauxite to produce 1 ton of aluminum. Copper is a heavy hit with a conversion rate of 51!

The new graph looks like this:
Note: I did neglect tailings and water use, but I did use ore conversion rates, etc. I did add coal and biomass use, when used as reducing agents for silicon, steel, etc. I did not include (electric) energy usage. Let& #39;s assume they get their energy from renewable recourses, ok?
But then, Fuel!
I used EU data for best estimates. It can be further refined. I, for example, best guestimated the average coal-fleet efficiency at 38% (all through sources). The table is clear anyway:
Fuel added for coal, gas (converted from m³ to tons), biomass, and nuclear
Note: as I used EU data for my coal calculations, coal performs like a wet newspaper, cause that& #39;s actually what it is. Of the 509 million tons of coal the EU-28 burns each year, 359 million tons is low performing lignite, which has an "out of the ground" water content of 50-60%.
Now we get to the point that @WattisDuurzaam was trying to make with respect to a "recent documentary". This graph directly visualizes (conservatively, remember those neglected tailings?) how many tons of raw materials have to come from the ground to produce a TWh of energy.
The next iteration would be to assess the (average) ore quality within the mines. This would inflate the number further with a total tonnage of materials moved and processed. However, that& #39;s not for today. Just keep it in the back of your head that this is NOT a final answer!
You can follow @EnzoDiependaal.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: