2000-11-14 Pressing & Sintering

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Powder Metallurgy

PM2000, in Kyoto, Japan. Author: Jan Tengzelius. Two major environmental advantages with powder metallurgy are high utilisation of material and low energy consumption. A disadvantage as compared to most low-alloyed wrought steels is the use of other alloying elements such as copper and nickel. It is also common to use higher alloying contents. The systematic approach of LCA has been used to compare the PM process with other manufacturing methods. The paper also presents how LCA can be used to evaluate different powder metallurgical processing steps and alloys for the manufacture of components as a means to quantify the environmental influence.