Materials and the Environment: Eco-informed Material Choice 3rd Edition

Written by Mike Ashby, one of the world’s foremost materials authorities, Materials and the Environment: Eco-Informed Material Choice, Third Edition continues to be the first and only textbook devoted solely to the environmental aspects of materials and their selection, production, use and disposal, It explores human dependence on materials and its environmental consequences and provides perspective, background, methods, and data for thinking about and designing with materials to minimize their environmental impact.

Organized into 15 chapters, Materials and the Environment looks at the history of our increasing dependence on materials and energy. It explains where materials come from and how they are used in a variety of industries, along with their life cycle and their relationship to energy and carbon. It also examines controls and economic instruments that hinder the use of engineering materials, considers sustainability from a materials perspective, and highlights the importance of low-carbon power and material efficiency. Furthermore, it discusses the mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of engineering metals, polymers, ceramics, composites, and natural materials in relation to environmental issues. The third edition features improved clarity and logic-flow, revised figures, examples and problems, and updated coverage of many of the book’s topics, including bio-based and bio-derived materials, natural and man-made fibers, and material criticality.

This book is intended for instructors and students of Engineering, Materials Science and Industrial/Product Design, as well as for materials engineers and product designers who need to consider the environmental implications of materials in their designs.