Processing philosophies for advanced materials development: An overview of the pathways to Africa’s industrial growth

Abstract As the demand for general well-being of human continue to rise, the need for new technologies or the modification of existing ones has also continued to increase. Consequently, there is constant need to find alternative materials that are critically suitable for developing efficient and sustainable technologies. Although significant progress has been made over the years in terms of developing materials that are compatible with the various advancements in the technological space, the other factors that researchers often contend with is the cost of these new materials and their environmental compatibility. As a result, materials’ experts would have to incorporate these factors in the design of the alternative materials. The landscape of development across the world has also made it extremely crucial to develop alternative materials that meets local demands yet satisfy global standards. To this end, a good number of well-known technologies have been deployed to develop materials that have acceptable properties and are cost effective. This paper provides an overview of the different processing philosophies that were used in developing materials that meet targeted demands and potentially satisfy the acceptable standards of efficiency, durability and affordability. Relevant examples in the processing of ceramic materials, extraction of valuable minerals, alloy design and composites development are presented.