Exergy-Based Resource Intensity Analysis of Primary Nickel Production in China

The resource intensity of primary nickel production in China was analyzed by the indicator of exergy, which can provide a unified picture about the overall processes involved in the life cycle of nickel. The results show that primary nickel’s CExD value is 235GJex/t, and the largest contributor to the CExD is electricity (46%), followed by fuels (31%), mineral (16%), and land resource (7%); the considerable proportion natural mineral and land resource account for in the result is due to the high exergy value of sulphide minerals and the low grade of natural nickel ore. The results also show that the calculation of this study is sensitive to the choice of allocation basis (mass and market value); however, market value is not recommended in this study since that nickel’s price varies greatly over time.