IMOA’s Secretary General, Tim Outteridge, gave a presentation to the China International Tungsten Molybdenum & Vanadium Forum 2012 in Changsha, China entitled “Molybdenum’s Contribution to Sustainable Development”.
Attended by some 200 delegates including producers and converters, the conference was a further opportunity to raise awareness of molybdenum’s contribution to sustainable development.
Mr. Outteridge described the key properties of molybdenum before outlining the challenges to sustainable development arising from global energy demand, industrialisation and urbanisation. Taking each of these in turn, he demonstrated how the unique attributes of molybdenum were being put to use in the development of sustainable practices and technologies.
Molybdenum is an important enabler of many sustainable technologies through its use as an alloy and occasionally as a primary component. Chemically, it is serves many uses as a catalyst.
“Molybdenum already makes a substantial contribution to sustainable development in many technologies and applications which I outlined in the presentation,” said Mr Outteridge. “It plays a key role in many renewable energy applications such as hydroelectric, wind and solar and helps to protect the environment through its use in catalysts for the production of ultra-low sulfur diesel, and in alloys for flue gas desulfurization installations at power stations.
“Vehicle engines and power stations run more efficiently at the higher temperatures enabled by moly-containing alloys, and in high strength steels molybdenum contributes towards ‘lightweighting’ of cars and trucks and to reducing raw material and energy use in construction projects.”
