- Wood (from standing timber): 3-7MJ (830 to 1,950 watt-hours).
- Steel (from recycled steel): 6-15MJ (1,665 to 4,170 watt-hours).
- Aluminum (from 100 % recycled aluminum): 11.35-17MJ (3,150 to 4,750 watt-hours)
- Iron (from iron ore): 20-25MJ (5,550 to 6,950 watt-hours)
- Glass (from sand, etcetera): 18-35MJ (5,000 to 9,700 watt-hours)
- Steel (from iron): 20-50MJ (5,550 to 13,900 watt-hours)
- Paper (from standing timber): 25-50MJ (6,950 to 13,900 watt-hours)
- Plastics (from crude oil): 62-108MJ (17,200 to 31,950 watt-hours)
- Copper (from sulfide ore): 60-125MJ (16,600 to 34,700 watt-hours)
- Aluminum (from a typical mix of 80% virgin and 20% recycled aluminum): 219 MJ (60,800 watt-hours)
- Silicon (from silica): 230-235MJ (63,900 to 65,300 watt-hours)
- Nickel (from ore concentrate): 230-270MJ (63,900 to 75,000 watt-hours)
- Aluminum (from bauxite): 227-342MJ (63,000 to 95,000 watt-hours)
- Titanium (from ore concentrate): 900-940MJ (250,000 to 261,000 watt-hours)
- Electronic grade silicon (CVD process): 7,590-7,755MJ (2,108,700 to 2,154,900 watt-hours).
Note: 1 megajoule (MJ) = 277.77 watt-hour (Wh)
Source: Environmentally benign manufacturing.
Back to article "The monster footprint of digital technology"
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Men you need to be a good mathematician to get that answer right
Posted by: john | December 26, 2014 at 07:54 PM
Hey, an air table or embedded google sheet would provide a better view.
Posted by: Random Person | August 17, 2019 at 10:54 AM
Hello everyone! Thanks for your article. I would ask if it is possible to have the energy consumption to produce 1 sqm of plywood. Would be perfect the follow details: birch fsc plywood 24 mm thick. Thanks
Posted by: gianluca | July 28, 2020 at 12:51 PM
It has not been a trivial task for me to try to find these seemingly straightforward numbers! However I'd like to see the specific sources for the figures. At the moment the listed source is a website which links to over 70 papers. Would you have any time to be more specific with which papers were used for each figure?
I do love low tech magazine regardless, keep it up!
Cheers, Forty-two
Posted by: Forty-two | January 12, 2022 at 09:48 AM
Amazing resource, really highlights the value of recycling aluminium and the high energy cost of plastic! Thank you!
Posted by: Owen Thurgate | February 09, 2022 at 05:59 PM
@ forty-two
I made these calculations based on the data in those 70 papers...
Posted by: kris de decker | March 14, 2022 at 11:51 PM