• as a building material for pipes, in the roof area, for heat exchange and for cladding of all kinds

• Standard material for power cables Very good electrical conductivity

• Copper forms two protective layers on contact with air: Oxide layer and later the green coating, which consists of copper salts

• Base material for alloys e.g. brass from copper & zinc; bronze from copper, tin & lead

Copper in Switzerland:

• no economically usable primary sources, but 720 000 t secondary copper 90 kg/capita

• End-of-life recycling rate is 50%

• Only 900 tons of refined copper imported in 2021

• Chile produces 1⁄4 of the world's primary copper

• approx. 50 % of the copper comes from secondary sources

• Ore has approx. 10 g copper per kg, e-waste approx. 50 g/kg

• Electrolytic refining enables recycling without loss of quality favored by chem. Property of low affinity to atmospheric oxygen

• Primary copper is mined both in opencast and underground mines comes from sulphide and oxide ores, which have an average copper content of 0.6 %

• pyrometallurgical process route:

• Raw ore is crushed and flotated to copper concentrate, which is melted and converted to 60 %-Cu copper stone "matte"

• liquid copper stone is refined in a converter process to "blister copper" - 98 %, which is then cast in intermediate anodes and further refined by electrolytic refining to 99.99 % copper cathodes

Data set represents primary copper

• Bare copper sheet per kg: 2.21 kg CO₂

• Bare copper sheet per m³: 19667 kg CO₂

• Copper sheet blank 3 mm thickness per m²: 59 kg CO₂

Data set represents copper tube from secondary sources, simplified per kg:

• 95% of large appliances such as boilers, air conditioning and ventilation systems or elevators are recycled

• A recycling rate of 90% was assumed for pipes or cables that are often flush-mounted

• 5-10% metals and plastics, e.g. cable remnants or pipe sections in construction waste, are not recycled (disposed of in inert material landfill)

• Module C2 represents the emissions from transportation to the treatment plant (50 km truck)

• Module C4 Loads for disposal of non-recycled content

• Module D contains charges for reprocessing and credits for the substitution of primary material

• CO₂ emissions module C2: 0.008 kg

• CO₂ emissions module C4: 0.0015 kg

• CO₂- Capturing module D: - 1.053 kg

• 100 % recyclable - native metal

• Durability - hardly any fatigue/self-protection

• soft/stretchable, but resistant

• Aesthetic patina - predictable properties

• antibacterial - hygienic

• excellent electrical/thermal conductivity low internal resistance, more conductive than gold

• Very energy-intensive/expensive to manufacture

• high dissolved concentrations harmful to humans and the environment naturally occurring in low concentrations in water bodies

• CO₂ calculation according to ÖKOBAUDAT current version 2021-II from 25.06.2021 according to EN15804+A2

• CO₂ calculation according to KBOB 2022, life cycle assessment data in the construction sector according to ISO 14067 & EN 15804

• Kassler, K.(2012): 'Kupfer als Baustoff für Wasserleitungen ́ Salzwasser Verlag

• Grunau, E.(2013): 'Lebenserwartung von Baustoffen- Funktionsdauer von Baustoffen und Bauteilen Wirtschaftlichkeit durch langlebige Baustoffe ́ Viehweg & Teubner Verlag

• DIN EN 1057; DIN 17671/EN12449; DIN 1786

• copper.com