World Materials

I think at some point, it is going to be worthwhile to map an extensive value chain from raw materials to finished products. Meanwhile, I’m collecting a flat list of items.

Also see Sustainable Materials of the Future.

Organisms

• CO$_2$
• Key macronutrients - NPK
• CaCO$_3$ (calcite/aragonite) - marine biomineralizers
• Si(OH)$_4$ (silicic acid) - opal structures

Prehistoric

• Obsidian, flint - cutting, piercing
• Basalt, rhyolite, greenstone - pounding, pulverizing
• yew, white ash, black locust, osage orange - bows
• quicklime CaO - pottery
• hydrated lime - whitewash, mortar, plaster
• Cotton, wool

Medieval

• Silt, Limestone
• Copper, Tin - ornaments, military
• Iron - tools, weapons, nails for ships, houses houses
• Clay Bricks
• Porcelain
• Glass
• Bronze, brass
• Gunpowder - mixture of charcoal, sulphur, and potassium nitrate

Early Modern

• Metallurgical coke - for “industrial” scale iron-smelting
• Gold
• Silver

Modern

• Cylinder glass, crown glass —> Flat grass
• Asbestos
• Tin
• Asphalt
• Concrete, reinforced concrete
• Steel
• Aluminium - Bauxite (Al$_2$O$_3$)
• Paper - with mechanical pulping, chemical pulping
• Gas Liquefaction
• Fuelwood & Wood
• SiO$_2$ - optical fibers, sandstone, quartz
• Stainless steel - cutlery, surgical implants
• Titanium
• Copper - wiring, plumbing
• Zinc
• Lead - tetraethyl-lead to prevent engine knocking
• Silicon
• Plastic
  • Styrene
  • Cellulose Acetate
  • Polyvinylidine Chloride
  • Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon)
  • Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
  • Mylar
• nitrogen
  • ammonia