Combined analysis methods such as optical microscopy (OM), cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDX) have made it possible to obtain the first physico-chemical data of Dacian potsherds, exhumed at the archeological site of Ocnița-Buridava, Romania; the samples were provided by the “Aurelian Sacerdoțeanu” County Museum Vâlcea, dating from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. The mineralogical and petrographic analyses revealed two types of ceramic pastes, taking into account the granulometry of the inclusions and highlighting the choice of the potter for fabricating the ceramic either by wheel or by hand. All samples showed an abundance in quartz, mica (muscovite and biotite), and feldspars. These observations were confirmed by cathodoluminescence imagery, revealing heterogeneous pastes with varied granulometric distributions. The XRD patterns indicated the presence of the mineral phases, indicating a firing temperature below 900 °C. The wheel-made ceramics have a fine, compact matrix with very fine inclusions (<40 µm). On the other hand, the hand-made ceramics present a coarse matrix, with inclusions whose granulometry reaches approximately 2 mm. The difference between these two types of ceramics is also confirmed by the mineralogical and chemical analysis. The wheel-made potsherds are more abundant in MgO, Al₂O₃, and CaO contents.

As a 21st century trend, sustainability has encompassed the entire world economy, including industry. The concept of “Industry 4.0” is already known today. It promotes the computerization of manufacturing by interconnection, information transparency, technical assistance and decentralized decisions. In recent years, companies in the metal materials industry have also implemented strategies and technologies belonging to the Industry 4.0 concept. The main aim of the manuscript is to identify the key issues in the evolution of the development of the metal materials industry. The transition to a higher level of its evolution is based on two vectors, namely: the ecological paradigm, as a vector of in-depth knowledge, and sustainable material, as a vector that ensures sustainability in the areas of convergence of systems in the spheres of life and social consciousness. The systems that have an impact on the sustainable development of the metallic materials industry through the interactions between them are the technological system, the social system and the natural-ecological system. The main objectives of the paper are the investigations into the interconditions of ecology–economy, and the correlations of ecology–economy–energy, investigations that led to the establishment of new scientific branches (ecometallurgy, metallurgical economics, metallurgical ecosociology and sustainable materials engineering) in terms of global knowledge, and which allow the expansion of the field of implementing knowledge of sustainable development in the metal materials industry. The paper is based on literary foundations, obtained from libraries; databases such as Web of Science (WoS), Scopus and Google Scholar; sustainable universal principles; and legislative parameters.

The scholarly literature records information related to the performance increase of the cutting tools covered by the superficial layers formed “in situ” when applying thermochemical processing. In this context, information is frequently reported on the carbamide role in processes aiming carbon and nitrogen surface saturation. Sulfur, together with these elements adsorbed and diffused in the cutting tools superficial layers, undoubtedly ensures an increase of their operating sustainability. The present paper discusses the process of sulfonitrocarburizing in pulverulent solid media of high-speed tools steel (AISI T1, HS18-0-1) and its consequences. The peculiarity of the considered process is that the source of nitrogen and carbon is mainly carbamide (CON₂H₄), which is found in solid powdery mixtures together with components that do not lead to cyan complex formation (non-toxic media), and the sulfur source is native sulfur. The kinetics of the sulfonitrocarburizing process, depending on the carbamide proportion in the powdered solid mixture and the processing temperature, was studied. The consequences of the achieved sulfonitrocarburized layers on the cutting tools’ performance are expressed by the maximum permissible cutting speed and the maximum cut length. An interesting aspect is highlighted, namely the possibility of using chemically active mixtures. Their components, by initiation of the metallothermic reduction reaction, become able to provide both elements of interest and the amount of heat needed for the ultrafast saturation of the targeted metal surfaces.

As a 21st century trend, sustainability has encompassed the entire world economy, including industry. Today the concept of "Industry 4.0" is known, resulting from advances in ICT (information and communication technologies). In recent years, companies in the metal materials industry have also implemented strategies and technologies belonging to the Industry 4.0 concept. The main purpose of the manuscript is to identify the key issues in the evolution of the development of the metal materials industry. The transition to a higher level of its evolution is based on two vectors, namely: the ecological paradigm, as a vector of in-depth knowledge, and sustainable material, as a vector that ensures sustainability in the areas of convergence of systems in the spheres of life and social consciousness. The systems that have an impact on the sustainable development of the metallic materials industry, through the interactions between them, are: the technological system, the social system and the natural-ecological system. Global knowledge re-quires the use of all inter and multidisciplinary knowledge, which ultimately contributes to the definition and characterization of new intersystem scientific branches: Ecometallurgy, Metallurgical Economics, Metallurgical Ecosociology and Sustainable Materials Engineering. The paper is considered a research study based on elements such as: literary foundations, using databases such as Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, Google Scholar, sustainable universal principles and legislative parameters.