A Review of Material Flow Analysis

Zhimi Bao, Shushen Zhang, Yu Chen * , Suling Liu, Yun Zhang, Huanlei Wang Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental Science and Technology,

Dalian University of Technology Dalian 116024, China

Abstract—Material flow analysis (MFA) has been a hot topic on the research of circular economy and sustainable development of the environment - economic systems in recent years. This paper briefly reviews the development process of MFA. A detailed summary of the recent progress of MFA has been given in three forms, which respectively for three research levels (the national level, the regional level and the industrial level). The fundamental methodology of MFA has been introduced. And its development has been summarized in a list. In the end, the research prospects have been concluded and discussed.

Keywords-material flow analysis, environment-economic systems, circular economy, sustainable development

I. INTRODUCTION Material exchange and material flows of environment -

economic systems are the basic premises for the maintenance and development of human society. The environmental impacts produced by human activities depend largely on the quantity and quality of the materials which go in and out of the economic systems. The requests economic systems have from the environment cause resource depletion and environmental degradation, while the emissions cause environmental pollution. The essence of material flow analysis(MFA) is, through the measure of the material input and output, to understand the pathway and flux of each material flow in the whole system, reveal the composition and changes of the materials, reflect both the wealth and the pressure caused by economic activities, illustrate the dynamic link between economic development and the natural environment, find the potential of material use and environmental improvement, and then to effectively regulate and control the flow directions and quantities in accordance with the analysis results, in order to improve resource utilization efficiency, reduce resource consumption and intensity, reduce emissions of waste materials. In a word, it is an important way which leads to a resource-saving and environment-friendly society, and to achieve the goals of circular economy and sustainable development.

II. DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS

MFA, which origins from Society's Metabolism [1], is used in physical units (usually in the mass unit of t), and is to account materials from mining, production, conversion, consumption, recycling, to the final disposal. The objects for the analysis may include resources, energy, raw materials,

products, wastes, and also include single element. In 70s and 80s of the 20th century, the propose and improvement of Physical Balance, Industrial Metabolism and other theories laid a foundation for the study and practice of MFA in economic systems.

As early as in 1966, W. Leontief described the state of the stock and flow of economic structure on the use of input-output model [2]. In 1969, R. U. Ayres first used “material balance principle" to examine the material flow of the national economy [3]. On the basis of his study, I. Wernick and J. H. Ausbel advanced the basic National MFA framework of the United States [4]. These are early relevant exploration and study.

In early 90s of the 20th century, the application of MFA of economic systems started in Austria [5], Japan [6] and Germany [7], after which MFA became a rapidly developing science field.

In 90s of the 20th century, Wuppertal Institute raised Material Flow Accounts for the quantitative measurement of the amount of substance use in economic systems, and also proposed Ecological Rucksacks (ER), the concept called Hidden Flow (HF) later [8].

In 1996, European Commission (EC) set up a coordinate accounts plan and its platform (www.conaccount.net) of the “concerted action”. This is considered to be the first milestone of international cooperation on MFA.

The second milestone is the comprehensive analysis of five national economic systems, including the United States, Japan, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. It was led by World Resource Institute (WRI) and carried out in two stages. In 1997, the first research paper [9] was completed, which gave the result of the total material input and suggested relevant indicators for measuring the status of material input. In 2000, the second one was finished [10], in which the amount of total material output has been given, and relevant indicators for measure have been suggested, too.

In 2001, the European Union Statistical Office (EUROSTAT) published the first handbook on methodology of MFA for economic systems [11]. From then on, the first international official guidelines, known as the “European Union (EU) guidelines”, were widely applied.

Since then, MFA was in considerable attention within Europe. EUROSTAT, European Environment Agency (EEA),

* Yu Chen (1975---), Corresponding author, Lecturer, engages in research into Industrial Ecology. (E-mail: chenyu@dlut.edu.cn)

978-1-4244-5326-9/10/$26.00 ©2010 IEEE

EC and other institutions have been carrying out many works on it.

III. PROGRESS IN THE STUDY OF MARERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS

MFA can be used to systematically measure and analyze the material flux and distribution in a specific time and space scale, and to study the laws of material metabolism through the analysis of the relationship among material flows, resource consumption and socio-economic development. Then based on the results, the corresponding control strategies to guide the governments’ decision-making for sustainable development will be put forward. Therefore, as an effective assessment tool, it is widely used, and has made a lot of research results. This paper will give a review of them and describe at three levels as following：

A. The national level In the process of global economic development and

environmental degradation, the number of the countries which have been conducted or are under way of MFA for their economic systems continues to grow. In addition to MFA of each country, scholars have also carried out multi-country analysis to do comparison and combination research. The results of these studies are summarized in Table I:

TABLE I MATERIAL ANALYSIS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

Year The area of study Reference 1992 1993 Main material flows of Austria, Japan, Germany [5-7]

1997 -2000

The respective material input and output of the United States, Japan, Austria, Germany, and the

Netherlands [9, 10]

2000 Denmark [12] 2000 Finland, Sweden [13, 14] 2000 United Kingdom [15] 2000 Poland [16] 2000

-2009 China [17-26]

2001 Italy [27] 2003 Czech [28]

2004

The overall comparative study of Direct material input and material needs of 11 countries and regions,

including Finland, Germany, Italya, Netherlands, UK, Poland, EU-15, USA, Japan, and China

[29]

2006 Portugal [30]

2006

Cross-country comparison and determinants of material consumption in the 15 European Union

members, including Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,

Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

[31]

2007 Singapore [32]

2008 Comparison of the resource flows of Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru [33]

In addition, studies on MFA of other countries such as France, Australia, Hungary, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Thailand, the Philippines, Bolivia, Venezuela have respectively been done or are being carried out[34,35].

A few points can be summarized through learning the progress of MFA at the national level. Except for the earlier researches, they almost all carried out in the 21st century. The work receives more attention in European countries, and is

carried out more systematically there. From a methodological point of view, since the EU guidelines suggested, MFA at national level is basically using this recommended method, which provides the preconditions for the subsequent study on comparison and combination.

B. The regional level While MFA at national level becomes more and more

thorough and wide-in-use, a large range of MFA has been carrying out. The typical research achievements will now be summarized in Table II:

TABLE II MATERIAL ANALYSIS AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL

Nation Year study area Method Reference

Switzerland 1991 The city of St. Gallen

Classification and statistics of material consumption

data [36]

Spain

2002 The total material

needs of the Basque region

A model based on EU Guideline [37]

2007 An industrial area in Catalonia

A framework based on EU Guidelines, with some

complementation [38]

Germany 2003 The environmental-economic system of

Hamburg EU Guideline [39]

Canada 2003 The Greater Toronto Area in Canada

A framework based on urban metabolism [40]

Japan 2008 Aichi prefecture input-output table [41]

China

1986，

1988

The city of Tangshan, the city of

Dali

Classification and statistics of materials

[42,43]

2001 Hong Kong A framework based on urban metabolism [44]

2004~2009

The cities of Guiyang, Tianjin,

Shanghai, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Handan,

The Provinces of Shanxi, Guangdong,

Liaoning, and Jiangsu,

The comparison of 19 main cities

Models built according to EU guidelines, with some

necessary adjustments according to the actual

situations

[45- 55]

2006 The city of Yima A three-dimensional physical input-output table [56]

2009 The city of Beijing A physical input-output table [57]

A brief summary can be drawn from these research achievements of MFA at the regional level. From the time point of view, except for several cases, they were almost all carried out in 21st century. From a methodological point of view, generally frameworks for analysis were established according to the characteristics of the study systems, and the methods were based on the EU guidelines. As to the depth of study, some research only used individual indicators for analysis, other cases studied on the whole material flows, and even did in-depth analysis within the economic systems through input-and-output analysis.

C. The industrial level According to the difference of research areas, typical

achievements of MFA at the industrial level are concluded in Table III:

TABLE III MATERIAL ANALYSIS AT THE INDUSTRIAL LEVEL

Nation Year Research Area Method Reference

United States

2003- 2007

• Stocks and flows of copper, zinc, iron and steel, nickel, silver, and other metals in different levels

• Material flows of two Antarctica workstations

Stocks-and-Flows model(STAF), with consideration of the life cycles of each

metal

[58-65]

2007 Mercury in products in the United States

Substance Flow Analysis(SFA) model

based on life cycle [66]

2007 Material flows of lead and cadmium

Physical input-output matrix [67]

2008 The stocks and flows of

cement in the United States

A dynamic substance-flow model [68]

Japan

2002- 2006 The appliances waste

The Waste Input-Output model, Life-Cycle Cost

analysis

[69-71]

2004 The wood resource Several indicators of MFA [72]

2005, 2009 Stainless steel

Dynamic material flow analysis ,

STAF [73,74]

2007 Base metals Physical input-output tables [75]

2009 Copper and copper-based alloys

Dynamic material stocks and flows

analysis [76]

Germ

any

1998 Plastics streams in Germany

A material flow simulation model [77]

2006 Carbon of Germany Carbon Flow Model [78]

2008，

2009

Platinum group metal flows of Europe

MFA combined with a model of

environmental pressures

[79]

Netherlands

2000 Metal policies in The Netherlands

Combination of an applied general

equilibrium model and a material flow model

[80]

2000

• The paper and wood flow in the Netherlands

• The plastic flows in the Netherlands

The Statistical Research for

Analyzing Material Streams (STREAMS)

[81,82]

2005 Household metabolism in European countries and

cities

A family metabolic model [83]

Switzerland

2004 Regional wood

management in Appenzell Ausserrhoden

The integration of material flux analysis

and agent analysis [84]

2004 The food production chain Economically

extended material flow analysis

[85]

2005 The waste electrical and electronic equipment in

Switzerland

MFA and life cycle assessment (LCA)

[86]

2007 Material flow management Social sciences

modeling approaches coupled to MFA

[87,88]

United K

ingdom

2000 The UK steel sector

A historical materials and energy flow

analysis and scenario analysis

[89,90]

2007 The supply chain for iron and steel in the UK

A time-dependent material flow analysis

model [91]

2008 The local household consumption in the UK

Local Area Resource Analysis model [92]

Sweden

1995 Annual material flows of freight transportation in

Sweden A flow model [93]

2006 Food consumption and

nutrient flows the city of Linkoping

Identification and statistics of flows

within the system and emissions

[94]

India

2001 MFA in the remote tropical island of Trinket

A framework based on Socio-Economic

Metabolism [95]

2005 The waste electrical and

electronic equipment in the city of Delhi

A process-based MFA [96]

2006 The plastics material flows A framework based on [97]

life cycle

Finland

2001 The Finnish forest industry system

Material and energy flow model [98]

2007 The Finnish food flux An extended input–output model [99]

Austria

2003 Austrian Family Physical input-output tables [36]

Australia

2007 Cadmium in Australia A substance flow analysis [100]

Norw

ay

2009 Wastewater Pipeline Networks of Oslo Combined MFA-LCA [101]

China

1983 Iron, titanium, vanadium flows in the city of Dukou

A model based on the life cycles of each

medal [102]

2000-2009

• Iron and steel industry • Lead industry • Copper recycling • Mineral • Cement Industry in

Beijing • Automotive industry • Phosphorus Metabolism

System • Construction industry • Road Transportation

Frameworks based on the EU guidelines,

with accordance to the material life cycles

[103-115]

2003 Taipei’s urban construction

Identification of relevant materials and

a framework of indicators

[116]

2004 Fossil fuels Statistics of material needs [117]

2006 Public projects Material flow tracking model [118]

As can be seen from these results, MFA has been widely brought into practice at industry level since the beginning of 21st century. The research methods are different according to the characteristics of materials relevant in different industries. However, most of them are on the basis of EU Guideline, and are usually combined with the life-cycle analysis to track the physical movement.

IV. METHODOLOGY OF MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS

A. The framework and the indicator system based on the European Union guidelines From the methodology point of view, most of the

international research results mentioned above took direct use of the recommended method in the EU guidelines, or based on it and made some appropriate adjustments based on characteristics of the research objects and the data availability. It can be concluded that the EU guidelines are the methodological basis of MFA. As shown in Fig. 1 is the basic framework of material flow analysis of economic system. In which, some points about the material classification need to be explained:

Materials of import and export are divided into five major categories, which are biomass, fossil energy, metallic minerals and their products, industrial non-metallic minerals and their products, and construction materials. The waste emissions are divided into solid waste, water waste and atmospheric pollutants. Dissipative materials include: the materials of dissipative use (the fertilizer, farm manure on agricultural

lands, dissolved substances and gravel on the road, etc.) and the materials of dissipative loss (tire wear, chemical accidents, gas leakage, abrasion and weathering of infrastructures, and so on)[36] .

Hidden flow, also known as the ecological burden, refers to the huge number of environmental substances that must be affected for the acquisition of the direct material input, and mainly includes: ① the amount of topsoil moved and soil erosion volume due to the exploitation of fossil fuels and industrial raw materials, ② the non-use bio-harvest (the loss of timber harvesting, agricultural harvest losses), ③ abandoned earthmoving and river dredging, ④ the amount of natural soil erosion[119]. The hidden flow of each direct material input is usually measured by hidden flow ratio. For example, the hidden flow ratio of raw coal is 1:6, which means that for every 1 ton of coal, 6 tons of environmental substances need to be spent on average [120]. In addition, the hidden flow is divided into two parts, which are within the region and outside the region caused from imports. For this reason, MFA can not only measure the direct use of the economic system functioning, but also can measure the amount of environmental substances indirectly affected, which makes the results more significant in the coordination of economy and environment.

Figure 1. The framework of Material flow analysis based on the European Union guidelines [11]

In the process of MFA, the economic system will be considered as a black box, in which the complex material flows inside are not necessary to be clear. Through identification, classification and accounting of the data relevant to the material input and output of the system, a series of indicators can be provided, and then used for decision making. The most commonly used indicators are illustrated in Table IV:

TABLE IV THE INDICATORS FOR MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS[121]

Category of indicators

The main analytical indicators Calculation formula

Material input indicators

Direct Material Input (DMI)

Regional extracted materials ﹢import

Total Material Input (TMI)

DMI + hidden flow within the region

Total Material Requirement (TMR)

TMI + hidden flow outside the

region

Material output indicators

Direct Material Output (DMO)

RMO + export

Total Regional Material Output (TRMO)

Regional material output + regional hidden flow

Total Material Output (TMO)

TRMO + export

Material consumption

indicators

Regional Material Consumption (RMC)

DMI - import

Total Material Consumption (TMC)

TMR – export and relevant hidden

flow

Balance indicators

Net Addition to Stock (NAS)

Net addition to the materials in stock

Physical Trade Balance (PTB)

Import - export

Intensity and efficiency indicators

Material Consumption Intensity (MCI)

TMC /population(or GDP)

Material Productivity (MP)

GDP /RMC

Waste Rate (WR)

The amount of waste generated /GDP

B. A summary of the MFA methods Thanks to the continuous study and improvement by many

scholars, the research methods of MFA have been developing. As a set of analysis system, it is composed by several aspects, which are the framework, the original information collection and data processing. The details are explained in Table V:

The complete MFA is a system combined of the methods from each step. As can be seen from the process of methodology development, MFA is heading in the direction which for the comprehensive and precise results, and directly relevance to the macro-control of the environment-economic systems.

TABLE V SUMMARY OF THE METHODS OF MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS

1)．Establishment of MFA framework

Method The advantages and disadvantages

Substance Flow Analysis

(SFA)[122]

★ SFA has as its main objective the characterization of flow patterns of materials and elemental substances in specific regions

★ Tracking the material life-cycle process ★ Only used for a single species of materials ★ Commonly used at industry level

Stock and Flow (STAF)[123]

★Bringing “stock” into consideration for more comprehensive results

★ Only used for a single species of materials ★ Commonly used at industry level

Combination of EW-MFA and SFA[124]

★ Considered the lack of data and the difficulty in data collection, introducing SFA for some of elements or products,

★ Large amounts of data needed

Regional dynamic model [125]

★ Reveal the dynamic change of the total amount of regional resources under different developing and utilizing scenarios,

★ Comparatively comprehensive consideration of the complex inter-relationships among various elements,

★ Did not take into account of modeling under non-linear effect

Input Output Economic System

Import

Extraction in the region: ●Biomass ●Fossil energy ●Metallic minerals ●Idustrial Non-metallic minerals ●construction Materials

Air water

Input hidden flow

Output hidden flow

Net stock

Material flux

export

Emissions: ●Solid wastes ●Water pollutants ●Air pollutants

Dissipative materials

Air Waste-water

Input-Output Table[126]

★ Study on the amounts and directions of material flows deep into the economic systems,

★ Rough classification of economic activities ★ Just brief analysis within the economic systems

Three-dimensional input-output table[127]

★ Combination of N two-dimensional input-output tables connected with the N economic departments within the system,

★ In-depth analysis of the interdependence of the material metabolism within the economic system,

★Requirement of comprehensive data

2)．Collection of information[62]

Method The advantages and disadvantages

Top-down model

★ Only needs the statistical data according to the import and export statistics on the boundaries of the environment and economic system,

★ Suitable for application to the national-level cases or part of the industry-level cases

Bottom-up model

★ Depends on the determination of the inter structure and the material use within the system,

★ The total amounts are accumulated based on each amount or intensity of each material,

★ Suitable for application to the regional-level cases or part of the industry-level cases

Tracking model and fixed-point model[128]

★ Taking into account the whole process of the material life-cycles,

★ Suitable for the metabolism study on specific substances

3). Data processing

Method The advantages and disadvantages

Total amount model[129]

★ Analysis of the total input, the total consumption and the total circulation in economies of certain scales,

★ Systematically analysis of the mechanism how basic material flows affect the amount of obtaining of natural resources and waste emissions,

★ A static model for total amount accounting, ★ Needs to build on dynamic model and value-flow model for

better guidance in social practice

Material use intensity model

★ The use intensity, consumption intensity, and circulation intensity of materials under a certain scale of production or consumption,

★ Usually used with combination of socio-economic indicators such as GDP or population

V. RESEARCH PROSPECTS From the development process and recent research

progress of MFA, a conclusion can be drawn, that at national level, standardized methodology systems have been unified, and empirical researches of many countries and regions have already done. However, the world-wide MFA at national level is still in the continuous improvement. As to the regional level and the industrial level, standardization of methodology is not yet achieved.

In addition, a lot of issues related to MFA need to be resolved in further research. These include:

• the classification of relevant materials and sectors of human activity in research on the different material flows in the various human activities

• the relationship between material flows and social subjects

• the criterion of the nodes of environmental economics significance

• the exploration of the relationship between sustainable development and the cumulative effects of resource use efficiency;

• the intrinsic link between material flows and land use or other policies;

• the relationship between material flows during life-cycles of materials and the environmental impacts;

• Based on material flow analysis and combined with GIS and other technologies, to establish a national and even a world-wide material flow accounts system, and thus fulfill the best use of global materials and energy.

These issues will become major areas in the development of MFA. In short, only through the unity of the methods and the improvement of research results, can MFA provide the most meaningful guidance to play its full role, and then can sustainable development of the environment - economic systems come true.

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