Input-output modeling of material flows in industry

Material flows represent one of the strongest, most inextricable links between natural and industrial systems. With increasing environmental problems, understanding material flows in industrial systems has never been more crucial, yet at the same time never more difficult due to their complexity. To better understand systems of material flows in industry, the validity and usefulness of input-output flow analysis are investigated in this dissertation. With direct roots in ecology, flow analysis is shown to have solid mathematical and philosophical foundations for modeling material flows in industrial systems. Flow analysis is composed of a unique, versatile and adaptable array of tools capable of modeling complex industrial systems of material flows and facilitating the synthesis of new systems. The core capabilities of flow analysis include the characterization of system behavior with metrics and the tracing of material flows through systems with environs.; The flow analysis metrics, including measures of material cycling, are connected to controllable aspects of flow systems and to environmental objectives, thereby enabling the synthesis of changes to a system using flow analysis results. Beyond metrics, flow environs allow a modeler to trace material flows through a system. Environs are useful for in depth analysis of the structure of a material flow system. To enhance the usefulness of applying flow analysis to industrial systems, several common material flow archetypes (e.g., recycling, reuse) are identified. Archetypes serve as building blocks for constructing flow models and allow for different material flow strategies to be evaluated easily. The usefulness of the archetypes, metrics and environs is evaluated in the context of material flows in industrial systems with four case studies. The case studies range from material flows of an entire nation to flows of a single product from a single company. Through the case studies, the capabilities and limitations of flow analysis are identified, assessed and extended.