What are materials flow?

The material flow refers to a series of procedures that begin with the extraction of raw materials and progress via processing, refining, and machining to the completed product and delivery to the final customer. Some of the typical tools are auto, logic mod of logistics, and production plant simulation. 

Material flow analysis (MFA), sometimes known as substance flow analysis (SFA), is an analytic tool for quantifying material/substance fluxes and stocks in a system. MFA is a useful tool for investigating the biophysical aspects of human activity at various geographical and temporal dimensions. It is regarded as a fundamental approach to anthropogenic, urban, social, and industrial metabolism. Material, substance, or product flows are studied using MFA in a variety of industries and ecosystems. MFA mostly measures nutrient flows through a wastewater treatment facility using a single industrial installation. It includes an assessment of the costs related to plastic movements. It is a useful tool for researching the circular economy and planning material flow optimization. The number of publications on material flow assessment has gradually increased since the 1990s.

Objective of material flow analysis

The goal of a material flow analysis would be to look at a firm from a quantitative perspective, detect any difficulties in the material and informational movement, and find chances for improvement at the same moment.

Historical development

Mass balancing, or matter conservation, was first proposed in ancient Greece, and it was incorporated into contemporary chemistry by Antoine Lavoisier, who then applied it to chemical engineering and eventually environmental science. Sanctorius and Theodor Weyl also made significant contributions. As Dennis Meadows co-authored the best-selling Limits to Growth in 1971, they made large people aware of an economy's physical underpinning. It is based on their estimates of a resource stock analysis and environmental science for further information. The MFA approach was created in the 1980s and 1990s. The UNEP Resource Panel was set up in 2007 by the United Nations Environment Program.

Recent development

In various nations and regions, including the EU and Japan, MFA principles have been or are being included within financial statements. Numerous international meetings or other events, such as the world resource forum, a bi-annual international convention on material flow analysis and environmental sustainability, provide a forum for scholars and policymakers to interact and discuss results and ideas. MFA-IO is an approach to establish an MFA system of the whole economy using monetary and physical input-output tables. 

Materialflows.net is a database created by the Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI). Dynamic MFA strives to quantify MFA systems over cycle time by using historical development patterns of physical flows and stocks to construct robust forecasts for the years or decades ahead. MFA research has become quite popular in Japan because the country's mineral resources are scarce, it must rely on importing energy carriers, ores, as well as other raw materials. So the Japanese government encouraged material cycle research and introduced the 3-R paradigm.

Mythology and motivation behind the development of MFA

Shelter, nourishment, transportation, and connection all necessitate resources such as wood, sugar, iron products, and semiconductors. Implementations, usage, and disposal have increased to the point that unfavorable effects on the environment and society can no longer be ignored, both locally and worldwide, as a civilization grows and economic activity increases. Material fluxes are at the heart of local environmental issues like landfill leaching and oil spills. Concerns about global warming have pushed carbon dioxide, a hitherto minor waste stream, to the head of the scientific and political concern. The progressive move from basic material production towards urban mining in industrialized nations necessitates a thorough examination of human societies as well as obsolete material stockpiles. As a result, scientists, businesses, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) require a tool that supports economic accounting and modeling.

Relation to other methods

The other fundamental industrial ecology methodologies, life cycle assessment (LCA) including input-output (I/O) models, are enhanced by MFA.  

All use the system approach and, to a certain degree, the mass balancing concept, there are some commonalities between the various techniques. The key differences between the methodologies are the goal, scope, and data requirements. MFA studies usually encompass the whole life cycle of a material (mining, procurement, manufacturing, consumption, and waste treatment) within a specified geographical limit and time range. MFA has specific material stocks, making it ideal for research requiring resource shortages and regeneration from old junk.

The series of reactions evaluated in MFA systems is often substantially lower than in I/O analysis. Mass balancing, on the other hand, guarantees that accessing or waste flows are not neglected in MFA studies, although I/O tables frequently leave these flows out due to a lack of economic significance. Economic tables are far more prevalent than physical I/O models. Materials stocks were not included in the I/O analysis; solely stock additions can be regarded as capital accumulation.

MFA studies often focus on a single material used in several distinct goods, whereas product lifecycle inventories capture the demand for several different materials connected with particular products.

Geographical and temporal dimensions

MFA studies are carried out on a wide range of geographical and temporal dimensions, as well as for a wide range of components, chemicals, and commodities. They encompass a wide range of material cycles and process chains. The structural interactions between being an economy and the natural environment are examined in this sort of research. In order to analyze the system's progressive development, many indicators are typically calculated. A number of firms are involved in corporate supply chain assessment, or MFA, along the industrial supply chain.

Context and Application

The purpose of a company's material flow analysis is to measure and afterward improve production processes enough so that materials including energy are being used efficiently, such as through recycling, reuse, and reduction. Material flow analysis data may be used by businesses to reduce operating costs and enhance environmental performance.

This topic is useful for the students who are undergoing the following courses:

• Bachelors in Technology in Civil Engineering
• Masters in Technology in Mechanical Engineering
• Bachelors in Science in Chemical Engineering
• Masters in Science in Chemical Engineering

Practice Problems

1. What is materials management called?

1. Distribution planning
2. Control and logistics management
3. Both of the above
4. Neither of the above

Answer: Option c

Explanation: Materials management is mostly defined by distribution planning, and control, and logistics management systems.

2. Materials management would be a coordinating role in charge of planning and directing the flow of materials.  

1. Utilize most of the company's resources
2. Maintain a high level of client service
3. Both 
4. None

Answer: Option c

Explanation: Materials management is mostly defined by utilizing most of the company's resources and maintaining a high level of client service.

3. What is the capability of manufacturing to produce goods and services?

1. Capacity
2. Priority
3. Planning
4. Control

Answer: Option a

Explanation: Capacity is mainly used for defining the capability of manufacturing to produce goods and services.

4. What is responsible for analyzing the marketplace and deciding the firm's response, the markets to be served, the products supplied, and desired levels of customer service?

1. Marketing
2. Finance
3. Production
4. Engineering

Answer: Option a

Explanation: Marketing is responsible for analyzing the marketplace and deciding the firm's response, the markets to be served, the products supplied, and desired levels of customer service.

5. What is the first step in a manufacturing planning and control system?

1. Production planning
2. Achieving the forecast
3. Maintaining the required inventory levels
4. Maintaining the planned backlog

Answer: Option a

Explanation: Production planning is the first step in a manufacturing planning and control system.