Work

Dynamic Material Flow Analysis of Steel Resources in China Based on Circular Economy Theory

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: The circular economy (CE) is a new development strategy for China to alleviate the contradiction between rapid economic growth and the shortage of raw materials and energy. As the basic material, steel is a key driver of the world's economy. Therefore, it is essential to set up CE indicators system to understand the mechanism of steel resources role in the circular economy. In this paper, a national level material flow evaluation framework based on CE theory is presented at the first. Then steel resources national lifetime cycle diagram is built based on dynamic Material Flow Analysis (MFA) method considering the steel lifetime circular flow characteristics. Under the guidance of this diagram, the material flow results of various stages (such as production process, fabrication & manufacturing process, in-use process, etc.) of steel lifetime cycle between 2001-2010 in China is obtained, including the end-of-life scarp amount of nine downstream industries. The results indicate that China steel resources has made gratifying achievements in improving productivity, reducing energy consumption and related pollution emission, but the degree of overall circulation remains to be improved urgently. In the end, a sketch of the future relevant policy recommendations are provided.

Source: Advanced materials research

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.813.64

Authors: Peng Wang, Ze Yi Jiang, Xin Yi Geng, Shi Yu Hao

Institution: University of Science and Technology Beijing

Language: English

Topic: Sustainability and Ecological Systems Analysis

Subfield: Environmental Engineering

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Responsible consumption and production, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities