Two Approaches of Substance Flow Analysis—An Inspiration from Fluid Mechanics

That flow is the common feature of substance flow and fluid flow is the viewpoint emphasized in the paper. Some notes on fluid mechanics, including the two approaches of fluid flow description, were given. The concepts of the chain and the chain group of product life cycles, which are essential for understanding the specific features of substance flow, were advanced. Taking the specific feature of substance flow into consideration, on the analogy of the two approaches in fluid mechanics, two approaches of substance flow analysis, i.e. L method and E model, were formulated. Illustrative models of steady and unsteady substance flow were sketched by both methods, and comparison between them was made in general.

Copper and arsenic substance flow analysis of pyrometallurgical process for copper production

The metabolism of copper and arsenic in a copper pyrometallurgy process was studied through substance flow analysis method.The mass balance accounts and substance flow charts of copper and arsenic were established,indicators including direct recovery,waste recycle ratio,and resource efficiency were used to evaluate the metabolism efficiency of the system.The results showed that,the resource efficiency of copper was 97.58%,the direct recovery of copper in smelting,converting,and refining processes was 91.96%,97.13%and 99.47%,respectively.Meanwhile,for producing 1 t of copper,10 kg of arsenic was carried into the system,with the generation of 1.07 kg of arsenic in flotation tailing,8.50 kg of arsenic in arsenic waste residue,and 0.05 kg of arsenic in waste water.The distribution and transformation behaviors of arsenic in the smelting,converting,and refining processes were also analyzed,and some recommendations for improving copper resource efficiency and pollution control were proposed based on substance flow analysis.

Substance flow analysis for an urban drainage system of a representative hypothetical city in China

This paper discusses the use of substance flow analysis （SFA） as a tool to support quantified research on urban drainage systems. Based on the principle of mass balance, a static substance flow model is established to describe and examine the routes and intensities of water, chemical oxygen demand （COD）, total nitrogen （TN） and total phosphorus （TP） for a representative hypothetical city （RH city） in China, which is a devised and scaled city using statistical characteristics of urban circumstances at the national level. It is estimated that the annual flux of water, COD, TN and TP through the urban drainage system in 2010 was 55.1 million m3, 16037.3 t, 1649.5 t and 209.7 t, respectively. The effluent of wastewater treatment plant （WWTP） was identified as the most important pathway for pollutant emissions, which con- tributed approximately 60% of COD, 65% of TN and 50% of TP to receiving water. During the wastewater treatment process, 1.0 million m3, 7042.5 t, 584.2 t and 161.4 t of the four studied substances had been transmitted into sludge, meanwhile 3813.0 t of COD and 394.0 t of TN were converted and emitted to the atmosphere. Compared with the representative hypothetical city of 2000, urban population and the area of urban built districts had expanded by approximately 90% and 80% respectively during the decade, resulting in a more than threefold increase in the input of substances into the urban drainage system. Thanks to the development of urban drainage systems, the total loads of the city were maintained at a similar level.

Tungsten and arsenic substance flow analysis of a hydrometallurgical process for tungsten extracting from wolframite

In this study,the metabolism of a hydrometallurgical process for tungsten extracting from wolframite was studied through substance flow analysis.The mass balance accounts,substance flow charts of tungsten and arsenic were established to evaluate the metabolism efficiency of the investigated system.The results showed that,the total tungsten resource efficiency of the system was 97.56%,and the tungsten recovery of unit process autoclaved alkali leaching,ion exchange,Mo removing,concentration and crystallization was 98.16%,98.94%,99.71%,99.89%,respectively.Meanwhile,for extracting 1 ton of tungsten into the qualified ammonium paratungstate,10.0414 kg of arsenic was carried into the system,with the generation of 7.2801 kg of arsenic in alkali leaching residue,1.5067 kg of tungsten in arsenic waste residue,and 1.2312 kg of tungsten in Mo residue.Besides,7.9 g of arsenic was discharged into nature environment with waste water,15.5 g of arsenic was entrained into the final APT.The distribution and transformation behaviors of arsenic during production were analyzed through phases change analysis,and some recommendations for improving the resource efficiency of tungsten and pollution control during production were also proposed based on the substance flow analysis in this study.

Vanadium metabolism investigation using substance flow and scenario analysis

Vanadium is a vital strategic resource, and vanadium metabolism is an important part of the national socio-economic system of China. This study conducts accounting and scenario analysis on the life cycle of vanadium metabolism in China. Based on the character- istics of vanadium life cycle and substance flow analysis （SFA） framework, we present a quantitative evaluation of a static anthropogenic vanadium life cycle for the year 2010. Results show that anthropogenic vanadium consumption, stocks, and new domestic scrap are at 98.2, 21.2, and 4.1 kt, respectively; new scrap is usually discarded. The overall utilization ratio of vanadium is 32.2%. A large amount of vanadium is stockpiled into tailings, debris, slags, and other spent solids. A scenario analysis was conducted to analyze the future developmental trend of vanadium metabolism in China based on the SFA frame- work and the qualitative analysis of technology advance- ment and socio-economic development. The baseline year was set as 2010. Several indicators were proposed to simulate different scenarios from 2010 to 2030. The scenario analysis indicates that the next 20 years is a critical period for the vanadium industry in China. This paper discusses relevant policies that contribute to the improvement of sustainable vanadium utilization in China.

Carbon flow analysis of China＇s agro-ecosystem from 1980 to 2013： A perspective from substance flow analysis

Research on carbon cycling has attracted attention from both scientists and policy-makers. Based on material flow analysis, this study systematically budgets the carbon inputs, outputs and balance from 1980 to 2013 for China＇s agro-ecosystem and its sub-systems, including agricultural land use, livestock breeding and rural life. The results show that from 1980 to 2013, both the carbon input and output were growing gradually, with the carbon input doubling from 1.6 Pg C/year in 1980 to 3.4 Pg C/year in 2013, while carbon output grew from 2.2 Pg C/year in 1980 to 3.8 Pg C/year in 2013. From 1980 to 2013, the crop production system in China has remained a carbon source, and the agricultural land uses were also almost all carbon sources instead of carbon sinks. As soil carbon stock plays a very important role in deciding the function of China＇s agro-ecosystem as a carbon sink or source, practices that can promote carbon storage and sequestration will be an essential component of low carbon agriculture development in China.

A dynamic analysis of environmental losses from anthropogenic lead flow and their accumulation in China

Substance flow analysis was applied to analyzing the lead emissions in 2010. It turns out that in 2010, for every 1 kg of lead consumed, 0.48 kg lead is lost into the environment. The emissions in 2010 were estimated to be 1.89×10^6 t, which were mainly from use （39.20%） and waste management＆recycling （33.13%）. The accumulative lead in 1960-2010 from the anthropogenic flow was estimated and the results show that the total accumulative lead in this period amounted to 19.54×10^6 t, which was equivalent to 14.26 kg and 2.04 g/m^2 at the present population and territory.

Integrating phosphorus management and cropping technology for sustainable maize production

Achieving high maize yields and efficient phosphorus(P)use with limited environmental impacts is one of the greatest challenges in sustainable maize production.Increasing plant density is considered an effective approach for achieving high maize yields.However,the low mobility of P in soils and the scarcity of natural P resources have hindered the development of methods that can simultaneously optimize P use and mitigate the P-related environmental footprint at high plant densities.In this study,meta-analysis and substance flow analysis were conducted to evaluate the effects of different types of mineral P fertilizer on maize yield at varying plant densities and assess the flow of P from rock phosphate mining to P fertilizer use for maize production in China.A significantly higher yield was obtained at higher plant densities than at lower plant densities.The application of single superphosphate,triple super-phosphate,and calcium magnesium phosphate at high plant densities resulted in higher yields and a smaller environmental footprint than the application of diammonium phosphate and monoammonium phosphate.Our scenario analyses suggest that combining the optimal P type and application rate with a high plant density could increase maize yield by 22%.Further,the P resource use efficiency throughout the P supply chain increased by 39%,whereas the P-related environmental footprint decreased by 33%.Thus,simultaneously optimizing the P type and application rate at high plant densities achieved multiple objectives during maize production,indicating that combining P management with cropping techniques is a practical approach to sustainable maize production.These findings offer strategic,synergistic options for achieving sustainable agricultural development.

Evaluation of global niobium flow modeling and its market forecasting

Metal,as the indispensable material,is functioning the society from technology to the environment.Niobium(Nb)is considered a unique earth metal as it is related to many emerging technologies.The increasing economic growth exerts an increasing pressure on supply,which leads to its significance in the economic sector.However,few papers have addressed Nb sustainability,which forms the scope of this paper in order to start the process of Nb market forecasting based on some previous data and some assumptions.Therefore,this paper will discuss different thoughts in material substitution and the substance flow of Nb throughout a static flow using Nb global data to have a better understanding of the process of Nb from production to end of life.This shall lead to the identification of the market needs to determine its growth which is around 2.5% to 3.0%.Moreover,due to China’s huge Nb consumption which comes from the continuous development that is happening over the years,it will also briefly mention the Nb situation as well as its growth which according to statistics will grow steadily till 2030 by a rate of 4.0% to 6.0%.The results show that there should be some enhancement to Nb recycling potentials out of steel scrap.In addition,there should be more involvement of Nb in different industries as this would lead to less-used materials which can be translated to less environmental impact.

Sinks of steel in China-addition to in-use stock, export and loss

China has become the largest producer of crude steel in the world since 1996, which places the country under huge pressure in terms of resources, energy, and the environment. Examining the driver of steel demand is of great significance to the structural adjustment and sustainable development of the steel industry. The researchers calculate the steel demand in China from 2000 to 2009 based on three sinks （steel stock, export, and loss） by taking the four stages of steel life cycle （production, fabrication and manufacturing, use, and waste manage- ment and recycling） as the study object. The researchers conclude that addition to in-use stock is the main driver of steel demand and that the 10-year average addition to in- use stock accounted for 77% of the steel sinks, in which 55% of the addition occurs in the building sector, and the steel for this segment is of low strength with large consumption. Based on the analysis of existing policies, the researchers propose that the steel demand structure will develop toward diversification and that the building sector will realize the upgrade of products as soon as possible to improve construction quality. Under the pressure of rising cost for imported resources, the export ratio of steel products should be controlled appropriately. Thus, recy- cling economy should be developed to reduce steel losses.