An Enhanced Input-Output Model for Material Flow Analysis of Manufacturing Processes

摘要

Input-output modeling is applied to describe the flow of materials and characterize the associated environmental consequences associated with manufacturing processes. An enhanced form of an input-output model is developed to describe the material flows within manufacturing processes. This enhanced model addresses some of the inadequacies associated with the traditional input-output model form. The enhanced input-output model can be used to identify opportunities for reducing the environmental impacts associated with manufacturing processes. The environmental performance improvement can be achieved by changing either the material inputs or technical coefficients of the process being considered. A case study is employed to illustrate the application of the enhanced material input-output model.