A Material Flow‐based Approach to Enhance Resource Efficiency in Production and Recycling Networks

Resource and energy efficiency are key strategies for production and recycling networks. They can contribute to more sustainable industrial production and can help cope with challenges such as competition, rising resource and energy prices, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and scarce and expensive landfill space. In pursuit of these objectives, further enhancements of single processes are often technologically sophisticated and expensive due to past achievements that have brought the processes closer to technical optima. Nevertheless, the potential for network‐wide advancements may exist. Methods are required to identify and assess the potential for promising resource and energy efficiency measures from technical, economic, and ecological perspectives. This article presents an approach for a material flow‐based techno‐economic as well as ecological analysis and assessment of resource efficiency measures in production and recycling networks. Based on thermodynamic process models of different production and recycling processes, a material and energy flow model of interlinked production and recycling processes on the level of chemical compounds is developed. The model can be used to improve network‐wide resource efficiency by analyzing and assessing measures in scenario and sensitivity analyses. A necessary condition for overcoming technical and economic barriers for implementing such measures can be fulfilled by identifying strategies that appear technologically feasible and economically and ecologically favorable. An exemplary application to a production and recycling network of the German steel and zinc industry is presented. From a methodological point of view, the approach shows one way of introducing thermodynamics and further technological aspects into industrial planning and assessment.     

武汉市造纸行业资源代谢分析

资源代谢问题是造成产业系统生态环境影响的主要原因.在分析武汉市造纸行业资源代谢的基础上从资源输入-资源使用-环境胁迫-系统循环共生4个方面构建武汉市造纸行业资源代谢分析指标体系.运用模糊综合评判法和问题树模型对2007年武汉市造纸业的原材料、水、能源等资源的代谢与全国造纸行业平均水平进行了比较分析.结果表明:(1)武汉市造纸业资源代谢水平总体上评价等级为优,但某些指标与全国平均水平比还略有差距;(2)从资源输入角度分析,原材料输入生态效率及水资源输入生态效率等级为优,能源输入生态效率等级为良;(3)从资源使用角度分析,单位产品的原材料消耗及单位产品的水资源消耗等级为优,单位产品的能源消耗等级为良;(4)从环境胁迫角度分析,单位污染物工业总产值及单位产品污染物排放等级均为优,污染物达标排放率等级为良;(5)从系统循环共生分析,企业清洁生产达标率等级为良,资源持续利用及污染物治理等级为优,而中水回用率等级为差.通过代谢分析可得,武汉市造纸行业能源输入生态效率、单位产品能源消耗与全国平均水平比还有一定距离,整个行业中企业清洁生产比例还具有提升的空间;中水回用方面较弱,需要特别加强.     

Life Cycle Energy Assessment of Alternative Water Supply Systems (9 pp)

Goal, Scope and Background This paper discusses the merging of methodological aspects of two known methods into a hybrid on an application basis. Water shortages are imminent due to scarce supply and increasing demand in many parts of the world. In California, this is caused primarily by population growth. As readily available water is depleted, alternatives that may have larger energy and resource requirements and, therefore, environmental impacts must be considered. In order to develop a more environmentally responsible and sustainable water supply system, these environmental implications should be incorporated into planning decisions. Methods Comprehensive accounting for environmental effects requires life cycle assessment (LCA), a systematic account of resource use and environmental emissions caused by extracting raw materials, manufacturing, constructing, operating, maintaining, and decommissioning the water infrastructure. In this study, a hybrid LCA approach, combining elements of process-based and economic input-output-based LCA was used to compare three supply alternatives: importing, recycling, and desalinating water. For all three options, energy use and air emissions associated with energy generation, vehicle and equipment operation, and material production were quantified for life-cycle phases and water supply functions (supply, treatment, and distribution). The Water-Energy Sustainability Tool was developed to inform water planning decisions. It was used to evaluate the systems of a Northern and a Southern California water utility. Results and Discussion The results showed that for the two case study utilities desalination had 2–5 times larger energy demand and caused 2–18 times more emissions than importation or recycling, due primarily to the energy-intensity of the treatment process. The operation life-cycle phase created the most energy consumption with 56% to 90% for all sources and case studies. For each water source, a different life-cycle phase dominated energy consumption. For imported water, supply contributed 56% and 86% of the results for each case study; for desalination, treatment accounted for approximately 85%; for recycled water, distribution dominated with 61% and 74% of energy use. The study calculated external costs of air pollution from all three water supply systems. These costs are borne by society, but not paid by producers. The external costs were found to be 6% of desalinated water production costs for both case studies, 8% of imported water production costs in Southern California, and 1–2% for the recycled water systems and for the Northern California utility's imported water system. Conclusion Recycling water was found to be more energy intensive in Northern than in Southern California, but the results for imported water were similar. While the energy demand of water recycling was found to be larger than importation in Northern California, the two alternatives were competitive in Southern California. For all alternatives in both case studies, the energy consumed by system operation dominated the results, but maintenance was also found to be significant. Energy production was found to be the largest contributor in all water provision systems, followed by materials production. The assessment of external costs revealed that the environmental effects of energy and air emissions caused by infrastructure is measurable, and in some cases, significant relative to the economic cost of water. Recommendation and Perspective This paper advocates the necessity of LCA in water planning, and discusses the applicability of the described model to water utilities.     

Assessment of the Industrial Tomato Processing Water Energy Nexus: A Case Study at a Processing Facility

Increased demand for water and energy and growing recognition of environmental issues motivate awareness of how these resources are used in industry. Industrial tomato processing consumes substantial quantities of both water and energy. To understand how these resources are used in tomato processing and what opportunities exist for improving efficiency, a water energy nexus (WEN) assessment was conducted that accounted for the various ways energy becomes embedded in water during processing by motors, pumps, fans, and boilers. The WEN assessment was conducted at an industrial tomato processing facility that processed 265 metric tonnes of fruit per hour to develop a map of water and associated energy use at each processing step. A total of 1.29 billion kilograms (kg) of water were used for the processing season, with 870 million kg routed to flumes. The analysis identified the thermal energy used to generate steam for the various heat exchangers and evaporators used during processing as the greatest source of embedded energy in process water (778,000 gigajoules per season). The electrical energy embedded in the process water totaled 4.4 million kilowatt‐hours per season, over 80% of which was attributed to pumping. Moreover, the data were used to identify opportunities to improve efficiency by adjusting water loads on equipment and developing strategies for water and energy conservation and recovery. The baseline water and energy use data provided by the WEN assessment can enable additional modeling to assess resource efficiency measures and the life cycle impact of processed tomato products.     

基于能流物流理论的农牧交错带生态治理模式研究——以内蒙古后山旱农区为例

中国北方农牧交错带的生态环境问题引起了人们广泛关注．经过多年的攻关研究。以能物流理论为指导,根据地处北方农牧交错带的后山旱农区的自然、社会、经济特征,提出了以丘陵为单元的生态治理模式,1999年对传统顺坡种植模式、人工草地模式和生态治理模式进行观测．能物流分析结果表明。生态治理模式与传统的种植模式相比,能提高太阳能利用率8．3％,提高能量输出量8．7％,提高能量转化效率19．4％,N的输出量提高26．5％,转化效率提高57．1％,P的输出量提高12．1％,转化效率提高45．0％。水分利用效率提高17．7％．人工草地模式与传统模式和生态治理模式相比,其太阳能利用率、能量输出量、能量转化效率都是最低的．治理模式产出最多,盈利最多,是经济效益最好的模式,经济效率比传统模式提高16．1％。     

厦门市生态经济系统物质流分析

运用物质流分析(MFA)方法和STIRPAT模型,对1996～2007年厦门生态经济系统物质输入与输出进行分析,结果表明:(1)在不考虑水的情况下,物质输入与输出不断增加(年均增长率分别为11.48%、11.41%),但均小于GDP增长速度(15.94%),二者成正比;物质流增长集中表现在对金属、非金属矿物的需求及化石燃料燃烧废气、工业废气的排放.(2)用水量和废水排放量均不断增加,尤以生活污水排放量增长速度较快,加重了区域环境的压力.(3)物质输入与GDP、物质输出与GDP呈良好线性关系.厦门经济发展很大程度上依赖资源消耗.(4)单位GDP物质输入与输出均不断减小,表明资源利用率、处置率明显提高,区域逐步走向生态环境与社会经济的协调发展.(5)构建了厦门物质输入驱动机制的STIRPAT模型,得出人口数量、富裕程度、技术水平或经济结构每分别发生1%的变化,将引起输入量相应发生0.99%、0.98%、0.17%、0.31%的变化.提升技术水平和优化经济结构具有较大调控空间,将是厦门物质减量化战略的实施重点.     

基于能流物流理论的农牧交错带生态治理模式研究——以内蒙古后山旱农区为例

中国北方农牧交错带的生态环境问题引起了人们广泛关注.经过多年的攻关研究,以能物流理论为指导,根据地处北方农牧交错带的后山旱农区的自然、社会、经济特征,提出了以丘陵为单元的生态治理模式.1999年对传统顺坡种植模式、人工草地模式和生态治理模式进行观测.能物流分析结果表明,生态治理模式与传统的种植模式相比,能提高太阳能利用率8.3%,提高能量输出量8.7%,提高能量转化效率19.4%,N的输出量提高26.5%,转化效率提高57.1%,P的输出量提高12.1%,转化效率提高45.0%,水分利用效率提高17.7%.人工草地模式与传统模式和生态治理模式相比,其太阳能利用率、能量输出量、能量转化效率都是最低的.治理模式产出最多,盈利最多,是经济效益最好的模式,经济效率比传统模式提高16.1%.     

Assessment of Environmental Impacts of an Aging and Stagnating Water Supply Pipeline Network

Aging urban infrastructure is a common phenomenon in industrialized countries. The urban water supply pipeline network in the city of Oslo is an example. Even as it faces increasing operational, maintenance, and management challenges, it needs to better its environmental performance by reducing, for instance, the associated greenhouse gas emissions. In this article the authors examine the environmental life cycle performance of Oslo's water supply pipelines by analyzing annual resource consumption and emissions as well as life cycle assessment (LCA) impact potentials over a period of 16 years, taking into account the production/manufacture, installation, operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, and retirement of pipelines. It is seen that the water supply pipeline network of Oslo has already reached a state of saturation on a per capita basis, that is, it is not expanding any more relative to the population it serves, and the stock is now rapidly aging. This article is part of a total urban water cycle system analysis for Oslo, and analyzes more specifically the environmental impacts from the material flows in the water distribution network, examining six environmental impact categories using the SimaPro (version 7.1.8) software, Ecoinvent database, and the CML 2001 (version 2.04) methodology. The long‐term management of stocks calls for a strong focus on cost optimization, energy efficiency, and environmental friendliness. Global warming and abiotic depletion emerge as the major impact categories from the water pipeline system, and the largest contribution is from the production and installation phases and the medium‐size pipelines in the network.     

区域生态经济系统的物质输入与输出分析——以常州市武进区为例

运用物质流分析（MFA）方法,对江苏省常州市武进区生态经济系统中物质输入与输出进行了系统的分析,结果表明：（1）随着社会经济发展和人口增长,武进区物质输入总量及人均物质输入量也在增加,但递增速率均远小于GDP增长速率,而物质输出总量及人均物质输出量则呈现递减趋势;（2）在不考虑水的因素情况下,武进区物质输入量保持较快的上升速度,其中固体物质的增长速率远远大于气体物质的增长速率;物质输出量则呈总体下降趋势,其中以气体物质输出量的贡献最大,对环境造成污染的物质以气体特别是以化石燃料燃烧排放的废气和工业废气为主;（3）排除占大部分比例农业用水的上升,工业用水、城镇生活用水和地下水总量及人均利用强度都在减少;同时,总的废水排放量及人均排放量在减少,其中又以生活废水排放量的减少最快,其次是工业废水;（4）单位GDP物质输入量的变化处于波动状态,同期的单位GDP物质输出量则呈递减趋势,单位GDP用水量和单位GDP废水排放量则有相同的递减趋势,表征了武进区资源利用效率的稳步提高,区域经济增长和环境压力也在逐步脱钩。上述结果体现了武进区近年来循环经济发展模式的优势,但还存在较多问题,说明武进区在调整物质利用强度和提高资源利用效率方面还需下更大的功夫,并采取相关措施,以期提高实施循环经济战略与建设节约型社会的地位和意义。文章最后结合研究区实际情况就区域环境一经济的协调发展进行了展望,指出了物质流分析方法在应用中的一些缺陷,为今后该领域的进一步研究提供了借鉴。     

Towards a Circular Economy in Australian Agri‐food Industry: An Application of Input‐Output Oriented Approaches for Analyzing Resource Efficiency and Competitiveness Potential

The food industry in Australia (agriculture and manufacturing) plays a fundamental role in contributing to socioeconomic sectors nationally. However, alongside the benefits, the industry also produces environmental burdens associated with the production of food. Sectorally, agriculture is the largest consumer of water. Additionally, land degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and waste generation are considered the main environmental impacts caused by the industry. The research project aims to evaluate the eco‐efficiency performance of various subsectors in the Australian agri‐food systems through the use of input‐output–oriented approaches of data envelopment analysis and material flow analysis. This helps in establishing environmental and economic indicators for the industry. The results have shown inefficiencies during the life cycle of food production in Australia. Following the principles of industrial ecology, the study recommends the implementation of sustainable processes to increase efficiency, diminish undesirable outputs, and decrease the use of nonrenewable inputs within the production cycle. Broadly, the research outcomes are useful to inform decision makers about the advantages of moving from a traditional linear system to a circular production system, where a sustainable and efficient circular economy could be created in the Australian food industry.     

产业生态系统资源代谢分析方法

产业生态系统是由企业群、资源及环境组成的社会-经济-环境复合生态系统。资源代谢是其功能运行的重要保障。资源代谢在时间和空间尺度上的耗竭及阻滞是造成严重生态环境问题的主要原因。根据生态学原理,运用物质流分析手段解析了产业生态系统的物质流、能流及资金流结构,构建了产业生态系统资源代谢分析模型,提出了资源输入-使用-输出-循环共生四方面的资源代谢分析指标体系和基于模糊综合分析的资源代谢问题树分析方法。在此基础上提出了基于循环共生网络结构模型的生态管理模式。以期为产业资源的生态管理提供方法支撑。     

Can Industrial Restructuring Lead to a Sustainable Future? A Critical Environmental Risk Assessment of Industrial Policy in Shandong Province,China

Shandong Province is attempting to realize a sustainable development path by industrial restructuring. This article attempts to forecast the outcomes of this policy, looking ahead to 2010 and 2020 by quantifying its resource demand and environmental effects. Prediction and analysis indicate that the industrial restructuring policy of Shandong Province is likely to prove beneficial to the environment, reducing energy and water consumption from the 2004 baseline. However, the analysis also indicates that the high anticipated economic growth rates will override any resource saving and pollutants reduction achieved. Natural resource supplies are insufficient to meet demand, and environmental quality is likely to deteriorate, rendering economic growth targets unachievable. However, if Shandong puts in place policies designed to achieve average energy and water consumption efficiency, SO₂ emission efficiency and wastewater treatment efficiency of OECD countries in 2004, then energy consumption, SO₂ emissions, wastewater, and Chemical Oxygen Demand discharges in 2020 will reduce in real terms with only water demand showing a slight increase over the 2004 baseline. The assessment suggests that further measures such as developing new and alternative energy sources, raising the utilization efficiency of energy and water resources, and improving pollution treatment are required if Shandong Province is to realize a balanced and sustainable development for its society, economy, and environment.     

Water footprint assessment for service sector: A case study of gaming industry in water scarce Macao

Although numerous studies have been carried out to investigate the water footprint of different economies at global, national and regional scales, the research on water footprint of individual economic sector, which is the elementary part of each economy, is still lacking. To fill the gap, this paper for the first time employs a hybrid method to evaluate the water footprint of gaming industry in water scarce Macao, based on the latest statistics and most exhaustive embodied water intensity databases. The results show that direct water use only accounts for extremely small fraction of the gaming industry's water footprint, indicating that the exchange of water embodied in product and service between different sectors is also a useful mean to satisfy individual sector's demand for water resources. As Macao's demand for water is growing, integrated plans including economic instruments and measures like reducing the scale of commission input and promoting efficiency would ease Macao's water pressure. Water footprint assessment in this study brings along new perspectives on gaming industry's water management and encourages wise use of goods, materials and services in a sustainable way.     

Resource use and improvement strategy analysis of the livestock and feed production supply chain in Thailand

Purpose

The aim of this research is to reveal the overall money flows and physical flows of the livestock and feed production supply chain in Thailand in order to analyze the resource use and cost and assess material use efficiency of the whole supply chain. Another aim is to evaluate the options to improve and evaluate trade-off between economic and environmental performance.

Methods

This research conducted material and monetary flow modeling using material flow analysis (MFA) and input output analysis (IOA). Data collected from the Thai Input-Output Tables 2005 were employed to develop the monetary flow model. Direct and indirect resource consumption (energy, water, and land use) and turnover along the supply chain were assessed using environmentally extended input-output analysis model (EEIOA). Scenario analysis with improvement options was applied to the model to evaluate the effectiveness of the improvement options.

Results and discussion

One third of energy and water consumption were from the animal farm itself. The rest were from feed production and upstream raw material production. Land use in the system was mainly from maize and paddy field. Feed conversion ratio improvement should play an important role in the strategy for resource efficiency and reduce environmental impact in the whole supply chain. Energy intensity reduction, the best option in overall energy reduction, is the policy that the government is pushing to be implemented in all sectors, and it can also easily be applied along with the other options. Therefore, it should be applied with the other options for improvement.

Conclusions

The results from monetary flow and physical material flow can visually show the holistic view of the Thai livestock production supply chain quantitatively and allow the stakeholders to understand the economic structure of the supply chain system. This can enable the decision makers to analyze the interrelation effect and impact of changing one sector demand or changing resource efficiency to impact other sectors in the system.

     

Material flow analysis (MFA) of an eco-economic system: a case study of Wujin District, Changzhou, China

The economic and ecological aspects of a social system are coherently linked and can be examined by its material and energy flows. In this study, we used the material flow analysis (MFA) to model the material input and output of the Wujin District of Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province in China. It was revealed that: (1) total material input and material input per capita increased with economic development, while the total material output and material output per capita decreased consistently; (2) except for water, the total material input continued to increase. Input of solid materials grew faster than that of gaseous materials, while the total material output declined. The gas output accounted for the largest proportion of the output resulting in primary environmental pollution as burned fossil fuel; (3) water use in agriculture continued with an increasing trend while that in industrial and residential sectors decreased per capita. The total wastewater discharge and wastewater discharge per capita decreased with a faster decreasing rate of residential wastewater discharge followed by industrial wastewater discharge; (4) material input per unit GDP fluctuated and material output per unit GDP decreased. A decreasing trend in both water use and wastewater discharge per unit GDP was disclosed. These results suggest that the efficiency of resource use in the Wujin District has improved. This weakened the direct link between economic development and environmental deterioration. Additionally, we discussed the harmonic development between environment and economy. Potential limitations of MFA’s application were also discussed. It is suggested that effective measures should be taken for the enforcement of circular economic strategies and the construction of a resource-saving economy __________ Translated from Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2006, (8): 2578–2586 [译自:生态学报]     

基于LMDI分解的厦门市碳排放强度影响因素分析

研究碳排放强度的变化趋势及其影响因素对于指导低碳城市建设具有重要意义。应用对数平均权重分解法(LMDI),基于厦门市2005—2010年各部门终端消费数据对碳排放强度指标进行因素分解,并将传统分析仅注重产业部门的能源碳排放,拓展到全面考虑产业部门和家庭消费的能源活动和非能源活动影响。研究结果表明:2005—2010年厦门市碳排放强度下降17.29%,其中产业部门能源强度对总碳排放强度变化影响最大(贡献63.07%),家庭消费能源强度是碳排放强度下降的主要抑制因素(-45.46%)。从影响效应角度看,经济效率对碳排放强度下降贡献最大,碳排系数减排贡献最小;从部门减排贡献角度看,第二产业贡献最大,家庭消费贡献最小。总体而言,厦门市未来碳减排重点部门在第二产业,优化产业结构和能源结构有较大减排潜力。     

Material flow analysis (MFA) of an eco-economic system:a case study of Wujin District,Changzhou,China

The economic and ecological aspects of a social system are coherently linked and can be examined by its material and energy flows.In this study,we used the material flow analysis (MFA) to model the material input and output of the Wujin District of Changzhou City,Jiangsu Province in China.It was revealed that:(1) total material input and material input per capita increased with economic development,while the total material out-put and material output per capita decreased consistently;(2) except for water,the total material input continued to increase.Input of solid materials grew faster than that of gaseous materials,while the total material output declined.The gas output accounted for the largest pro-portion of the output resulting in primary environmental pollution as burned fossil fuel; (3) water use in agriculture continued with an increasing trend while that in industrial and residential sectors decreased per capita.The total wastewater discharge and wastewater discharge per capita decreased with a faster decreasing rate of residential was-tewater discharge followed by industrial wastewater dis-charge; (4) material input per unit GDP fluctuated and material output per unit GDP decreased.A decreasing trend in both water use and wastewater discharge per unit GDP was disclosed.These results suggest that the effi-ciency of resource use in the Wujin District has improved.This weakened the direct link between economic develop-ment and environmental deterioration.Additionally,we discussed the harmonic development between environ-ment and economy.Potential limitations of MFA's application were also discussed.It is suggested that effec-tive measures should be taken for the enforcement of cir-cular economic strategies and the construction of a resource-saving economy     

Dynamic Models of Fixed Capital Stocks and Their Application in Industrial Ecology

Industrial assets or fixed capital stocks are at the core of the transition to a low‐carbon economy. They represent substantial accumulations of capital, bulk materials, and critical metals. Their lifetime determines the potential for material recycling and how fast they can be replaced by new, more efficient facilities. Their efficiency determines the coupling between useful output and energy and material throughput. A sound understanding of the economic and physical properties of fixed capital stocks is essential to anticipating the long‐term environmental and economic consequences of the new energy future. We identify substantial overlap in the way stocks are modeled in national accounting, dynamic material flow analysis, dynamic input‐output (I/O) analysis, and life cycle assessment (LCA) and we merge these concepts into a common framework for modeling fixed capital stocks. We demonstrate the usefulness of the framework for simultaneous accounting of capital and material stocks and for consequential LCA. We apply the framework to design a demand‐driven dynamic I/O model with dynamic capital stocks, and we synthesize both the marginal and attributional matrix of technical coefficients (A‐matrix) from detailed process inventories of fixed assets of different age cohorts and technologies. The stock modeling framework allows researchers to identify and exploit synergies between different model families under the umbrella of socioeconomic metabolism.     

基于物质流分析方法的唐山市经济与环境关系的协整检验和分解

利用物质流分析方法(MFA)建立物质流账户,分析唐山市在经济 环境系统运行中物质投入量与产出量的阶段特征及物质投入和产出强度对经济发展的影响程度;使用计量经济学模型,分别对国内生产总值(GDP)、直接物质投入(DMI)和直接废弃物排放(DPO)进行单位根检验、Johansen协整检验、向量误差修正分析、脉冲响应和方差分解分析,探索了各指标之间的双向作用机制和长期关系.结果表明: 1992—2011年,唐山市DMI和DPO 均呈增长趋势,DMI的增幅高于DPO.DMI投入强度呈增长趋势,DPO产出强度呈波动下降趋势.GDP与DMI、DPO之间存在着长期稳定协整关系,指标间的作用关系经历了由波动到逐步平稳的过程.DMI与DPO在短期内会对经济发展起到较强的正向冲击作用,但是经济-环境系统会逐步消化这些影响,并对系统内外指标进行短期的动态调整,最终使系统表现出一种长期的均衡关系;经济发展受到经济规模效应的影响逐步增加.将各指标对GDP的贡献度予以分解,其中,DMI的贡献度上升,GDP的贡献度下降,DPO的贡献度变化不大.总体上,唐山市的经济发展遵循了资源型城市的传统生产轨迹,较大程度上依赖于物质投入,高能源消耗又加剧了环境污染.     

Multi-criteria Analysis for Technique Assessment:Case Study from Industrial Coating

Environmental policy is oriented toward integrated pollution prevention, taking into consideration all environmental media (air, water, land) and energy consumption. Therefore, methods for assessing environmentally relevant installations are needed which take economic, technical, and especially ecological criteria into account simultaneously. Mass and energy flow models are used for the representation of production processes and form the basis for the inventory phase in life-cycle assessment (LCA). For the interpretation of LCA results and the weighting of the aggregated impact assessment indicators, approaches of multicriterion analysis (MCA) have been proposed. These can analyze ecological aspects as well as economic and technical criteria. Recent developments in LCA focus on decision support for policy makers or decision boards. Appropriate support for investment decisions on environmentally relevant installations, however, is rare.
Based on a case study of the sector called surface coating, an MCA of environmentally relevant installations is described. With the help of a mass and energy flow management system, alternative scenarios, depicting the use of solvent-reduced materials and environmentally friendly techniques, are modeled for the job coater processes in case studies of coating of mobile phones and coating of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) parts destined for the automobile industry. The modeled scenarios are further analyzed by using a multicriterion decision support module. The application of the outranking approach PROMETHEE is illustrated. A further investigation of the derived ranking can be obtained through sensitivity analyses. Moreover, the results derived by PROMETHEE are compared with the outcomes of the multicriterion approaches multiattribute utility theory and analytical hierarchy process.