物质流分析（SFA）方法及研究进展

物质流分析(substance flow analysis,SFA)通过追踪经济-环境系统特定物质的输入、输出、贮存等过程,量化经济系统中物质流动与资源利用、环境效应之间的关系,为资源环境优化管理提供科学依据.系统阐述了SFA的内涵及发展历程,介绍了SFA方法体系,在此基础上对SFA研究现状进行了评述.分析表明,SFA是产业生态学领域内一种重要的产业代谢分析方法,它在污染物迁移路径追踪及环境影响分析、战略性资源生命周期代谢分析、物质社会存量分析等方面具有十分重要的应用价值.提出了SFA的未来应用领域和发展趋势.     

社会经济系统磷物质流分析--以安徽省含山县为例

氮、磷等营养物质过量输入是造成我国湖泊富营养化问题日益严重的根源,磷作为水体富营养化过程关键限制元素,主要来自流域社会经济系统中的人类活动排放,因此,定量刻画社会经济系统内的磷流动路径是追踪水体外源磷来源和进行有效控制磷排放量的前提。以巢湖流域的安徽省含山县为例,构建社会经济系统磷流分析框架,建立磷流核算模型,并在实地调查和数据统计分析的基础上定量刻画了含山县2008年度社会经济系统磷流路径。结果表明,2008年含山县社会经济系统向水体排放的磷总量为1592t,其中农业种植子系统的排放所占比例最大(77%),该子系统的磷利用效率也较低(45%)。因此,含山县富营养化治理的重点是优化农业种植系统的磷流路径,主要措施包括合理施肥、科学排灌等。     

Bismuth and Silver in Cosmetic Products: A Source of Environmental and Resource Concern?

Bismuth (Bi) and silver (Ag) are used in increasing amounts and are consequently being emitted from various sources and showing high accumulation rates in soils when sewage sludge is applied on arable land. This study aimed to analyze the amounts of Bi and Ag in three cosmetic products (foundation, powder, and eye shadow) in order to study the flows in urban wastewater in Stockholm, Sweden. Analyses showed that Bi was present in very high concentrations (7,000 to 360,000 milligrams per kilogram) in one third of the analyzed foundation and powder samples, whereas Ag concentrations all were below the detection limit. These cosmetic products explained approximately 24% of the measured total Bi amounts per year reaching the WWTP (wastewater treatment plant), making cosmetics a major Bi source, whereas for Ag the corresponding contribution was <0.1% of the measured annual Ag amounts. The results were roughly adapted for Europe and the United States, estimating the Bi flows from cosmetics to WWTPs. On a global scale, these flows correspond to a non‐negligible part of the world Bi production that, every year, ends up in sewage sludge, limiting the reuse of a valuable metal resource. From an environmental and resource perspective, foundations and powder products should be considered as significant sources of measured Bi amounts in sludge. This large Bi flow must be considered as unsustainable. For Ag, however, the three analyzed cosmetic products are not a significant source of the total Ag load to WWTPs.     

Global Phosphorus Flows in the Industrial Economy From a Production Perspective

Human activity has quadrupled the mobilization of phosphorus (P), a nonrenewable resource that is not fully recycled biologically or industrially. P is accumulated in both water and solid waste due to fertilizer application and industrial, agricultural, and animal P consumption. This paper characterizes the industrial flows, which, although smaller than the agricultural and animal flows, are an important phosphorus source contributing to the pollution of surface waters. We present the quantification of the network of flows as constrained by mass balances of the global annual metabolism of phosphorus, based on global consumption for 2004, all of which eventually ends up as waste and in the soil and water systems. We find that on a yearly basis, 18.9 million metric tons (MMT) of P is produced, of which close to 75% goes to fertilizer and the rest to industrial and others uses. Phosphoric acid is the precursor for many of the intermediate and end uses of phosphate compounds described in this study and accounts for almost 80% of all P consumed. Eventually, all of the P goes to waste: 18.5 MMT ends up in the soil as solid waste, and 1.32 MMT is emissions to air and water. Besides quantifying P flows through our economy, we also consider some possible measures that could be taken to increase the degree of recovery and optimization of this resource and others that are closely related, such as the recovery of sulfur from gypsum and wastewater (sludge), and fluorine from wet phosphoric acid production.     

工业园区氮代谢——以江苏宜兴经济开发区为例

以江苏宜兴经济开发区为例,基于物质流分析构建了工业园区的氮代谢网络和分析方法,解析了工业园区中产业系统和污水处理系统的氮代谢途径和通量。研究表明,氮物质流系统的源和汇比磷物质流系统多,流通量大且较为集中;氮肥生产、纺织印染和食品加工行业是宜兴经济开发区的主要氮排放源;企业自备处理设施除氮效果较好,去除率约79%,而污水处理厂由于设计和运行等原因氮去除率较低,约57%;生活污水氮去除率低;直接排入水体的降水造成的水体负荷约28%。由此,建议企业继续完善企业内处理设施,对集中污水处理厂进行脱氮除磷提标改造,同时加强对园区内生活污水、生活垃圾和企业固体排放物的管理。     

Dynamic Modeling of In‐Use Cement Stocks in the United States

A dynamic substance‐flow model is developed to characterize the stocks and flows of cement utilized during the 20th century in the United States, using the generic cement life cycle as a systems boundary. The motivation for estimating historical inventories of cement stocks and flows is to provide accurate estimates of contemporary cement in‐use stocks in U.S. infrastructure and future discards to relevant stakeholders in U.S. infrastructure, such as the federal and state highway administrators, departments of transportation, public and private utilities, and the construction and cement industries. Such information will assist in planning future rehabilitation projects and better life cycle management of infrastructure systems. In the present policy environment of climate negotiations, estimates of in‐use cement infrastructure can provide insights about to what extent built environment can act as a carbon sink over its lifetime. The rate of addition of new stock, its composition, and the repair of existing stock are key determinants of infrastructure sustainability. Based upon a probability of failure approach, a dynamic stock and flow model was developed utilizing three statistical lifetime distributions—Weibull, gamma, and lognormal—for each cement end‐use. The model‐derived estimate of the “in‐use” cement stocks in the United States is in the range of 4.2 to 4.4 billion metric tons (gigatonnes, Gt). This indicates that 82% to 87% of cement utilized during the last century is still in use. On a per capita basis, this is equivalent to 14.3 to 15.0 tonnes of in‐use cement stock per person. The in‐use cement stock per capita has doubled over the last 50 years, although the rate of growth has slowed.     

The Sankey Diagram in Energy and Material Flow Management

The Sankey diagram is an important aid in pointing up inefficiencies and potential for savings in connection with resource use. This article, the second of a pair, examines the use of Sankey diagrams in operational material flow management. The previous article described the development of the diagram and its use in the past.
Simple Sankey diagrams follow the requirement of conservation of energy or mass and allow a physical view of production systems. Advanced diagrams integrate stocks of materials beside the flows or show the different (ecological) quality of the materials. For the purpose of management, however, a further step is necessary: to illustrate the economic value of the energy and material flows and to use information from cost accounting. The use of flow charts showing added value or the costs of energy and material flows is particularly important for production systems. This article describes examples of each of these uses as well as assumptions that must be taken into account for Sankey diagrams to be used as an effective aid for decision-making in business and public policy.     

The Sankey Diagram in Energy and Material Flow Management

The Sankey diagram is an important aid in identifying inefficiencies and potential for savings when dealing with resources. It was developed over 100 years ago by the Irish engineer Riall Sankey to analyze the thermal efficiency of steam engines and has since been applied to depict the energy and material balances of complex systems. The Sankey diagram is the main tool for visualizing industrial metabolism and hence is widely used in industrial ecology. In the history of the early 20th century, it played a major role when raw materials were scarce and expensive and engineers were making great efforts to improve technical systems. Sankey diagrams can also be used to map value flows in systems at the operational level or along global value chains. The article charts the historical development of the diagrams. After the First World War the diagrams were used to produce thermal balances of production plants for glass and cement and to optimize the energy input. In the 1930s, steel and iron ore played a strategic role in Nazi Germany. Their efficient use was highlighted with Sankey diagrams. Since the 1990s, these diagrams have become common for displaying data in life cycle assessments (LCAs) of products. Sankey diagrams can also be used to map value flows in systems at the operational level or along global value added chains. This article, the first of a pair, charts the historical development. The companion article discusses the methodology and the implicit assumptions of such Sankey diagrams.