Modelling dynamic interactions between material flow and stock: A review of dynamic material flow analysis

Abstract

The first step towards resource sustainability is quantifying the relationship between material flow and stock. Dynamic material flow analysis (dMFA) bridges the gap between stock and flow due to its distinct advantages, and researchers have employed it extensively since the 21st century. However, the development process and characteristics of dMFA are still unclear, and the main application and hotspot application of dMFA are also poorly understood. By reviewing 369 publications, content analysis was used to elaborate on dMFA development history, application progress and future directions from a comprehensive perspective.The results show that dMFA studies present a multi-perspective, multi-object, and multi-scale development trend, which mainly include two main contents: spatial–temporal simulation and evaluation. Spatial-temporal simulation studies, especially time evolution (including past and future) studies, are a hot spot for dMFA, while spatial identification studies are less common and focused mostly on the urban scale, which is an important direction for future development. At the same time, dMFA evaluation is also a research hotspot. Based on dMFA, metabolic characteristics can be evaluated, and by applying other methods such as life cycle assessment, decoupling analysis, system dynamics, risk assessment techniques, and multi-criteria decision analysis, social, economic, and environmental concerns associated with material flows are also evaluated.This review highlights the method's direction of development and application and is helpful for dMFA development. Future research should unify accounting systems, improve the accounting framework, expand the database, and integrate multiple methods to enhance the intersection and application of dMFA.

Keywords

• Dynamic material flow analysis
• Spatiotemporal simulation
• Evaluation
• Material flow
• Material stock
• Review