Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP
From semi-finished goods to the finished product – reject and recycling rates are at the focus throughout a product’s life journey.
Material and Substance Flow Analysis
Supply chains at the focus of attention
Material and Substance Flow Analysis (MFA/SFA) is basically concerned with the quantification of material flows within and beyond the bounds of a system. An MFA/SFA analyzes and answers questions relating for example to the use of a material in different industrial sectors and products. Throughout worldwide production networks with complex manufacturing routes, operational material and substance flow management yields extensive data on material, substance, and energy flows. This entails a great amount of logistical effort. The broad diversification and temporal fluctuations necessitate intricate logistics management, to which material, substance, and energy flow analysis can make an active contribution in future-oriented design.
The inclusion of all partial flows, recyclable materials, energy carriers, and emissions in a comprehensive operational substance and energy flow management system contributes to
- optimizing resource efficiency,
- reducing the use of materials and energy,
- preventing emissions and waste, and
- increasing recycling rates.
The Life Cycle Engineering Department has drawn up an extensive material and process database on the basis of long experience and numerous projects in the area of Life Cycle Assessment and material and substance flow analysis. Together with the GaBi software, this database is used in many enterprises and research institutes worldwide. This comprehensive, consistently structured database makes for efficient support in decision making on the basis of Life Cycle Assessments and Material and Substance Flow Analyses.