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Material Flow Analysis

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Responsible Consumption and Production

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

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Synonyms

Material flow investigation; Material flow study

Definition

Material flow analysis is the study of well-defined process chains where raw materials are transformed into goods and products that are consumed or used by end users or customers.

Introduction

In this entry, material in material flow is understood as goods or products that are consumed or used by customers. The focus is on industrial systems and flow of materials in industrial supply chains. The material flow is described with activities, the individual steps, as well as a process that consists of several of the individual steps of activities.

Encyclopedia Britannica (2018) defines material as “the elements, constituents, or substance of which something is composed or can be made.” Similarly, Rhee (2008) defines material to physical matter that is used to produce an object, which typically is some kind of product. Material can also be divided into substances and goods, where a substance is a single type of material,...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

    Hasse Nylund & Minna Lanz

Authors
  1. Hasse Nylund
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  2. Minna Lanz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hasse Nylund .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-ALS, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences FTZ-ALS, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal

  2. University of Aveiro , Aveiro, Portugal

    Ulisses Azeiteiro

  3. Ctr Neurosci & Cell Biology, 1 Floor, Univ Coimbra, Edf Fac Medicina, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  4. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  5. Ozyegin University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökcin Özuyar

  6. Centre for Work Related Studies, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. Dept of Industrial Management, Center for Innovation and Technology Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

    Ulla Saari

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Nylund, H., Lanz, M. (2019). Material Flow Analysis. In: Leal, W., Azeiteiro, U., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P., Wall, T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71062-4_8-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71062-4_8-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71062-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71062-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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