Material Flow Analysis 1 Naomi Radke, seecon international GmbH

Material Flow Analysis


1

Naomi Radke, seecon international GmbH


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Contents

1. What is Material Flow Analysis (MFA)?

2. How to use MFA for SSWM

3. Applicability

4. Advantages and Disadvantages

5. References

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Quantification and assessment of ...

... matter (in SSWM: water, food, excreta, wastewater, ...)

and substances (nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, ...) mass flows (primary natural resources)

in a (human) system (city, country, ...)

during a defined period.

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MFA contains the following main steps:

1. Identification of the relevant material flows

2. System analysis (selection of the relevant matter, processes**, indicator substances* and system boundaries)

3. Quantification of mass flows of matter and indicator substances*

4. Identification of weak points in the system

5. Development and evaluation of scenarios and schematic representation, interpretation of the results

*Indicator substances for MFA in SSWM are generally: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), carbon (C or CO2), NH3

** Processes: transformation, transport or storage of substances (for SSWM: households, wastewater treatment plants, agricultural soils)

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Example of a System Analysis (Step 2 of MFA)

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Boxes designate processes, arrows

represent the flows of (matter or substance)

mass within a system. Source: FORSTER et al.

(2003)



Why doing a MFA?

• To optimise your local SSWM system:• Identifying problems and quantifying the impact of

potential measures on resource recovery and environmental pollution

•Comparing different sanitation technology options regarding their environmental and financial impact

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Example: Pour-flush toilet or Arborloo?

Two sanitation technologies that differ in material flows

and possible in environmental impact (where are nutrients

from excreta transported to?)



Example of MFA for nitrogen at household-level (1/3)

Step 1: Identifying the relevant material flow

• Relevant goods in SSWM: inputs and outputs to and from the household (food, excreta, blackwater, greywater, organic solid waste)

• Relevant material flows in SSWM: Phosphorus, nitrogen, carbon (energy or calorific values), etc.

• Relevant processes in SSWM: Households (food and water consumption, digestion, kitchen wastes) and on-site sanitation system

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2. How to Use MFA for SSWM?




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Step 2: System Analysis: Nitrogen (N)-containing goods are transformed in these 2 processes.

1. N enters the human organism as food

2. digestion

3. Leaving human organism as excreta

Example of system boundaries at the

household-level. “I” is import, “E” is

export. Source: YIOUGO (2010)




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Step 3: Quantifying good and substance flows in the system

•Good = Substance or mixture of substances e.g. Food or solid waste

•N flow in excreta = kg excreta/capita/day * N concentration in excreta

•Source data: Literature, estimations, measurements, calculations




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Step 4+5: Graphing and interpreting the data

•Graph: Open-source software STAN can be used for graphic representation

MFA with graphic representation of mass of

goods flows. Units can show mass in t/year or

t/capita/year. Nitrogen masses can be calculated

from mass of goods Source: YIOUGO (2010)



MFA can be used for:

• Environmental impact assessments

• Development of environmental policy for hazardous substances

• Nutrient management in watersheds

• Waste management

• Evaluating the environmental soundness of sanitation options by calculating and comparing the quantity of nitrogen or phosphorus within the city for each option

• Sanitation planning: Choosing the best options which do not pollute groundwater, surface water and allow for nutrient recycling

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3. Applicability



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4. Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages:•Allows critical view of

sanitation/water management•Helps to evaluate the

environmental soundness of sanitation options

•Can be used as a decision tool to choose sustainable sanitation technology

• Ideal technical basis for planning and decision making

• In developing countries, proven suitable for early detection of environmental problems

Disadvantages:•Needs a lot of data to be

implemented•Limited reliable data

available in developing countries

•There is a need to deal with uncertainties

MFA applied to SSWM



FORSTER, D.; SCHERTENLEIB, R.; BELEVI, H. (2003): Linking Urban Agriculture and Environmental Sanitation. Duebendorf: Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science (EAWAG). URL: http://www.susana.org/lang-en/library?view=ccbktypeitem&type=2&id=327 [Accessed: 16.10.2013]

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6. References

Material Flow Analysis 15

“Linking up Sustainable Sanitation, Water Management & Agriculture”

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Material Flow Analysis 1 Naomi Radke, seecon international GmbH