From environmental concerns towards sustainable food provisioning. : Material flow and food consumption scenario studies on sustainability of agri-food systems

Agriculture is an economic activity that heavily relies on the availability of natural resources. Through its role in food production agriculture is a major factor affecting public welfare and health, and its indirect contribution to gross domestic product and employment is significant. Agriculture also contributes to numerous ecosystem services through management of rural areas. However, the environmental impact of agriculture is considerable and reaches far beyond the agroecosystems. The questions related to farming for food production are, thus, manifold and of great public concern. Improving environmental performance of agriculture and sustainability of food production, sustainabilizing food production, calls for application of wide range of expertise knowledge. This study falls within the field of agro-ecology, with interphases to food systems and sustainability research and exploits the methods typical of industrial ecology. The research in these fields extends from multidisciplinary to interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, a holistic approach being the key tenet. The methods of industrial ecology have been applied extensively to explore the interaction between human economic activity and resource use. Specifically, the material flow approach (MFA) has established its position through application of systematic environmental and economic accounting statistics. However, very few studies have applied MFA specifically to agriculture. The MFA approach was used in this thesis in such a context in Finland. The focus of this study is the ecological sustainability of primary production. The aim was to explore the possibilities of assessing ecological sustainability of agriculture by using two different approaches. In the first approach the MFA-methods from industrial ecology were applied to agriculture, whereas the other is based on the food consumption scenarios. The two approaches were used in order to capture some of the impacts of dietary changes and of changes in production mode on the environment. The methods were applied at levels ranging from national to sector and local levels. Through the supply-demand approach, the viewpoint changed between that of food production to that of food consumption. The main data sources were official statistics complemented with published research results and expertise appraisals. MFA approach was used to define the system boundaries, to quantify the material flows and to construct eco-efficiency indicators for agriculture. The results were further elaborated for an input-output model that was used to analyse the food flux in Finland and to determine its relationship to the economy-wide physical and monetary flows. The methods based on food consumption scenarios were applied at regional and local level for assessing feasibility and environmental impacts of relocalising food production. The approach was also used for quantification and source allocation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of primary production. GHG assessment provided, thus, a means of crosschecking the results obtained by using the two different approaches. MFA data as such or expressed as eco-efficiency indicators, are useful in describing the overall development. However, the data are not sufficiently detailed for identifying the hot spots of environmental sustainability. Eco-efficiency indicators should not be bluntly used in environmental assessment: the carrying capacity of the nature, the potential exhaustion of non-renewable natural resources and the possible rebound effect need also to be accounted for when striving towards improved eco-efficiency. The input-output model is suitable for nationwide economy analyses and it shows the distribution of monetary and material flows among the various sectors. Environmental impact can be captured only at a very general level in terms of total material requirement, gaseous emissions, energy consumption and agricultural land use. Improving environmental performance of food production requires more detailed and more local information. The approach based on food consumption scenarios can be applied at regional or local scales. Based on various diet options the method accounts for the feasibility of re-localising food production and environmental impacts of such re-localisation in terms of nutrient balances, gaseous emissions, agricultural energy consumption, agricultural land use and diversity of crop cultivation. The approach is applicable anywhere, but the calculation parameters need to be adjusted so as to comply with the specific circumstances. The food consumption scenario approach, thus, pays attention to the variability of production circumstances, and may provide some environmental information that is locally relevant. The approaches based on the input-output model and on food consumption scenarios represent small steps towards more holistic systemic thinking. However, neither one alone nor the two together provide sufficient information for sustainabilizing food production. Environmental performance of food production should be assessed together with the other criteria of sustainable food provisioning. This requires evaluation and integration of research results from many different disciplines in the context of a specified geographic area. Foodshed area that comprises both the rural hinterlands of food production and the population centres of food consumption is suggested to represent a suitable areal extent for such research. Finding a balance between the various aspects of sustainability is a matter of optimal trade-off. The balance cannot be universally determined, but the assessment methods and the actual measures depend on what the bottlenecks of sustainability are in the area concerned. These have to be agreed upon among the actors of the area

Positional dependence of material flow in friction stir welding: analysis of joint line remnant and its relevance to dissimilar metal welding

Understanding material flow in friction stir welding is important for production of sound dissimilar metal welding that control the intermixing of two alloys being welded and consequent formation of new constituents which influences the weld properties. In the present experimental investigation material flow patterns are visualised using dissimilar and similar aluminium alloys using a simple innovative ,experiment. The experimental results reveal that only a portion of material transported from the leading edge undergoes chaotic flow and the remaining is deposited systematically in the trailing edge of the weld. Using this information it is shown that the formation of a friction stir welding defect, joint line remnant, does not occur only when the weld interface is on the advancing side. The material flow visualisation study has been utilised to analyse the mechanism of weld formation and its usefulness in improving fatigue properties and for dissimilar metal welds.

Spatial Allocation of Material Flow Analysis: A Geographic Information System Application of Material Flow Analysis in Ireland

This study concerns the spatial allocation of material flows, with emphasis on construction material in the Irish housing sector. It addresses some of the key issues concerning anthropogenic impact on the environment through spatial temporal visualisation of the flow of materials, wastes and emissions at different spatial levels. This is presented in the form of a spatial model, Spatial Allocation of Material Flow Analysis (SAMFA), which enables the simulation of construction material flows and associated energy use. SAMFA parallels the Island Limits project (EPA funded under 2004-SD-MS-22-M2), which aimed to create a material flow analysis of the Irish economy classified by industrial sector. SAMFA further develops this by attempting to establish the material flows at the subnational geographical scale that could be used in the development of local authority (LA) sustainability strategies and spatial planning frameworks by highlighting the cumulative environmental impacts of the development of the built environment. By drawing on the idea of planning support systems, SAMFA also aims to provide a cross-disciplinary, integrative medium for involving stakeholders in strategies for a sustainable built environment and, as such, would help illustrate the sustainability consequences of alternative The pilot run of the model in Kildare has shown that the model can be successfully calibrated and applied to develop alternative material flows and energy-use scenarios at the ED level. This has been demonstrated through the development of an integrated and a business-as-usual scenario, with the former integrating a range of potential material efficiency and energysaving policy options and the latter replicating conditions that best describe the current trend. Their comparison shows that the former is better than the latter in terms of both material and energy use. This report also identifies a number of potential areas of future research and areas of broader application. This includes improving the accuracy of the SAMFA model (e.g. by establishing actual life expectancy of buildings in the Irish context through field surveys) and the extension of the model to other Irish counties. This would establish SAMFA as a valuable predicting and monitoring tool that is capable of integrating national and local spatial planning objectives with actual environmental impacts. Furthermore, should the model prove successful at this level, it then has the potential to transfer the modelling approach to other areas of the built environment, such as commercial development and other key contributors of greenhouse emissions. The ultimate aim is to develop a meta-model for predicting the consequences of consumption patterns at the local scale. This therefore offers the possibility of creating critical links between socio technical systems with the most important challenge of all the limitations of the biophysical environment.

The use of material flow analysis and the ecological footprint in regional policy-making: application and insights from Northern Ireland.

This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on the use of resource accounting tools in regional policy making. The Northern Limits project applied Material Flow Analysis and Ecological Footprinting to regional policy making in Northern Ireland over a number of years. The early phase of the research informed the regions first sustainable development strategy which was published in 2006 with key targets relating to the Ecological Footprint and improving the resource efficiency of the economy. Phase II identified the next steps required to address data availability and quality and the use of MFA and EF in providing a measurement and monitoring framework for the strategy and in the development of the strategy implementation plan. The use of MFA and Ecological Footprinting in sustainable regional policy making and the monitoring of its implementation is an ongoing process which has raised a number of research issues which can inform the ongoing application and development of these and other resource accounting tools to within Northern Ireland, provide insights for their use in other regions and help set out the priorities for research to support this important policy area.

Spatial allocation of material flow analysis in residential developments: a case study of Kildare County, Ireland

Studies of urban metabolism provide important insights for environmental management of cities, but are not widely used in planning practice due to a mismatch of data scale and coverage. This paper introduces the Spatial Allocation of Material Flow Analysis (SAMFA) model as a potential decision support tool aimed as a contribution to overcome some of these difficulties and describes its pilot use at the county level in the Republic of Ireland. The results suggest that SAMFA is capable of identifying hotspots of higher material and energy use to support targeted planning initiatives, while its ability to visualise different policy scenarios supports more effective multi-stakeholder engagement. The paper evaluates this pilot use and sets out how this model can act as an analytical platform for the industrial ecology–spatial planning nexus.

Modelling and visualisation of material flow in friction stir spot welding

Abstract The material flow in friction stir spot welding of aluminium to both aluminium and steel has been investigated, using pinless tools in a lap joint geometry. The flow behaviour was revealed experimentally using dissimilar Al alloys of similar strength. The effect on the material flow of tool surface features, welding conditions (rotation speed, plunge depth, dwell time), and the surface state of the steel sheet (un-coated or galvanized) have been systematically studied. A novel kinematic flow model is presented, which successfully predicts the observed layering of the dissimilar Al alloys under a range of conditions. The model and the experimental observations provide a consistent interpretation of the stick-slip conditions at the tool-workpiece interface, addressing an elusive and long-standing issue in the modelling of heat generation in friction stir processing.

Oportunidades y perspectivas para PROSISA industria de cintas plásticas al aplicar el material flow management (manejo de flujos materiales)

En la presente tesis los propósitos principales son la adecuada conceptualización y presentación del manejo de flujos materiales; nueva tendencia que ha generado expectativas en el exterior principalmente en industrias europeas y de Norte América. Además se busca dentro del presente trabajo analizar las connotaciones y oportunidades de la aplicación del manejo de flujos materiales en una empresa especifica de nuestro país, “PROSISA” Productos sintéticos S.A., considerando también las incidencias que esto podría tener en la industria general de Plásticos. Con el prenombrado análisis también se busca identificar las perspectivas que la empresa de sintéticos pueda tener al aplicar el manejo de flujos materiales dentro de su proceso productivo principalmente con los desperdicios y posibles soluciones para optimizar los recursos empleados.

Distributed Control Nodes for Material Flow System Controls on the Example of Unit Load Conveyor and Sorter Facilities

The Chair of Transportation and Ware-housing at the University of Dortmund together with its industrial partner has developed and implemented a decentralized control system based on embedded technology and Internet standards. This innovative, highly flexible system uses autonomous software modules to control the flow of unit loads in real-time. The system is integrated into Chair’s test facility consisting of a wide range of conveying and sorting equipment. It is built for proof of concept purposes and will be used for further research in the fields of decentralized automation and embedded controls. This presentation describes the implementation of this decentralized control system.

Performance Evaluation of Material Flow Systems in Discrete Time

Im folgenden Beitrag werden zeitdiskrete analytische Methoden vorgestellt, mit Hilfe derer Informations- und Materialflüsse in logistischen Systemen analysiert und bewertet werden können. Bestehende zeitdiskrete Verfahren sind jedoch auf die Bearbeitung und Weitergabe in immer gleichen Mengen („One Piece Flow“) beschränkt. Vor allem in Materialflusssystemen kommt es, bedingt durch die Zusammenfassung von Aufträgen, durch Transporte und durch Sortiervorgänge, zur Bildung von Batches. Daher wurden analytische Methoden entwickelt, die es ermöglichen, verschiedene Sammelprozesse, Batchankünfte an Ressourcen, Batchbearbeitung und Sortieren von Batches analytisch abzubilden und Leistungskenngrößen zu deren Bewertung zu bestimmen. Die im Rahmen der Entwicklungsarbeiten entstandene Software-Lösung „Logistic Analyzer“ ermöglicht eine einfache Modellierung und Analyse von praktischen Problemen. Der Beitrag schließt mit einem numerischen Beispiel.

Control concept for autonomous changeable material flow systems

Today’s material flow systems for mass customization or dynamic productions are usually realized with manual transportation systems. However new concepts in the domain of material flow and device control like function-oriented modularization and intelligent multi-agent-systems offer the possibility to employ changeable and automated material flow systems in dynamic production structures. These systems need the ability to react on unplanned and unexpected events autonomously.