Material and Energy Requirements

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • マテリアル・エネルギー・リクワイアメント
  • マテリアル・エネルギー・リクワイアメント--その意義と算出法
  • マテリアル エネルギー リクワイアメント ソノ イギ ト サンシュツホウ
  • —その意義と算出法
  • —their definitions, derivation, and significance

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Description

In order to make the activity of the humanosphere fit to the global limits, a concept of material and energy requirements (mer) for a product/service was proposed and defined. The argument is based on a unified treatment of material cycles applicable to both biogeochemical cycles and sociogeochemical cycles, in which knowledge, physical inflow, srocks (coined word from stock and process), benefit, and outflow constitute basic elements of material circulation. There are five classes of mers: Direct material and energy requirement (D-mer), Extended material and energy requirement (E-mer), Total material and energy requirement (T-mer), Lifetime material and energy requirement (L-mer), and limited Lifetime material and energy requirement (limited L-mer). They may be derived from LCA inventory data and may be used for the formulation of the resource productivity and the eco-efficiency. It was found that the L-mer, which is all the material and energy needed for a product/service to complete its entire lifecycle, was the sum of all the E-mers used in its lifetime, if its lifecycle contains no recycling process. Problems associated with the application of the mers to global change, i. e., kinds of data to be collected, data reliability, their relation to global limits, their conversion, impact allocations to benefit, and multiple indicators, are discussed.

Journal

  • Eco-Engineering

    Eco-Engineering 15 (3), 93-99, 2003

    The Society of Eco-Engineering

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