Keywords
continuous simulation, dynamic modelling, environmental information systems, material flow network, system dynamics
Start Date
1-7-2004 12:00 AM
Abstract
Software systems supporting industrial ecology, corporate material flow analysis and life cycle assessment, are normally used as environmental accounting systems. Using these software systems it is easy to model material and energy flow networks with hundreds or even thousands of processes. Environmental accounting systems are not only utilised to analyse and control existing material and energy flow systems, they are also applied to assess future scenarios in steady-state models. But these systems do not support dynamic modelling. Even though dynamic behaviour is not the main focus of environmental accounting systems, sometimes simulation models are required to estimate material and energy flows depending on specific decision criteria (stock-keeping policies, water circulation design options in manufacturing processes, etc.). This article describes a way to integrate continuous simulation approaches into an environmental accounting system such as the material flow network approach. The integration of continuous simulation concepts into material flow networks is only one example. It demonstrates how to integrate advanced concepts into an industrial environmental information system (EnvIS). For several other concepts such a way is possible (e.g. Coloured Petri-Nets to support discrete simulation). As a result the environmental information system acts as an infrastructure and consists of several modelling components. The accounting system of the EnvIS plays the role of a conceptual framework.
Continuous Simulation in Material Flow Networks
Software systems supporting industrial ecology, corporate material flow analysis and life cycle assessment, are normally used as environmental accounting systems. Using these software systems it is easy to model material and energy flow networks with hundreds or even thousands of processes. Environmental accounting systems are not only utilised to analyse and control existing material and energy flow systems, they are also applied to assess future scenarios in steady-state models. But these systems do not support dynamic modelling. Even though dynamic behaviour is not the main focus of environmental accounting systems, sometimes simulation models are required to estimate material and energy flows depending on specific decision criteria (stock-keeping policies, water circulation design options in manufacturing processes, etc.). This article describes a way to integrate continuous simulation approaches into an environmental accounting system such as the material flow network approach. The integration of continuous simulation concepts into material flow networks is only one example. It demonstrates how to integrate advanced concepts into an industrial environmental information system (EnvIS). For several other concepts such a way is possible (e.g. Coloured Petri-Nets to support discrete simulation). As a result the environmental information system acts as an infrastructure and consists of several modelling components. The accounting system of the EnvIS plays the role of a conceptual framework.
