Cradle-to-cradle modeling of the future steel flow in China

Abstract

China is the biggest steel producer and consumer in the world. Therefore, it is important to understand the dynamic mechanisms of the steel flow, to forecast the future trends, as well as evaluate different improvement measures. Although the previous models are able to depict the dynamic material flow, the market dynamics are excluded such as production capacity planning, the cost competitiveness of each route, the market prices of resources, etc. This paper presents a cradle to cradle model to describe the comprehensive mechanism of the steel lifecycle by combing both material and market dynamics. The model is used to predict and quantify the future steel flow in China from 2012 to 2100. Th..