Abstract :
A comprehensive systems framework for materials policy analysis, the Reference Materials System (RMS), has been developed and is described in this paper. Specifically, the RMS provides a systematic approach to organizing engineering processtype information regarding material flows, energy requirements, costs, and environmental impacts corresponding to various materials on all processes ranging from extraction of resources through their refinement, transportation, fabrication, installation, and maintenance at the point of end use, as well as recycling. This system can be used for the assessment of material technologies, substitutions and policies, and has been applied to assess the role of renewable materials as substitutes for energy-intensive nonrenewables.
