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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Recently, the material flow analysis (MFA) of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has attracted much interest from researchers worldwide because of its function as a decision-making tool for moving towards a circular economy and sustainability in WEEE management. However, review studies on the development of MFA in WEEE management studies are still lacking. To fill this gap, 115 MFA studies published in various databases between 2010 and 2022 were analysed to provide a comprehensive overview of current research progress and recommendations for future studies. Three major elements from previous studies were reviewed using content analysis: (i) the trend of publishing in OECD and non-OECD countries over time; (ii) the scope and boundaries of the aspect studied, and the use of MFA in forecasting the generation, flow, and stock of WEEE; and (iii) providing a future outlook for MFA studies based on its limitations. Further analysis has revealed a considerable increase in the number of studies on MFA of WEEE in major OECD nations; however, the number of studies on concentrated areas of WEEE, particularly in non-OECD countries, remains low. Another limitation of MFA research is the scope and boundaries, with very few studies addressing the aspects of uncertainty analysis, circular economy, and life cycle analysis. Due to the increasing number of newly developed methodologies and the absence of thorough evaluation on this study topic, few studies properly utilised the static or dynamic MFA model. Thus, based on the research limitations and gaps discussed, recommendations for future studies are proposed.

Details

Title
Material Flow Analysis in WEEE Management for Circular Economy: A Content Review on Applications, Limitations, and Future Outlook
Author
Dhiya Durani Sofian Azizi 1 ; Hanafiah, Marlia M 2 ; Kok Sin Woon 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Department of Earth Science and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia 
 Department of Earth Science and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia; Centre for Tropical Climate Change System, Institute of Climate Change, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia 
 New Energy Science and Engineering Department, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia, Sepang 43900, Selangor, Malaysia 
First page
3505
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20711050
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2779698069
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.