Aluminium (Al) consumption growth exceeded those of all other major metals over the last
decades. The main driver for this development is the broad range of applications for Al
and Al-alloys. As the growth in consumption went along with an increase of anthropogenic
stocks and flows of Al, information about material cycles became a crucial issue in terms
of resource management. In this study a comprehensive material flow analysis (MFA) of the
flows and stocks of Al in Austria for the year 2010 is conducted. The focus of the
presented Al balance is on data harmonization and plausibility checks, both based on
extensive data and literature research. The stock of Al is derived from bottom-up
calculations indicating a total stock of about 260 kg Al per capita with an annual growth
of 11 ± 3.1 kg/cap yr in 2010.
Total old Al scrap generation is calculated to be 7 ± 1 kg/cap yr. For considering data
quality aspects of single input data an adopted method for uncertainty assessment has been
applied to the different material flows. This allowed a consistent evaluation of
uncertainties within the material flow model. Due to the substantial uncertainties
associated with end-of-life Al flows and their significance for secondary Al production in
Austria, a better data base is needed in order to evaluate and optimize national Al scrap
utilization in secondary production. Therefore, a dynamic MFA model will be built for
Austrian Al flows and, in conjunction with the results from the static analyses, will
provide a reliable decision basis for future Al resource management.