Truncation error in embodied energy analyses of basic iron and steel products

An input-output study of the energy requirements for the manufacture of bas ic iron and steel products by the Australian steel industry is presented. T he basis of this study is a decomposition of the total energy requirement p er mass output of steel into partial requirements from industry sectors sup plying the steel industry. A separation into different order requirements s hows that lower order energy requirements for basic iron and steel, chosen from the supplying industries identified in a recent process analysis, are 19 MJ/kg, and that the total energy requirement is 40.1 MJ/kg, This proport ion demonstrates that truncation error in this process analysis, that is, t he omission of higher order energy contributions, is of the order of 50%. ( C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.