Material life cycle assessment in China

From the very beginning, the research of Material Life Cycle Assessment (ML CA) has been an important part of the eco-materials research in China, and large numbers of researchers have been focusing their efforts on it. From 1 998, and supported by the National High-tech Program-863 Projects, the stud y of some typical materials has been put into practice. Thus far, the first phase of the project has been finished smoothly. The practical MLCA method s have been developed, and the manufacturing technologies and processes of the steel and iron, aluminum, cement, ceramic, polymer and construction coa tings have been assessed. The relevant assessment software has been develop ed. Reference systems are being set up for evaluation by studying typical m aterials. In this paper, the main achievements are reviewed. Some other dev elopments of MLCA in China are also introduced.