Industrial symbiosis, which allows entities and companies that traditionally be separated, to cooperate among them in the sharing of resources, contributes to the increase of sustainability with ...environmental, economic and social benefits. Examples of industrial symbiosis have grown over the years with increasing geographic dispersion. Thus, through a comprehensive review of previous studies, this work aims to trace the trend of industrial symbiosis research and to map the existing case studies around the world, with a critical analysis of its impact. The analysis of the 584 selected publications allowed tracing the evolution of these according to their content and the type of article, as well as its distribution by journals. Based on the literature review, the main lines for research in industrial symbiosis are assessed, as well as an updated study of the published case studies is provided with emphasis on the location, type of industry and employed methodologies. Several challenges are then identified for future research. The results reveal the number of articles on industrial symbiosis has greatly increased since 2007 and China is the country with the largest number of publications and cases of industrial symbiosis, followed by the United States. The methods for quantifying impacts and analysing industrial symbiosis networks were the most widely used. The analysis of the published case studies allowed an overview of the industrial symbiosis in the world and showed that the potential for application is enormous, both in developed countries and in countries with developing economies, and although the most present economic activities in the synergies are associated with the manufacturing sector, the possibilities of industrial symbiosis are not restricted to these activities nor to the number of entities involved. The symbioses between industry and the surrounding community also have great potential for development with numerous advantages for both parties.
While promoting the economic development of resource-dependent cities, the industry also brings serious environmental and ecological issues. The combination of industrial symbiosis and urban ...symbiosis (IS/UrS) offers a new solution to environmental and ecological challenges for resource-dependent cities. To quantify the benefits of IS/UrS in resource-dependent cities, this study assessed triple benefits including environmental (raw materials saving and wastes reuse), reduced CO2 emission, and ecological (emergy saving) benefits via IS/UrS in Yongcheng (China) by combining material flow analysis and emergy analysis. The results indicate that a total of thirty-nine IS/UrS activities (including twenty-nine in-use and ten potential IS/UrS activities) are identified, which can achieve remarkable resources saving including 2.37 Mt slag substitution for feedstock mix in cement clinker production (96% from existing in-use activities), 0.43 Mt municipal solid waste reduction (100% from potential activities), 1.07 Mt coal saving (35% from potential activities), 4.88 Mt CO2 emission reduction (23% from potential activities) and 5.53E+21 sej emergy saving (17% from potential activities). Urban symbiosis activities can contribute additional CO2 reduction and emergy saving by 11% and 7% respectively. Based on the performance of CO2 reduction and emergy saving, recycling of slag/fly ash and scrap steel should be given top priority in the local IS/UrS policy making process. The case study shows that IS/UrS is a useful approach to facilitate the sustainable development of resource-dependent cities, and could be expanded to other similar cities.
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•Industrial/urban symbiosis evaluation in a resource-dependent city is conducted.•An integrated framework is proposed to uncover symbiotic performance quantitatively.•Benefits of 1.1 Mt coal, 5.53E+21 sej saving and 4.9 Mt CO2 reduction are achieved.•Urban activities can contribute additional 11% CO2 reduction and 7% emergy saving.•The symbiotic performance of recycling scrap steel and slag/fly ash is significant.
•A comprehensive co-benefit analysis was studied in industrial and urban symbiosis.•High and low-grade waste heat were focused for the symbiosis networks.•Four scenarios were investigated for its ...economic and environmental effects.•CO2 emissions and fuel cost reduction was achieved in the energy symbiosis network.
Energy depletion and global climate change have stimulated the Korean government to strengthen energy saving and efficiency measures in all sectors. However, in industrial sector where huge energy is consumed, only small portions of the high-grade waste heat from industrial processes have been utilized by another process through industrial symbiosis networks in industrial park and large quantities of low-grade waste heat are mostly discharged into the environment. Through technological assessment of energy balance between waste heat source in industrial park and heat sink in industrial park and urban area, this study systematically develops an industrial-urban symbiosis (I-US) and conducts a co-benefit analysis for 4 scenarios. Based on the investigation on the energy utilization status of Ulsan, the scenarios for potential I-US networks are evaluated. For the supply and demand side, potential energy sources and sinks are estimated at 49,321 and 15,424TJ/yr, respectively, noting that the demand side considered four scenarios based on the local condition analysis. Through these scenarios for the energy symbiosis networks; a reduction of 243,396ton/yr CO2 emission and 48 million US Dollar/yr fuel cost were achieved. Due to a large transition cost for a district heating system, I-US public private partnership business model is highly recommended to attract long-term investment and institutional incentives of carbon credit and energy service companies fund are conducive to put these scenarios into practice.
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•A circular network for the reuse, recycling and replacing of express packaging waste.•Innovative application of urban symbiosis strategy in express packaging recycling.•A multi-depot ...collaboration routing location problem with pickup and delivery.•Hybrid NSGA-II combining differential evolutionary algorithm and local search.
The booming express delivery industry corresponds to the environmental challenges caused by massive express packaging waste (EPW). An efficient logistics network is necessary link to support EPW recycling. This study, therefore, designed a circular symbiosis network for EPW recycling based on urban symbiosis strategy. The treatment of EPW in this network includes reuse, recycling and replacing. An optimization model with multi-depot collaboration combining material flow analysis and optimization methods was developed and a hybrid non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) was designed as technical support for designing the circular symbiosis network while quantitatively assessing the economic and environmental benefits of the network. The results show that the designed circular symbiosis option has better resource saving and carbon footprint reduction potential than both the business as usual option and circular symbiosis option without service collaboration. In practice, the proposed circular symbiosis network can save EPW recycling costs and reduce carbon footprint. This study provides a practical guideline for the application of urban symbiosis strategies to help urban green governance and the sustainable development of express companies.
Industry plays as a double-edged sword that can contribute to both gross domestic product (GDP) and pollution, thus the concept of eco-industrial development which emphasize the environmental ...cleanness in economy development has received more and more attentions recently. Different from the traditional development mode which merely relocating industries outside of the cities for pursuing sustainable development, eco-industrial development makes significant innovation by treating or utilizing wastes (i.e. solid wastes and waste energy) in a smart way for local industries to achieve a win–win situation. In order to investigate the eco-benefits of eco-industrial development in China, this study focused on an industrial and urban symbiosis case of Guiyang city in which process synergy, municipal solid wastes recycling and waste energy utilization were incorporated in this typical industrial city. This city is resource-dependent, has many heavy industries, and these severely hinder sustainable development in this city. In order to promote eco-industrial development, an integrated coal, electricity, aluminum, phosphor chemical, iron/steel industry and urban symbiosis network was firstly designed, with linkages between various industries through energy exchanges and process synergies. Subsequently, a quantitative assessment on the life cycle environmental benefits were further conducted. Then, we found that a dramatic resource saving and carbon dioxide emission reduction can be achieved. Finally, some policy implications to address the barriers of promoting industrial and urban symbiosis were proposed. This study is critical for future industrial and urban planning policy making and shed a light on innovative eco-industrial development in China.
Solar energy provides a minor percentage of the thermal demand of industrial processes globally. This paper proposes a new analytical energy model for the simulation of a solar thermal steam boiler ...system to be integrated into an industrial environment with steam parameters at 180 °C. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the influence of solar irradiation on the share of solar steam generation and to clarify how the levelised costs of energy are influenced by different technical and economic parameters. A solar steam boiler system with parabolic trough collectors is modelled and simulations for two scenarios of 1.5 and 2.0 MW thermal output at annual irradiation of 919 kWh/(m2a) were carried out. According to the results of the feasibility study a solar share of 17–23 % of total annual steam generation is feasible without the integration of a thermal storage. Levelised costs of solar steam generation of 55–60 EUR/MWh were determined under current market conditions at mid-latitude regions. The proposed concept can benefit the wider integration of solar process heat. Beyond a solution for the production process, the integration into a connected district heating network offers further potential to reduce its primary energy factor.
•Solar steam generation is a CO2-free energy solution for industrial-urban symbiosis.•New analytical energy model for the simulation of a solar steam boiler system.•Scenario analysis shows the technical feasibility and a high share of solar energy.•Solar thermal steam production can be profitable in mid-latitude regions.
•Different technologies to improve waste to energy rate are proposed in the study.•Energy recovery efficiency, GHG emission of MSW treatment options are evaluated.•Supply steam from incinerator to ...industry has highest energy recovery efficiency.•Suggestions are made for a city plan to facilitate the MSW incineration treatment.
As a means of converting waste to energy, improvement of energy recovery efficiency from municipal solid waste (MSW) has taken on great importance and necessity. Previous studies have focused on the waste-to-energy potential from the viewpoints of technology, such as waste power generation (WPG); however, there is large room for improvement in WPG efficiency. Moreover, with reduction in population in some developed countries, the potential for further improvement of energy recovery from waste needs to be investigated, considering both geographical characteristics and future trends. To fill this research gap, this study proposes four efficient MSW management options through integrating MSW management and an urban symbiosis network. The Tokyo Metropolis, Japan, was selected as a case study, and the costs and benefits, effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction, and energy recovery efficiency of each option were quantitatively analyzed. The results showed that Option 4 (urban symbiosis without source separation) has the highest energy recovery efficiency (65.95%), followed by Option 3 (urban symbiosis with source separation) and Option 2 (MSW centralized treatment) in 2030. Compared with Option 1 (business as usual), Option 3 will slightly increase the total cost, while Option 4 is the most profitable option, and the benefit will rise to 1.81 × 1010 JPY in 2030. Reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 will be greatest with Option 3, which will eliminate 9.44 × 105 tonnes of CO2e emissions. Also by 2030, Option 4 and Option 2 will reduce the CO2e emissions by 6.58 × 105 tonnes and 2.27 × 105 tonnes, respectively. To promote the transition to a low carbon city, Tokyo must improve the energy recovery efficiency of MSW and use more renewable and recycled energy resources to substitute for fossil fuels. This study provides a practical guide for establishing a more efficient MSW management system toward the goal of a low carbon society.
Industry and fossil fuel combustion are the main sources for urban carbon emissions. Most studies focus on energy consumption emission reduction and energy efficiency improvement. Material saving is ...also important for carbon emission reduction from a lifecycle perspective. IS (Industrial symbiosis) and U sub(r)S (urban symbiosis) have been effective since both of them encourage byproduct exchange. However, quantitative carbon emission reduction evaluation on applying them is still lacking. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to fill such a gap through a case study in Kawasaki Eco-town, Japan. A hybrid LCA model was employed to evaluate to the lifecycle carbon footprint. The results show that lifecycle carbon footprints with and without IS and U sub(r)S were 26.66 Mt CO sub(2)e and 30.92 Mt CO sub(2)e, respectively. The carbon emission efficiency was improved by 13.77% with the implementation of IS and U sub(r)S. The carbon emission reduction was mainly from "iron & steel" industry, cement industry and "paper making" industry, with figures of 2.76 Mt CO sub(2)e, 1.16 Mt CO sub(2)e and 0.34 Mt CO sub(2)e, respectively. Reuse of scrapie steel, blast furnace slag and waste paper are all effective measures for promoting carbon emission reductions. Finally, policy implications on how to further promote IS and U sub(r)S are presented.
With material and energy flow features, iron/steel industry has unique advantage in the industrial symbiosis (IS) formation to realize environmental and economic benefit simultaneously. The ...quantification of the scale and significance of IS benefits is valuable for IS promotion, while there is much few attention to it, especially in China. Under this circumstance, this paper evaluates and compares the number, scale and the related environmental/economic gains of IS activities in iron/steel-centered industrial areas in Liuzhou and Jinan in China, and Kawasaki in Japan. Results show that: in Liuzhou, there are three symbiosis activities between industries. The annual by-product/waste exchange is more than 2 million ton/y, gaining economic revenue more than 36.55 million USD for the iron/steel company. In Jinan, seven symbiotic links are between industries, and two are between urban community and iron/steel plant. The total by-product/waste exchange is over 8 million ton/y and the economic gains account to 158 million USD. In Kawasaki, iron/steel industry relates to four symbiotic links, the total by-product/waste exchange amount is about 500 kton/y, with the economic gains over 54 million USD. The form and the complexity of the IS network are different in the three cases. IS in Liuzhou and Jinan are with the features of large number and scale, but single types. While in Kawasaki, IS includes not only traditional exchanges between iron/steel plant and the other industries, but also the innovative utilization of urban refuse by industrial area. Finally, from the perspective of technology, legislative framework and support policy, circular technology inventory, integrated waste management system, information platform and national subsidies are needed to support the ever-improvement of IS promotion in China's iron/steel industry.
•Evaluates environmental/economic gains of IS in three iron/steel-centered industrial cluster.•Significant environmental/economic gains are confirmed in each case.•The form and the complexity of the IS network are different in the three cases.•IS in Chinese cases are with the features of large number and scale, but single types.•Policy implications to promote IS in China are proposed and discussed.
•Importance of spatial configuration for urban energy system is highlighted.•An urban symbiosis between industry, urban and agriculture is proposed.•Integrative evaluation system is built for ...district heating using waste heat.•Linkage between urban planning and energy policy is modeled in simulation.•District heating is available in low-density city by compact and diverse land use.
Energy shortage and global climate change have created a dilemma in Japan, especially after the great earthquake of 2011 in eastern Japan. District Heating System (DHS) using waste heat is highlighted as an attractive solution. However, because of low heat demand in urban areas and the geographic separation of industries, popularizing this solution is considerably difficult in Japan. Previous studies have focused on technical improvements on existing district heating networks, but these studies lack sufficient discussion on an early-stage integrated land-use planning. Supported by technological assessment and emerging concepts of Industrial-Urban Symbiosis (I-US), this study combines the system development of DHS and land use scenarios into a symbiotic design based on inventory survey and geographic database, and conducts a cost-benefit analysis to scientifically and quantitatively evaluate the effects brought from land-use policies. Results from a case study of Shinchi Town in the Fukushima Prefecture indicate DHS using waste heat can realize significant benefits of energy saving and CO2 reduction, provided positive guidance on land use planning is implemented. Moreover, the model framework of this study also supports a quantitative assessment on policy implementation to help in decision making on urban sustainable energy planning.
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