EAEE E4001 Industrial Ecology of Earth Resources: A Brief Look at Eco-Industrial Parks

1. EAEE E4001Industrial Ecology of Earth Resources:A Brief Look at Eco-Industrial Parks Joe Di Dio, Teaching Assistant

2. The Industrial Symbiosis in Kalundborg, Denmark An example of applied industrial ecology is the eco-industrial park that has formed over the last 20 years in Kalundborg, Denmark. It has developed into a web of materials and energy exchanges between several companies and the city of Kalundborg in which very few of the by-products and wastes of any of the constituent companies are actually thrown away. The core companies are the Asnaes Power Station (Denmark's largest), a Statoil refinery (Denmark's largest), a Gyproc plasterboard factory, and the Novo Nordisk pharmaceutical plant (produces 40% of the world’s insulin), which swap water, steam, natural gas, sulfur, waste heat and more. By taking advantage of their by-products and wastes, these companies have been able to greatly reduce costs associated with both process ingredients and waste disposal while simultaneously reducing pollution to air, water and land. Through 1993, the $60 million infrastructure investment required for transporting energy and materials between the companies has produced $120 million in revenues and cost savings (www.indigodev.com/Kal.html).

3. The industrial symbiosis practiced at the park has netted an annual savings of 600,000 cubic meters of water, 30,000 tons of coal, 19,000 tons of oil, and a decrease in CO2 emissions of 130,000 tons. The $60 million that was invested in industrial ecological infrastructure over a 5-year period has resulted in $120 million in cost savings and revenues. This eco-industrial system was NOT DESIGNED. It developed by virtue of economic forces maximizing their own efficiency.

4. Criteria for symbiosis The industrial symbiosis developed in Kalundborg can be used to advantage in other industrial areas provided several conditions are satisfied: The enterprises must function togetherIndustrial symbiosis can only work with the right composition of enterprises in an area. Waste products from one enterprise must fit the need of other enterprises in order to turn waste products into raw materials. Diversity in the local industrial structure is therefore a necessary precondition for implementation of industrial symbiosis. The enterprises must be situated near each otherFor symbiosis to work, the enterprises must lie reasonably close by. Long pipelines are costly and the greater the length, the greater the energy losses. Experience from Kalundborg shows that the distance is most important when it is energy that is being exchanged between enterprises. Distance is of less importance in the case of other by-products. Openness between the enterprisesWith its relatively small size and isolated situation, Kalundborg has succeeded largely because the decision-makers working there know each other and have developed a relationship characterized by openness, communication and mutual trust. Industrial symbiosis is practiced in several other locations around the world, but not to the extent of Kalundborg. Many of these are also only between two enterprises. In Kalundborg six partners constitute the symbiotic network and the Danish experience has brought worldwide attention.

5. Detail of the energy and material flows of the industrial ecosystem at Kalundborg

6. What develops in an EIP? • ·a web of symbiotic relationships that develop amongst participating firms • ·a collaborative effort toward managing environmental and resource issues, including energy, water, and materials • ·an evolving process to maximize a collective benefit that is greater than the sum of the individual benefits to each company • ·an improvement in the economic performance of the participating companies while minimizing their environmental impacts • Elements that can be applied elsewhere: • Energy Flows • A more efficient use of energy is a major strategy for cutting costs and while simultaneously reducing burdens on the environment:companies seek greater efficiency in individual building, lighting, and equipment design. • Material Flows • Most wastes can be perceived as lost opportunities or potential products to be re-used internally or marketed to someone else. • Water Flows • Process water or steam (used for temperature changes In an industrial process) may be re-used by other facilities, known as water cascading. Greywater reuse within a home or water mains for several grades of water and provisions for collecting and using storm water runoff are examples. • Management and Support Services • A community would need a more sophisticated management and support system than an industrial park. Management maintains links into regional by-product exchanges and a site-wide telecommunications system.