Abstract
This article describes a unique industrial symbiosis employing an algae cultivation unit (ACU) at the core of a novel eco-industrial park (EIP) integrating fossil-fuel fired power generation, carbon capture, biofuel production, aquaculture, and wastewater treatment. A new modelling framework capable of designing and evaluating materials and energy exchanges within an industrial eco-system is introduced. In this scalable model, an algorithm was developed to balance the material and energy exchanges and determine the optimal inputs and outputs based on the industrial symbiosis objectives and participating industries. Optimizing the functionality of the ACU not only achieved a substantial emission reduction, but also boosted aquaculture, biofuel, and other chemical productions. In a power-boosting scenario (PBS), by matching a 660 MW fossil fuel-fired power plant with an equivalent solar field in the presence of ACU, fish-producing aquaculture and biofuel industries, the net CO2 emissions were cut by 60% with the added benefit of producing 39 m3 biodiesel, 6.7 m3 bioethanol, 0.14 m3 methanol, and 19.55 tons of fish products annually. Significantly, this article shows the potential of this new flexible modelling framework for integrated materials and energy flow analysis. This integration is an important pathway for evaluating energy technology transitions towards future low-emission production systems, as required for a circular economy.
Highlights
Industrial and manufacturing agglomeration in so-called ‘eco-industrial parks’ has created valuable synergies among adjacent firms enabling them sharing natural and economic resources to improve the sustainability and economic benefits in urban and regional planning [1]
The CO2 emissions of scenario ‘B’ are approximately 304,002 t/year (Table 1), while the land size is estimated at 3.32 km2 —slightly larger than its counterpart of scenario ‘A’ to account for the post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) retrofit estimated at 17,200 m2
In the fuel-saving scenario, the coal feed is almost halved to 1.575 million tons per year as a result of solar power shouldering the other half, and the carbon emitted to the atmosphere is much less than in other scenarios
Summary
Industrial and manufacturing agglomeration (co-location) in so-called ‘eco-industrial parks’ has created valuable synergies among adjacent firms enabling them sharing natural and economic resources to improve the sustainability and economic benefits in urban and regional planning [1]. Current reliance on fossil fuels for energy and natural material resource inputs is environmentally unsustainable, contributing to significant GHG emissions, waste generation and unprecedented pollutions [3]. Industries that rely on fossil fuels and unsustainable material inputs must shift on a global scale to a circular economy model to minimize further emissions and reduce those already excreted. One attractive way for achieving this is through creating industrial symbioses, phenomena inspired by natural ecosystems in which disparate organisms collaborate for mutual benefit. Recent successful examples for eco-industrial park (EIP) were demonstrated by the green transformation in
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