Eco-industrial Parks Research Articles

A Methodology for Multi-criteria Assessment of Chiller Plants for Building Setup Utilising Waste Heat and Solar Energy

Incorporating a central chilled water hub within an eco-industrial park may boost cost-cutting and carbon reductions. Yet, there are various ways to power it, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages in respect of cost, environmental impact, and technological feasibility. Consequently, it might be challenging to negotiate a settlement with other members in an eco-industrial park because of their conflicting interests. A multi-criteria optimization method is used in this study to compare several centralized chiller systems that are powered by varying compositions of energy forms, to reduce total yearly expenditures for the whole complete building setup. An electric-driven chiller, multi-effect absorption chillers with several effects, and adsorption chillers are installed in the centrally located chilled water system. These components were chosen so that the system could use a wide range of fuels, such as electricity, fossil fuels, chillers, and even solar energy. Afterwards, the TOPSIS is employed to do a multiple criterion ranking on all plans, relying not only on the interests of the building but also on the priorities of individual chiller plants. The conceptual approach assures that cost reduction and user comfort are considered throughout the development of a chilled water system for the building setup. Among the nine criterions selected for the study, The weightage calculated were as follows: Actual capacity- 18%, Total Input power-13%, Speed of Compressor- 5%, EER- 13%, Running current -6%, Max Starting current-6%, Flow rate- 6%, Input power- 19% and Operating Weight- 14%. While ranking chillers AC Screw 355 TR VFD achieved highest performance score of 0.54 followed by AC Screw 355 TR STAR-DELTA with a performance score of 0.51. The novel study will aid the building owners in selecting the best design for chillers while maintaining a sustainable aspect in chillers which is important in building to attain green structure model.

Development of Eco-industrial Parks in China

Over the past 20 years, China has made outstanding progress in the development of eco-industrial parks. Their number exceeds 110 parks, which is more than in any other country. They play an important role in improving the environmental performance of industrial clusters and transport hubs in many areas of the PRC. Their environmental performance indicators are increasing year by year. Their contribution to the economic and environmental performance of the territories is the subject of many studies. However, most papers study individual types of effects or the effectiveness of individual eco-industrial parks. This article systematically explores China's experience in the development of eco-industrial parks in terms of the dynamics of their total number, distribution across all territories of the stratum and all groups of effects. The study is structured as a comprehensive literature review using qualitative and quantitative tools to synthesize existing findings and official documents. As part of the study of temporal dynamics, the average duration of the creation of an eco-industrial park and its tendency to increase to 10 in 2022 were identified. In 2015-2022 a trend was found to limit park approvals and to focus on accelerating the certification of already approved parks. Eco-industrial parks are located in the most ecologically unfavorable provinces, which indicates a country-wide planned effort to improve the environmental situation with the help of eco-industrial parks. Over the past 5 years, a trend has been revealed to expand the geography of parks. The synthesis of studies on the effectiveness of parks indicate the high potential of parks to create positive economic, production and environmental effects. At the same time, the absence of documented social effects was revealed. The analysis of the eco-industrial park program in China made it possible to formulate recommendations for managing similar programs in Russia.

Eco-industrial parks: global standardization and institutionalization of the concept

The present paper aims to give an overview of the role of international organizations in the development of eco-industrial parks (EIP) worldwide. The study introduces the term of EIP and explains why and how an international framework and an institutionalized background could contribute to the harmonization of the currently present diverse logic and thinking behind the concept. The author reviewed the publications of the selected international organizations which are actively seeking ways to improve the existing eco-industrial parks, as well as trying to spread the practice globally.

Eco - Industrial parks in Iraq

The idea of eco-industrial parks developed and became part of the planning process for the industrial city and this came as a reaction to the adverse effects of industry on the environment if this pollution continues, it will negatively affect our lives and future generations. Its importance is highlighted by achieving the principles of sustainable development by realizing the idea of a closed industrial loop in the design of the industrial city and making it self-sufficient as possible in terms of energy consumed to perform industrial operations. In addition to recycling industrial waste and benefiting from it with the idea of product and by-product where the product is considered a by-product (waste industrial) a raw material for another industry. The research paper dealt with the concept of the environmental industrial city. To study is aimed to examine the reality of planning for the industrial cities in Iraq and the environmental industrial cities around the world, and extract the most important solutions and strategies that can be followed in the Iraqi industrial cities to make them environmental industrial cities. Its main goals are embodied in preserving environmental resources and not wasting them to preserve the rights of future generations and Sustainable long-term economic success, in addition to providing a clean environment free of pollution in Iraq. In comparison with the ecological industrial cities around the world and the strategies and objectives of the proposed industrial cities in Iraq, we find: The use of clean energy, reuse of waste resulting from industrial processes, water reuse, and other main principles should be included in the Iraqi industrial cities, in addition, to set up units for treating heavy water and waste and power and purification plants.

Optimizing Surplus Heat Recovery using Fast Fourier Transform-based Extremum Seeking Control

In large industrial parks, the surplus heat generated by the different manufacturing and processing plants can be recovered and utilized (e.g. for district heating) using a network of heat exchangers. Efficient management of the heat exchanger network is an important factor in maximizing the surplus heat recovery. This is accomplished by adjusting the flow of cold stream through the heat exchangers as the amount of heat generated by the different heat sources vary over time. Traditional real time optimization typically requires detailed process models, production schedules, and real-time process measurements in order to optimize the process. However, in an eco-industrial park with multiple heat sources operated by different companies, data sharing may not be desirable. This paper proposes the use of a multivariable extremum seeking control scheme using fast Fourier transform (FFT) to optimize waste heat recovery using only a single temperature measurement, measured at the end of the heat exchanger network. By mapping the time series data into a series of frequencies, we show that FFT allows us to easily extract the effect of different input perturbations from the single temperature measurement, and use it to optimize surplus heat recovery from an industrial cluster.

Establishment of eco-industrial parks and urban carbon emissions

Establishment of eco-industrial parks and urban carbon emissions

Potential Application of Blockchain Technology in Eco-Industrial Park Development

The concept of an eco-industrial park (EIP) that promotes resource sharing, reutilization of waste, and exchange of materials among industries and communities brings significant benefits in terms of environmental, social, and economic aspects. EIP can be accomplished with the aid of blockchain technology to manage data and integration complexity and problem dimensionality. This work proposes the application of blockchain technology in combination with other Industry 4.0 (IR4.0) technologies as enablers for EIP development. We review the international frameworks for EIP and the IR4.0 principles and applications focusing on blockchain technology to evaluate the suitability of blockchain technology integration into the green industrial park concept. An illustrative model of a blockchain-based EIP data management platform has been proposed in this work as a starting point for exploring the full potential of this technology for future EIP applications.

Wastewater System Integration: A Biogenic Waste Biorefinery Eco-Industrial Park

In recent years, great interest has been shown in the utilization of biogenic wastes in biorefineries as part of the concept of a circular bioeconomy. However, various challenges arise including the availability, cost and characteristics of the biogenic wastes in ensuring consistent biorefinery production processes. This work presents an optimization-based approach of a biogenic waste biorefinery eco-industrial park (BWB EIP). An indirect integration scheme is presented with a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) acting as a centralized utility hub to treat the biogenic wastes generated from the participating plants and to supply volatile fatty acid (VFA) demanded by the participating plants through the WWTP interceptors. The objective of minimizing the VFA demanded by the participating plants from external sources is achieved. To further assess the influence of a future increase in VFA demand for one of the participating plants which is the polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) plant on the integration network, a sensitivity analysis is conducted. The results indicated that two WWTP interceptors are required with a 32.8% and 27.4% reduction in fresh VFA from external sources achieved through the integration network before and after sensitivity analysis. This work provides an insight into developing the framework for other BWB processes.

Nature-based Solutions for Industrial Logistic Parks.

The growth of logistic cities and freight villages to meet the increasing demand of e-commerce is unstoppable. This strategic sector has boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is estimated that by 2025, 138 million sqm of additional e-commerce areas will be built worldwide. Only in the last decade, the European logistic construction activity has tripled. Endless cities of asphalt and concrete have been built to host e-commerce companies, posing severe environmental threats such as desertification, loss of ecosystem and wildlife. Seeking to resolve these challenges, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization has proposed an international framework for Eco-Industrial Parks, with environmental guidelines for rainwater management, biodiversity preservation, or creation of recreational areas amongst others. However, prior studies and recommendations focused on the formulation of resilient spatial planning solutions for industrial logistic areas are yet very limited, and comprehensive literature reviews are still lacking. Aiming to address this research gap, this paper includes a review of recent investigations and projects focused on the study of resilient solutions for the design of industrial logistic areas. A bibliometric analysis of the literature published in Scopus database from 1992 to 2022 concerning terms such as Industrial Park, Eco-Industrial Park, or Nature-based Solutions is presented. The results reveal that the connection between Industrial Logistic Parks and Nature-based Solutions is very weak, or almost non-existent. This paper also discusses the project Plataforma Central Iberum-one of the largest industrial logistic spaces (3.5 million sqm) built in Spain- as a case study. This project is one of the first Industrial Logistic Parks developed in this country where nature-based solutions such as the integration of rainwater wetlands, load-bearing permeable pavements, green v-ditch medians, and natural self-sustaining infrastructure parks with diverse native plant species, were implemented. Overall, this paper aims to highlight the urgency to discuss and adopt Nature-based Solutions to render Industrial Logistic Parks more resilient.

Flexible networks to promote the development of industrial symbioses: A new optimization procedure

The development of eco-industrial parks is now proven a local efficient solution to reduce environmental impacts of industrial areas as well as increasing economic benefits. Furthermore, they are a good way to produce goods while reducing environmental footprints by exchanging energies, water and raw materials instead of consuming too much resources; that way it improves circularity of resources with no disruption of production. However, in an uncertain context caused by different factors such as environmental problems, sanitary crises or geopolitical conflicts, the design of an interconnected network must take into account possible deviations of nominal conditions. In this study, an integrated procedure is developed so that an optimal flexible network is designed with a given flexibility threshold. The flexibility is defined as the minimum of the maximal deviations for the nominal inlet parameters that can be handle by the network. Impact of such a flexibility is visible on the total investment cost of the network. Indeed, when adding some flexibility to the network, the investment cost is increased. The integrated procedure developed is able to find a global optimum in a very large computational time (up to 500 h); in this article, two other procedures are then tested over a large-scale case study (15 companies) to validate the approach. One of them consists in oversizing the network so that it can handle large deviations but the increase of the cost is important. The other procedure consists in a decomposition of the integrated approach in two steps: the first one aims at defining the structure of the nominal solution (minimum of the cost) and the second one evaluates several deviation scenarios to take into account disruption of inlet parameters. The results show that the two-steps procedure obtains results close to the integrated procedure with reasonable computational time (up to 40 min). This study helps to provide solutions to design optimal flexible networks, also adapted to solve large-scale eco-industrial parks; it can also be used as an optimization-decision aid tool for the territorial development of industrial ecology.

Environmental Benefit of Eco-Industrial Development: Effective Approach of Europe to Climate Change and Mitigation

Recent rapid progress in industrialization and urbanization has made scientists to explore a green development so that environmental bodies should not be contaminated and living things should not face health threat. Even though industries not related to environmental concern should also develop a green way in their production. Eco-Industrial Parks are evaluated in several comparative studies, generally in advanced countries. An important message is that EIPs concurrently need advances in business relations, among several such as corporations, and resource flows. The profits for all are comprised enterprises, who take steps for reduction in the net waste production and/or resource consumption. The implementation of advanced technologies is required towards resource conservation. Another important matter is the manufacturing of new products and the urbanized zoned should be provided the environmental services. Concerning these all things, this paper deals with benefits of eco-industrial parks and sustainable development in the future. This paper also deals with how eco-industrial parks are beneficial for Europe and developing countries. Findings from previously published literature demonstrated that eco-industrial parks play significant role for eco-environment friendly sustainable development.

Institutional support for the development of eco-industrial parks in the conditions of the circular economy formation taking into account world experience

The article aims to substantiate the principles of institutional support for the development of eco-industrial parks in the conditions of formation of circular economy taking into account, the world experience. The methodological basis of the study is a systematic approach. It is based on the fact that the institutional support for the development of eco-industrial parks orients the actions of the authorities at different levels to establish certain norms, rules, restrictions, the order of their establishment and fulfillment in terms of achieving the goals of sustainable development, with interaction with the subjects of territorial communities. It is concluded that institutional support, should provide effective assistance in the development of public policies that underpin the eco-industrial parks, ensuring compliance with the rights and freedoms of business entities. In addition, the basis of institutional support for park development is based on a systemic approach, which is proposed in the form of a recurrent functional relationship. Measures aimed at ensuring institutional support for these parks are highlighted.

Does China's National Demonstration Eco-Industrial Park Reduce Carbon Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide-A Study Based on the Upgrading and Transformation Process.

With the increasingly serious environmental problems, coordinating the relationship between the environment and economic development has become a crucial task for developing countries, especially China. This paper studies the role of eco-industrial parks (EIPs) in the emissions of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide in China with the difference-in-difference (DID) approach by focusing on the entire process of EIPs’ establishment—upgrading provincial development zones (DZs) to national DZs and then transforming national DZs into EIPs. Besides, we examined the heterogeneous effect of the different transformations from national economic and technological development zones (ETZs) or national high-tech zones (HTZs) to EIPs. In addition, we studied the spatial spillover effects of EIPs and their paths with the spatial difference-in-difference (SDID) method. The results show that neither provincial DZs nor national DZs can significantly reduce sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide emissions. Only when national DZs are transformed into EIPs can they be reduced significantly. However, the different transformations from the HTZs and ETZs to EIPs have different effects on emissions. Moreover, EIPs have technology spillovers and demonstration effects on surrounding areas. Therefore, EIPs can reduce emissions in the surrounding areas. The results indicate that, in order to achieve high-quality development and coordinate the relationship between environment and economic development, we should take positive steps to promote the transformation of DZs into EIPs.

Implementation of the circular economic model in the Chinese practice

The circular economic model is a newly (re)discovered paradigm by the humanity which seems to be inevitable in order to create a sustainable resource managment for our future, in all sectors of the economy, especially in industrial production. Disciplines such as industrial ecology have already shed the light on the importance of copying or adapting nature-based ecosystems in industrial zones, parks, see e.g., the worldwide spreading eco-industrial parks. In many parts of the world, the circular economic is not only emerging as a theoretical concept, but is also being integrated into policy-making processes and practice. The circular economy can also be an alternative to traditional – linear – economic systems on a global scale. The European Union is making a strong move in this direction, as are many other countries, including the United States and China. China is one of the most committed promoters of this concept, where we can talk about the political mainstreaming of the circular economic model since the 1990s. The country is having an exponentially increasing number of pilot projects for circular economic. By implementing the circular economic model, China is reflecting on the complex problems of the very rapid industrialization and economic growth. An extremely centralised political regime like China is using top-down methods which may not be possible to implement neither in the EU nor in the US, but it is rather the system-level thinking of circularity which must be studied, not the concrete plans and steps. This article aims to analyse why circular economy is a beneficial approach to industrial sites, why we may state that the Chinese practice is very unique and specific in a global comparison, and what might be the potential lessons or patterns other countries or regions could study and interprete. The methodology applied by the author is based on the review of recent international literature available on the best practices of circular economic, as well as concrete case studies and statistical data from China. Based on the already existing and published models, it is undebated that the Chinese practice is progressive in quantitative terms, however, there are several weak points of the pilot and demonstration projects, mainly regarding the lowel level of involvement of stakeholders (park managment and business actors) and the density of cooperation networks

CO2 Emissions Inventory and Its Uncertainty Analysis of China's Industrial Parks: A Case Study of the Maanshan Economic and Technological Development Area.

The Chinese government has pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Industrial parks are the key to achieving the carbon peak and neutrality in industrial sectors. Establishing the CO2 emissions inventory is the first step to achieve the carbon peak in industrial parks. In this study, a comprehensive CO2 emissions inventory was established for industrial parks, including three parts: energy consumption, industrial process, and waste disposal. We considered scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and established an uncertainty analysis framework. Accordingly, scope 1 covered the emissions within the park boundary, scope 2 emissions covered those resulting from electricity and heat usage inside the boundary, and scope 3 included those indirect emissions beyond the boundary. The Maanshan Economic and Technological Development Area (MDA), a typical booming national eco-industrial park of China, was chosen for this case study. The results showed that the MDA CO2 emissions increased yearly, from 376,836.57 tons in 2016 to 772,170.93 tons in 2021. From the industrial structure perspective, heavy industry contributed the highest emissions. By dividing the emissions into scope 1, 2, and 3, scope 2 could be identified as the largest emissions source. In addition, we conducted inventory uncertainty analyses incorporated by activity levels, emissions factors, and unspecific factors. Overall, these results may promote the establishment of greenhouse gas accounting standards for Chinese industrial parks.

Optimising renewable energy at the eco-industrial park: A mathematical modelling approach

Climate change mitigation has been a global effort and energy generation is one of the primary sources of GHG emissions. There is a need to transition from fossil-based energy to renewable-based energy. One of the platforms to nourish the work is Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) which it promotes resource efficiency, industrial symbiosis, and circular economy practice. There is a need to explore an optimal configuration of multiple renewable energy (RE) systems in a centralised EIP facility that generates electricity for internal consumption and exports the excess energy to the grid. This model developed a mixed-integer non-linear programming (MINLP) model that considers RE from biogas, biomass, micro-hydro, and solar sources for a centralised water hub. The energy generated is primarily used for the main processes involved in the facility as the excess energy will be supplied to the grid. A case study and two scenarios were assessed, and the results offered simultaneous technical, economic, and environmental benefits, which are in the forms of multiple RE generations, additional yearly profit, and GHG emission avoidance from fossil source. This will further strengthen the envisioned role of EIP as it is also capable of supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UNSDG) and RE100 agenda.

Türkiye’deki Sanayi Yapısı Tasarımının Sürdürülebilirlik Açısından İncelenmesi Ve Sanayi Bölgeleri İçin Bir Model Önerisi

Yapılı çevreyle ilgili sürdürülebilirlik çalışmalarının; ekolojik tasarım, sürdürülebilir mimarlık, yeşil binalar, yaşam döngüsü analizleri, bina değerlendirme sistemleri gibi sonuçları olmuştur. Sürdürülebilirliğin sanayideki yansımalarından bazıları ise; planlı bölgeler, endüstriyel ekoloji, simbiyoz, eko-endüstriyel parklar olarak sayılabilir. İki grup faaliyetin, özellikle kesiştikleri yerlerden inceleneceği bu çalışmayla; Türkiye’deki sanayi bölgelerinin üstyapı tasarım ve uygulamalarının daha nitelikli ve yeşil olmasına katkı sunulması amaçlanmaktadır. Öncelikle eko-endüstriyel park konsepti ve Türkiye’de henüz geliştirilmekte olan Yeşil OSB projesi, özellikle yeşil üstyapı bağlamında incelenmiştir. Ardından, ülkemizde bir sertifika sistemiyle değerlendirilen veya değerlendirilmekte olan sanayi yapıları tespit edilerek verileri derlenmiştir. Derlenen veriler, sertifikaların önemli bir bölümünün alınması için danışmanlık hizmeti veren firmalarla yapılan görüşmelerden de faydalanılarak ve gerektiğinde basit ortalamalar alınarak veya gösterge detayına girilerek yorumlanmıştır. Çalışmanın sonucunda Türkiye’deki sanayi bölgelerinin, sürdürülebilir üstyapı tasarımı ilkeleri doğrultusunda iyileştirilmesine katkı sağlayacak bir model önerisi sunulmuştur.

Carbon emission reduction effects of eco-industrial park policy in China

Scientifically evaluating the carbon emission reduction performance of eco-industrial park (EIP) can provide empirical supports for governments to formulate energy conservation and emission reduction policies. Based on the quasi-natural experiment of China's National Demonstration Eco-Industrial Park (NDEIP) construction, this study adopts the panel data of 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2019 to investigate the effects of EIP policy on urban carbon emission reduction through the multi-period difference in difference method. It was revealed that: (1) NDEIP construction has reduced urban carbon emissions by 3.08%, indicating a significantly inhibiting effect on urban carbon emission level; (2) Improvement the effects of NDEIP construction on urban carbon emission reduction appears in the 2nd year following policy implementation; (3) Carbon emission reduction effects of the NDEIP construction are more significant in small and medium-sized, eastern and western, non-resource-based, and high carbon emission cities; (4) NDEIP construction primarily promotes carbon emission reduction through the improvement of energy use efficiency, while the optimization of energy use structure has a weak effect on carbon emission reduction. Furthermore, NDEIP construction has a strong spatial spillover effect, driving carbon emission reduction in surrounding cities within 450 km.

Contributing to carbon peak: Estimating the causal impact of eco‐industrial parks on low‐carbon development in China

AbstractLow‐carbon development is associated with eco‐industrial parks (EIPs), but whether a causal relationship exists is unknown. A growing body of evidence from environmental engineering studies suggests that EIPs reduce carbon emissions, but few economic studies have assessed the causality, channels, and heterogeneity of this relationship. This study uses the staggered difference‐in‐difference method to construct a quasi‐natural experiment to assess the impact of national‐level EIPs on low‐carbon development. The empirical results reveal that EIPs help achieve low‐carbon development in China. Specifically, EIPs reduce the carbon intensity of the pilot cities by 7.2%. The channel analysis reveals that EIPs advance technological innovation, stimulate the Porter effect, and upgrade the industrial structure. Regional heterogeneity analysis further reveals that EIPs are more conducive to low‐carbon development in pilot cities in southern China, cities along the coast, and cities on the east of the Hu line. Further analysis shows that EIPs depress the peak of the environmental Kuznets curve and help achieve the turning point early. Moreover, this study offers fresh cases and patterns for the construction of EIPs in China. This study contributes to an in‐depth understanding of the role of EIPs in the low‐carbon transition in the largest developing country and provides inspiration for further policy optimization.

Integrated modelling approach for an eco-industrial park site selection

Inconsistencies of the single multi-criteria decision making (SMCD) methods in criteria weight assessment make them unreliable and have led to the wrong siting of industrial parks, which are often abandoned as brownfields that emit GHG. Eco-industrial parks (EIPs) are replacing brownfields but require robust decision-making tools to weigh and rank suitable locations for industry clusters' synergies. Integrated multi-criteria decision making (IMCDM) to address the weaknesses and strengthen the advantages of SMCDM methods, and a model to overlay criteria weights and spatial data easily and accurately were developed. The spatial criteria data for 2009 and 2019 from Tanjung Langsat Industrial Area were collected and prepared by GIS to test the SMCDM and IMCMD consistency weighting and the model resilience. The SMCDM (AHP, ANP and F-AHP) and the IMCDM weights with the 2009 criteria data identified the entire water bodies around the brownfield as suitable sites, making them inconsistent. The 2019 data with the SMCDM weights identified tiny sites as best, also making them inconsistent. The integrated hierarchy network fuzzy analytic process (HN-FAP) and the hierarchy network analytic process (HNAP) with the 2019 criteria data identified part of the water bodies as suitable making it inconsistent. The hierarchy fuzzy analytic process (H-FAP) and the network fuzzy hierarchy analytic process (NFh-AP) identified larger suitable sites without overlaps making them consistent algorithms. The H-FAP and NFh-AP procedures eliminate the weaknesses and consolidate the strengths, giving optimally consistent criteria weights. The two algorithms' consistency and the model efficiency can use different criteria weights and spatial data inputs from elsewhere for 4IR-driven EIP modelling to help brownfield-EIP stakeholders. Future research would address the reverse ranking of MCDM methods when alternatives are added or removed.