Emergence Of Industrial Symbiosis Research Articles

How industrial symbiosis emerges through partnerships: actors, platforms, and stakeholder processes leading to collaborative business models in port industrial areas

The present paper explores how industrial symbiosis emergence unfolds within port industrial areas. A multiple case study shows how industrial symbiosis emerges through partnering and stakeholder processes that take the form of collaborative business models. Focusing on actors, platforms for collaboration, and content of stakeholder processes, the study identifies drivers for industrial symbiosis emergence, including the importance of geographical proximity and agglomeration, which identify port industrial areas as natural habitats for industrial symbiosis. A defining characteristic of industrial symbiosis emergence within port industrial areas is the collective effort of actors to bridge economic, environmental, and social objectives across private and public sectors. Finally, the paper suggests that future research on industrial symbiosis and the emergence thereof within port industrial areas may benefit from insights into corporate social responsibility and the emerging field of servitisation.

Industrial Symbiosis: An Exploration of the Potential of Sustainable Waste Management in the UAE

This study aims to provide targeted policy pathways supporting the emergence of industrial symbiosis in practice within the UAE. The introduction provides an overview of state-of-the-art practices in waste management and a literature review on assessing the benefits and importance of industrial symbiosis toward achieving a circular economy in the regional context. Next, the paper highlights the key challenges, drivers, and opportunities that will enable the identification, development, and realization of industrial symbiosis exchanges between two or more parties based on various case studies. Consultations with industry stakeholders and the ensuing data analysis highlight the potential for symbiotic exchanges between industries. The results also suggest an increase in the overall reuse and recycling rate for waste by successfully engaging in an industrial network of waste exchange. Next, potential gaps in policy interventions and their detrimental effects on the identification and development of industrial symbiosis practices are highlighted. The paper concludes with key recommendations for policymakers as well as industrial and waste management entities for introducing industrial symbiosis programs in the UAE.

Towards a Sustainable Bioeconomy through Industrial Symbiosis: Current Situation and Perspectives

The concepts of industrial symbiosis (IS) and bioeconomy (BE) both focus on ways to reduce dependence on non-renewable resources. However, these two frames of reference have rarely been considered as part of a joint strategy to achieve sustainability. Here, we describe how they inter-operate, in well documented IS case studies, to identify current synergy patterns of organic by-products, their limits, and promising pathways towards integrated initiatives that pursue the respective goals of each framework. We first evaluated the nature of synergies in current practices, and how they contribute to sustainability. Second, we focused on the role of agriculture in these symbioses, due to its fundamental role in circular bioeconomy. We used three main dimensions to analyze our case studies: IS emergence, governance of synergies, and actor serendipity. We identified three main patterns of organic matter use within IS, which we termed metabolic resources, metabolic biorefinery, and global biorefinery. Our observations suggest that synergies with agriculture are undervalued, by both internal and external practitioners. We conclude that while the combination of BE and IS can bolster sustainability, it requires a dedicated implementation strategy that has yet to be conceived.

Institutional Lens upon Industrial Symbiosis Dynamics: The case of Persian Gulf Mining and Metal Industries Special Economic Zone

Industrial Symbiosis (IS) is a collaboration between nearby industrial plants to exchange waste material and energy and achieve economic and environmental benefits that cannot be obtained individually. IS emergence in a cluster requires both technical potentials for material and energy exchange and social readiness for collaboration. In this paper, to gain insight into IS dynamics in emerging industrial clusters; we investigate shared concepts governing actors’ behavior in the form of rules and regulations, and social norms and practices. We implemented the IS dynamics framework to reveal which dynamics are supported either by the legislation or actors’ preferences. The Persian Gulf Mining and Metal Industries Special Economic Zone in Iran is used as a case study. The case study revealed that previous successful collaborations in the cluster were often self-organized, but stakeholders preferred to initiate new IS collaborations if financial incentives and infrastructure are provided. Meanwhile, the institutional analysis showed that institutional arrangements (e.g., pricing and penalties) are not in favor of IS emergence. Even though stakeholders might engage in self-organized IS because of inherent problems such as resource scarcity, the lack of clear and effective institutions could hinder IS. This understanding can help both the government and stakeholders in their strategies for future collaborations under different economic and environmental policies.

Industrial symbiosis emergence and network development through reproduction

Abstract Industrial symbiosis, the exchange of excess resources between traditionally separate industries, has received increasing attention in recent years as a means of realizing a circular economy. Research has focused on determining how industrial symbioses come about and develop. Characteristics and dynamics of their emergence as well as their development processes have been identified. However, within this field, little attention has been paid to the effect of relations and interdependence between symbioses in the emergence process. The present paper addresses this gap. Its objective is to determine how existing industrial symbioses influence the emergence of new ones and contribute to industrial symbiosis network development. In doing so, a conceptual model is built and presented, explaining the connection and dependence between existing and emerging industrial symbioses. The model is inspired by analogies with biological processes of reproduction, which are translated into industrial principles. Embedded in the model are the principal reproduction modes: budding, broadcast spawning, and brooding. To validate and illustrate the applicability of the model, the paper presents empirical cases selected from the industrial symbiosis network in Aalborg, Denmark. Based on findings of the case study, the model of industrial symbiosis reproduction is found to be a useful tool for gaining a new perspective on industrial symbiosis networks’ development. The paper contributes to the understanding of industrial symbiosis emergence and network development processes by revealing the role of interconnectivity among existing and emerging industrial symbiotic linkages.

Sustainability and Dimensions of a Nexus Approach in a Sharing Economy

Increasing global resource consumption puts the availability of natural mineral resources under significant pressure. One strategy to overcome this trend is the decoupling of economic growth and resource consumption and the application of circular economy approaches. These approaches aim at closing material cycles across sectoral boundaries. Beside these attempts, there are further options for action aimed at minimization of resource consumption through resource sharing approaches. This study investigates resource-saving potentials on different scales namely on a personal scale through sharing goods and services, but also in the frame of industrial symbiosis through sharing of secondary resources at a company scale. The environmental effects have been quantified using life cycle assessment examples for these two simulated cases. The results show for both resource consumption levels, resource savings potentials of up to 2 powers of ten, that can particularly be proven regarding the impact category ‘fossil resource depletion’. The emergence of industrial symbiosis can be identified by six factors: Resource, government, economy, company, technology, and society. The cases simulated in the study are supported by empirical evidence from real-life examples, which consider the mentioned factors.

The (love & hate) role of entropy in process metallurgy

Process metallurgy is the basis for the production, refining and recycling of metals and is based on knowledge of transport phenomena, thermodynamics and reaction kinetics, and of their interaction in high-temperature, heterogeneous metallurgical processes. The entropy concept is crucial in describing such systems, but, because entropy is not directly observable, some effort is required to grasp the role of entropy in process metallurgy. In this paper, we will give some examples of how entropy has a positive effect on efforts to reach the process objectives in some cases, while in other cases, entropy acts in contradiction to the desired results. In order to do this, it is necessary to have a closer look at both the entropy concept itself as well as at other functions like free energy and exergy since they encompass entropy. The chosen case is the production of silicon. It is the huge entropy change in the process that is utilized. The case is not chosen arbitrary. Indeed, it is the authors’ strong belief that silicon will be one of the foundations for the environmental and energy future planned for in the “Paris-agreement”. We will also explore relatively recent research in physics and thermodynamics that led to the description of the concepts like “dissipative systems and structures”. Dissipative systems are thermodynamically open systems, operating out of, and often far from thermodynamic equilibrium and exhibit dynamical regimes that are in some sense in a reproducible self-organized steady state. Such structures can arise almost everywhere provided this structure, feeding on low entropy resources, dissipates entropy generated in the form of heat and waste material in parallel with the wanted products/results. Examples range from metallurgical processes to the emergence of industrial symbiosis.

“By-product synergy” changes in the industrial symbiosis dynamics at the Altamira-Tampico industrial corridor: 20 Years of industrial ecology in Mexico

The Industrial symbiosis emergence constitute a complex and dynamic process that we set in four different phases in this paper: Emergence, Regional efficiency, Regional learning, and Sustainable Industrial District. Embedded in a theoretical framework concerning the industrial symbiosis dynamic, this paper triggers a historical sequence of consequences in the industrial ecosystem evolution encompassing micro and macro elements, which also depends upon the individual actors’ intervention in the network. The industrial symbiosis at Altamira is depicted here as a centralized and ancillary industrial symbiosis embedding a socio-technical and environmental model, one of the most complete biophysical, social, and economic symbiotic case studies in Latin America. The further historical analysis uses the number of actors composing the industrial network and the amount of material and energy exchange flows as a proxy for the success of the Altamira By-Products Industrial Symbiosis as a way to approach sustainability in the industrial ecosystem and attractiveness in the territory. According to the analysis of those proxies in Altamira, the actors involved in the network decrease at the Regional efficiency stage, with the highest synergies rate. The Regional learning phase follows the dynamic through an eco-innovative ecosystem strategy, encompassing small and medium size firms in the region, as the mechanisms for improving learning and innovation, decreasing transaction costs and boosting sustainability.

Championing processes and the emergence of industrial symbiosis

ABSTRACTIndustrial symbiosis is an important concept for regional development in which industrial organizations seek to use one another's outputs and inputs, reduce waste and achieve economic benefits. Though the technical details of this phenomenon are well known, the roles of key individuals and, particularly, their championing processes remain unclear. This paper includes a pre-study of a national industrial symbiosis system, followed by an in-depth case study of a regional industrial symbiosis related to heat reuse. The findings reveal novel implications about how champions facilitate collaboration among regional organizations and other stakeholders, leading to the emergence of industrial symbiosis.

Agent-based model of self-organized industrial symbiosis

Industrial synergies are collaborative partnerships between companies resulting in the sharing of resources or the exchange of material or energy by-products, and leading to cleaner production processes and more efficient use of resources. They generally have both economic and environmental benefits. The creation of such innovative partnerships within a territory leads to the development of an industrial symbiosis (IS), which is a dynamic network of interconnected industrial actors. IS can develop in different manners, with different levels of planning and serendipity, in which the diffusion of trust and knowledge are generally thought to play a key role. This paper proposes and evaluates a simple agent-based model of self-organized IS development capable of simulating and predicting the impacts of social factors (i.e., social structure and dynamics, trust, knowledge diffusion) on the creation of industrial synergies and the emergence of IS. This model was tested using NetLogo. Its consistency with the original design objectives was validated with a sensitivity analysis that considered several factors. Next, experiments were designed and carried out in order to study the influence of the social structure (i.e., types of social network) and dynamics (i.e., creation of new social contacts between plants). Results revealed that both factors have an influence on synergy creation, and IS development is a function of both social dynamics and structure. However, more multidisciplinary analysis is required to better understand the limits of this model, to validate its assumptions, as well as to improve it.

Promoting the Opportunity Identification of Industrial Symbiosis: Agent-Based Modeling Inspired by Innovation Diffusion Theory

Promotion of the emergence of synergistic linkages between different firms is crucial in the development of Industrial Symbiosis (IS) networks or Eco-Industrial Parks (EIP). Appropriate strategies for the promotion of inter-firm interactions are required to enhance the emergence of IS networks through institutional capacity building. This research draws on insight from Diffusion of Innovations (DoI) theory, and considers the emergence and development of IS as a process where the knowledge, attitude and implementation of IS synergies are gradually adopted by firms. Accordingly, we propose an Agent-Based Model (ABM) to investigate the influence of promoting strategies associated with various dimensions of institutional capabilities, on the identification of opportunity sets for IS synergies. The simulation results show that both “Knowledge Coordination” and “Relationship Coordination” have a positive impact on the identification of IS opportunities (represented by the adoption of positive attitudes). However, the performance of promoting strategies depends to a great extent on the mobilization capacity and the characteristics of the specific IS solutions. We believe the proposed research provides insights and implications for the design of the strategies to promote effective IS practice.

Explaining Industrial Symbiosis Emergence, Development, and Disruption: A Multilevel Analytical Framework

SummaryIndustrial symbiosis (IS) is the process by which by‐products are revalorized and exchanged among distinct business entities. The literature suggests that IS can bring financial, social, and environmental benefits to firms and society. Analytical tools have been developed for uncovering IS arrangements and guidelines suggested for designing IS arrangements where they do not yet exist. Despite these suggested benefits and in spite of these tools, few planned IS arrangements have successfully materialized, with notable exceptions in East Asia. Understanding why IS networks emerge and expand or falter requires both macro‐ and micro‐level analysis. Some explanatory factors have been extensively covered in the IS literature, such as the important role of coordinating organizations. But the analysis of enterprise‐level actions and strategies as well as the conditions in the external environment that act on the enterprises and the network are not as well examined. The article outlines an analytical framework that draws upon insights from research on cleaner production, corporate social responsibility, diffusion of innovation, and the role of the state in development. The framework is consistent with the view that the evolution of IS networks is characterized by “equifinality.” Different networks may achieve IS as a result of quite different combinations of factors. No general theory of IS success or decline is offered because no such theory can be expected. IS emergence, development, and disruption is approached as a problem of sociohistorical analysis. For such phenomena, analytical frameworks provide a common explanatory starting point, but no predictive power.

A case study of industrial symbiosis development using a middle-out approach

Industrial symbiosis (IS) emerged as a collective, multi-industrial approach to improve economic and environmental performance through the use of wastes/by-products as substitutes for raw materials. The development of IS initiatives depends on the context in which they occur, characterised in terms of social, economic, political, spatial and temporal embeddedness. As a consequence, the context can be influenced to become more supportive of IS through a continuous, interactive process, combining top-down governmental directives and bottom-up spontaneous business initiatives. A strategy to develop and enhance this process is explored in this paper and described by the authors as a middle-out approach. Policies and policy instruments introduced by governmental agencies provide objectives and incentives to businesses. The middle-out approach induces the development of a strategy to create positive feedback loops among agents (e.g. government, industries) that may guide their actions into setting the conditions to support IS emergence. This paper provides a case study that discusses a regional development of IS in Portugal that highlights critical factors for success in implementing IS, and shows that the middle-out approach can also be understood as an extension and combination of previous research on context factors and planned/spontaneous approaches to IS development.

Industrial symbiosis: the case for market coordination

Despite the fact that all successful, documented cases of industrial symbiosis to this day have been self-organizing, some authors and development officials have suggested that increased public planning might deliver better results in this respect than spontaneously evolved market coordination. This paper takes an historical approach to suggest that comprehensive planning is unlikely to live up to the expectations of its proponents. The essay is structured as follows. The first section provides short case studies of industrial symbiosis in highly different economic and institutional settings, the essentially free-market regime of Victorian England and communist Hungary (1948–1989). The available evidence suggests that market coordination proved much more favorable to the emergence of industrial symbiosis, despite the elaboration of a comprehensive policy to that effect in Hungary. Insights derived from the so-called “Austrian” critique of central planning are then used to explain this paradox. The analysis presented suggests that the Hungarian planners’ failure was not so much the result of the bad implementation of sound policies, but the logical outcome of a top-down approach’s shortcomings. Policy implications for the public planning of industrial symbiosis in a mixed economy are then derived and the case for self-organization is found more compelling. The creation of more innovative institutions that will force firms to “internalize their externalities” while leaving them the necessary freedom to innovate is viewed as an urgently needed and promising path towards increased, sustainable reuse of industrial by-products.