Industrial Ecology Perspective Research Articles

Mapping manufactured capital in mainland China with harmonized night‐time light images between 1992 and 2018

AbstractThe manufactured capital, usually denoted as material stocks from an industrial ecology perspective, has thus far received wide attention in sustainability and circularity science. Sustainable resource management should be rooted in detailed knowledge of manufactured capital accumulation in society at a high spatial resolution. Previous studies demonstrated that night‐time light (NTL) data provide a great opportunity for monitoring material stocks dynamics at a higher spatial resolution on the regional and global scale. However, the potential of historical–geographical refined material stocks has not been fully analyzed and explored because of the inconsistency of NTL images detected by the different satellites. In this study, based on a new set of material stocks data in China and harmonized NTL images (1992–2018), we map the national stocks of 13 bulk materials (including cement, gravel, wood, brick, sand, asphalt, glass, lime, plastic, rubber, copper, aluminum, and steel) at a 1 × 1 km resolution from 1992 to 2018. The results find that the total material stocks increased from 190,000 to 460,000 t/km2 between 1992 and 2018. Among the five end‐use sectors, buildings have the highest density of 430,000 t/km2, while domestic appliances have the lowest density of 140 t/km2. Four manufactured capital clusters, including the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, and Chengdu–Chongqing agglomerations, possess 38% of the national total stocks in 2018, revealing an unbalanced distributed pattern of manufactured capital across China. Our results provide valuable support for policymakers and business decision‐makers on efficient resource management and urban mining.

The Construction of a Closed Loop for Recycling from the Perspective of Industrial Ecology

This paper provides a systematic summary of the construction of urban recycling resources in China from an industrial ecology perspective. Firstly, it analyzes the development history and trends of urban recycling resources in China and compares traditional recycling resource treatment paths to highlight problems such as resource loss and irregular construction. Additionally, the paper proposes a closed-loop path for the utilization of China's urban recycling resources, which can serve as a reference for addressing current recycling resource challenges. This closed-loop path of recycling resource utilization, characterized by the principles of reduction, reuse, and resourcefulness, involves the participation of various stakeholders such as government, enterprises, and producers, and offers valuable suggestions to further enhance the development of urban recycling resources in China.

Chemical engineering and industrial ecology: Remanufacturing and recycling as process systems

AbstractClimate change and resource scarcity are just two of the planetary crises that make radical socio‐economic change essential if human society is to be sustainable. Chemical engineering is a skill‐set that can make a unique contribution to the socio‐economic transition, going beyond new technological processes to provide a system‐level understanding of economic activities from the perspective of industrial ecology. This paper provides an example by applying process system analysis to the use, re‐use, remanufacturing, and recycling of material products. Unlike the ‘circular economy’ approach, the analysis starts from the stock of goods and materials in use in the economy and models the flows required to build up, operate, and maintain the stock. Metrics are developed to account for the effect of stock growth on demand for materials. The significance of the analysis is illustrated for four metals whose industrial ecologies are at different levels of maturity: lead, copper, aluminium, and lithium. Extending product life through re‐use and remanufacturing is crucial for resource efficiency, using labour to reduce demand for energy and non‐renewable resources. If end‐of‐life products are processed to recover individual elements, the cost penalties increase rapidly with the decreasing concentration of valuable materials and increasing number of materials in the mixture. Thus, shifting from a linear economy (make−use−dispose) to closed‐loop use of materials involves rethinking product design to reduce the number of materials used. Material substitution to reduce demand for scarce materials needs to look beyond equivalence of function to consider changing patterns of use in the regenerative economy.

What Type of Industrial Agglomeration Is Beneficial to the Eco-Efficiency of Northwest China?

The contradiction between industrial economic development and the ecological environment in Northwest China is prominent, so the green transformation of industrial economy in this region is imperative. From the perspective of industrial ecology, this study uses economic and environmental statistics from Northwest China from 2006 to 2018 as well as the Krugman specialization index and entropy index methods to calculate the degree of different types of industrial agglomeration in Northwest China. The eco-efficiency of Northwest China is calculated by the global SBM-DDF model. On this basis, the stochastic effect panel tobit regression model is used to analyze the influence and mechanism of different types of industrial agglomeration on eco-efficiency in Northwest China. The results show that the concentration of specialization has a significantly negative effect on the eco-efficiency of Northwest China at the level of 1%. Excepting Ningxia, the eco-efficiency of other provinces has been improved with the decrease of industrial specialization. The influence of the related diversification agglomeration on the eco-efficiency in Northwest China shows a U curve. The degree of industrial correlation diversification in Qinghai and Ningxia is less than the critical value 1.45, whereas Shaanxi, Gansu, and Xinjiang have crossed the inflection point. The unrelated diversification agglomeration has a negative effect on the eco-efficiency of Northwest China at the level of 1%, and the degree of industrial independent diversification in Shaanxi Province has decreased slightly, which is beneficial to the improvement of eco-efficiency. By contrast, other provinces have increased considerably. The conclusion can provide a theoretical basis for industrial green transformation path selection and related policy formulation in Northwest China.

Industrial Symbiosis: towards a design process for eco-industrial clusters by integrating Circular Economy and Industrial Ecology perspectives

Industrial Symbiosis (IS) is a collective approach to competitive advantage in which separate industries create a cooperative network to exchange materials, energy, water and/or by-products. By addressing issues related to resource depletion, waste management and pollution, IS plays an important role in the transition towards sustainable development. In the literature, two conceptual perspectives on IS can be identified: the Industrial Ecology (IE) and the Circular Economy (CE) perspective. Despite the recognition of these two perspectives, their relationship remains unclear and explicit attempts to develop an integrated perspective have not been made yet. Consequently, the goal of this research is to highlight and start addressing this critical gap of knowledge in order to support future research and practice geared towards the design of new IS clusters. We pose the following research question: How can the IE and CE perspectives on IS be combined in order to support the design of IS clusters? To this end, we first investigate the two perspectives more in depth and compare them in terms of nature, features and relevance for the study of IS. This is done by applying them as conceptual lenses for the analysis of the same case study, an existing IS cluster. The comparative analysis provides insights into how the two perspectives differ, ultimately demonstrating that they are complimentary and both necessary to fully describe an IS cluster. While the CE perspective is more suitable to explain how a cluster functions from a business standpoint in the operating phase, the IE perspective is more suitable to explain its development over time and its impacts on the environment, the economy and society. Building upon the outcomes of the comparative analysis, we leverage on the discipline of Strategic Design and integrate the two perspectives into a process for designing new IS clusters. We suggest two directions for future research. First, improving our comparative analysis of the two perspectives by looking at a wider sample of IS clusters of different sizes and in different contexts. Second, focusing with more specificity on the issue of how IS clusters can be designed, potentially by trying to apply the process we propose on a real case aimed at designing a new IS cluster.

Mining, land restoration and sustainable development in isolated islands: An industrial ecology perspective on extractive transitions on Nauru.

In this empirically grounded perspective, we explore how, if managed correctly, mining might go beyond a straight conversion of finite natural capital to financial resources. We suggest a process where mineral extraction could act as a catalyst for more diversified growth and even serve as a basis to restore forms of 'natural capital' it had previously diminished. The case in point-small in scale but significant in consequence-is the particularly challenging instance of the small-island state of Nauru, which has a very negative history of socio-ecological impacts of phosphate mining. Yet, the degraded landscape requires capital investment which could be reaped from restoration of the land using revenues generated from exporting the waste rock pinnacles as branded household counter-tops and pavement stone products with an "island provenance premium". Furthermore, we use an industrial ecology method to show that Nauru's secondary phosphate can be shown to be less environmentally impactful than comparable phosphate from other sources. This has potential for further "green branding" of the Island's products. We contend that implementing such a restoration approach that harnesses the remaining mineral capital with care has the potential, to diversify the island's economy from one dependent on extractive industries and donors to agroforestry, fishing and tourism. A holistic approach is offered that considers prudent use of Nauru's remaining mineral resources towards an agenda of ecological restoration and economic diversification that will allow the island to prosper after the phosphates it has traditionally relied upon are depleted.

China’s rare earth dominance: The myths and the truths from an industrial ecology perspective

China’s rare earth dominance: The myths and the truths from an industrial ecology perspective

How Do Intelligent Goods Shape Closed-Loop Systems?

Disruptive technologies can increase the intelligence of goods and revitalize business models in the circular economy. Applying an industrial ecology perspective, this article discusses how intelligent goods can boost the sustainability of industrial ecosystems. North American and European cases highlight how business model innovators can utilize goods-related information to develop more competitive closed-loop systems. The authors identify three archetypes of closed-loop systems—inner circles, decentralized systems, and open systems—and delineate how they leverage information resources for collaboration. This study advances the understanding of closed-loop systems in the circular economy, which is more dependent than ever on digital platforms.

Environmental assessment of an integrated rooftop greenhouse for food production in cities

Vertical farming is emerging as an effective measure to grow food in buildings and can increase food production in urban areas in a more sustainable manner. This study presents a comprehensive environmental assessment of food production in an integrated rooftop greenhouse (i-RTG) – an innovative vertical farm consisting of a rooftop greenhouse connected to a building – and considers rainwater, residual heat (energy), residual air (CO2) and food from an industrial ecology perspective. This synergistic connection preserves resources and improves conditions in the greenhouse and the building. The goal of the study is to show the feasibility of the system and to calculate the environmental impacts from its whole life cycle, from infrastructure to end of life, by comparing these impacts with those of conventional production. The results show that the system is feasible and produced 30.2 kg/m2 of tomato over 15.5 months. The synergy with the building allows the cultivation of winter-fall crops without supplying heating and maintained an average temperature 8 °C higher than that outdoors. Moreover, rainwater was used to irrigate the crops, reducing consumption from the water supply network by 80–90%. The environmental assessment showed that the operation of the i-RTG has more impacts than the infrastructure (structure of the greenhouse, rainwater harvesting system and equipment) due to the use of fertilisers, which account for 25% of the impacts in four of the six impact categories studied. Regarding the infrastructure, the greenhouse structure and rainwater harvesting system of the building have substantial environmental impacts (over 30% in four of the six impact categories). Comparison with a conventional greenhouse demonstrates that the i-RTG has a better environmental performance, showing between 50 and 75% lower impacts in five of the six impact categories (for instance, 0.58 kg of CO2 equivalent per kg of tomato vs. 1.7 kg), mainly due to the reduced packaging and transport requirements. From this study, it was concluded that optimisation of the amount of infrastructure material and management of the operation could lead to even better environmental performance in future i-RTG projects.

The multiple dimensions of urban contexts in an industrial ecology perspective: an integrative framework

This article analyses, in an industrial ecology (IE) perspective, urban contexts with specific features, such as a reduced space scale, a hybrid nature, which includes a residential, industrial and rural dimension, and a strong spatial contiguity among these three dimensions. The study starts with a retrospective investigation of such contexts and the development of an approach based on contributions from urban metabolism and industrial symbiosis. An integrated analytical framework, based on empirical data and a literature review, is also proposed. The integrated view of the three dimensions, associated with a fourth dedicated to waste and energy flows, can be useful for efficiently identifying and managing material and energy flows beyond the typical use and consumption of “pure” urban systems. The results of a pilot survey, carried out with reference to the territory of the Province of Pescara (Italy), confirm the widespread diffusion of these “hybrid” urban contexts, which can potentially grow in a synergistic way. Through this framework, land use policies and local improvement actions can be defined in a better way for a sustainable local development, together with a more effective governance. Significant areas of scientific advancement in the IE research field also emerge.

A review of the ecosystem concept — Towards coherent ecosystem design

The ecosystem concept is of increasing significance in the field of the management of technology and innovation. This paper provides an overview of 90 previous studies using the ecosystem concept in this field, all published in leading academic journals, and clarifies their four major research streams. The first stream is the industrial ecology perspective, which is based on the concept of industrial ecosystems. The second is the business ecosystem perspective. This approach is based on the theory of organizational boundaries. Within the business ecosystem perspective, some influential scholars emphasize platform management, which represents the third approach. The fourth approach is the multi-actor network perspective, which contributes dynamic behavioral relationship analyses based on social network theory. This perspective expands the range of analysis to include a variety of actors in addition to private companies. As a result of the review, this study presents an integrated model of the existing literature. Furthermore, this paper proposes original definitions of the ecosystem and the concept of a coherent ecosystem. This coherency is the core concept underlying the explanation of the dynamic evolution or extinction of the ecosystem. Finally, this paper discusses the significance of the ecosystem concept and indicates topics for future research.

Environmental Implications of Consumer Convenience: Coffee as a Case Study

SummaryProducts of convenience are playing an increasingly large role in today's society. These products provide a competitive advantage over their conventional counterparts by requiring less time and effort to produce a similar service or experience. At the same time, these products are often also more materials intensive to produce and create a greater amount of waste. A comparative midpoint life cycle assessment of different coffee brewing systems is presented in order to explore the comparative impact of three different systems: drip filter, french press, and pod style (a product of convenience). Utilizing a comparative functional unit, the drip filter system method was found to have the greatest environmental impact in all impact categories, whereas the pod style had the least in six of the impact categories (with the french press having the least in two of the impact categories, and a tie between pod style and french press in a single impact category). This suggests that contrary to popular belief, the pod style coffee may be the more environmentally friendly option. The two most significant contributors to environmental impact in all of the categories considered was the amount of dry coffee utilized and the energy needed to brew the coffee, although in some categories considered transportation was also significant. There is the potential for the environmental impact of coffee brewing to shift if coffee wastage occurs (likely in the case of the drip filter and french press system) or if substantial changes in materials or energy consumption were to occur (in the case of the pod‐style brewing system). From the perspective of industrial ecology, this analysis suggests that, in regard to products of consumer convenience, the convenient alternative may not have a significantly greater environmental impact than its conventional counterpart, and that it may be time to question that often‐held assumption.

Industrial ecology in integrated assessment models

An in-depth review of five major integrated assessment models from an industrial ecology perspective reveals differences between the fields regarding the modelling of linkages in the industrial system. Technology-rich integrated assessment models (IAMs) address possible technology mixes and future costs of climate change mitigation by generating scenarios for the future industrial system. Industrial ecology (IE) focuses on the empirical analysis of this system. We conduct an in-depth review of five major IAMs from an IE perspective and reveal differences between the two fields regarding the modelling of linkages in the industrial system, focussing on AIM/CGE, GCAM, IMAGE, MESSAGE, and REMIND. IAMs ignore material cycles and recycling, incoherently describe the life-cycle impacts of technology, and miss linkages regarding buildings and infrastructure. Adding IE system linkages to IAMs adds new constraints and allows for studying new mitigation options, both of which may lead to more robust and policy-relevant mitigation scenarios.

Understanding the mechanism of food waste management by using stakeholder analysis and social network model: An industrial ecology perspective

Household food waste accounts for the largest fraction of municipal solid waste and becomes an emerging issue in the biogeochemical cycle of urban ecosystem. Multiple stakeholders with varied characteristics are involved in the food waste management; moreover, they can throw great impacts on the material flow of urban waste, in an industrial ecology perspective. However, the internal mechanism of food waste recycling and composting, regarding the behavior and interaction of different stakeholders, is not clear in previous studies. In this research, recycling and composting potential of household food waste is studied by applying the methodology of stakeholder analysis and social network model. The interest, attitude, power and knowledge of different stakeholders and their social networks were examined by interviews, with the studied case of Beijing, China. Result shows the significant difference of multiple stakeholders’ properties. The governmental department of municipal solid waste management has the highest power and maximum interest on food waste recycling, whereas the key players (both high power and maximum interest) located in the midstream and downstream of food waste recycling (utilization of compost) are lacking. In addition, the stakeholders, who easily collect accurate information on food waste recycling, are also the ones most willing to share the knowledge. However, the knowledge and information of most stakeholders are insufficient and inaccurate. The density, node and centrality of the social networks on food waste recycling and composting indicate that here were inefficient connection or disjoint between downstream stakeholders and up/midstream stakeholders, however the some key nodes, e.g. composting utilization stakeholders (fertilizer plants) and municipal solid waste management service companies, could contribute more to bridge the social networks of food waste management. Using the tools of stakeholder analysis and social network models can help in understanding the internal mechanism and the complexity of the material flows of urban ecosystem.

The life cycle rebound effect of air-conditioner consumption in China

Governments worldwide are attempting to reduce energy consumption and environmental pollution by confronting environmental problems and adopting more energy-efficient products. However, because of the rebound effect, energy-saving targets cannot always be fully achieved, and sometimes greater energy consumption is generated. Research on the rebound effect from the perspective of industrial ecology considers not only direct energy consumption but also its life cycle negative impacts on the environment with China’s rapid economic development and simultaneously improving quality of life, the ownership of room air conditioners (RACs) has increased more than three hundred times, and air conditioners’ energy consumption has increased one thousand times over the last twenty years. The Air Conditioner Energy Efficiency Standard is one of the most important measures in China for reducing the amount of energy consumed by RACs. This paper introduces a life cycle based method to estimate the rebound effect of Chinese RACs consumption. This model provides a product’s life-cycle view to assess the rebound effect, considering the contribution of both producer and consumer. Based on the established life cycle rebound effect model, we compared urban household RAC consumption behaviour before and after the launch of the Air Conditioner Energy Efficiency Standard. A rebound effect in RAC consumption was found that there was a longer daily usage period in the household as air conditioner efficiency levels improved. The life cycle rebound effect of household air-conditioner consumption was calculated to be 67%. The main conclusion obtained from this study is that policies and regulations should consider the rebound effect when encouraging households to alter their energy consumption patterns.

CO2 utilization in the perspective of industrial ecology, an overview

Carbon dioxide emissions from anthropic activities have accumulated in the atmosphere in excess of 800 Gigatons since preindustrial times, and are continuously increasing. Among other strategies, CO2 capture and storage is one option to mitigate the emissions from large point sources. In addition, carbon dioxide extraction from ambient air is assessed to reduce the atmospheric concentration of CO2. Both direct and indirect (through photosynthesis) pathways are possible.Geological sequestration has significant disadvantages (high cost, low public acceptance, long term uncertainty) whereas carbon dioxide recycling (or utilization) is more consistent with the basic principle of industrial ecology, almost closing material cycles.In this article, a series of technologies for CO2 capture and valorization is described as integrated and optimized pathways. This integration increases the environmental and economic benefits of each technology. Depending on the source of carbon dioxide, appropriate capture and valorization processes are evaluated based on material and energy constraints.

산업생태계 관점에서 바라본 IT융합 촉진전략

IT융합은 제조업 등 타 산업 분야의 경쟁력을 향상시키는데 기여하고 있다. 지금까지 정부는 융합기술 개발 및 사업화에 많은 지원을 해왔으며 몇몇 선도기업에서는 의미 있는 성과를 거두고 있다. 그러나 IT융합을 기반으로 산업 경쟁력을 강화하기 위해서는 다양한 융합 시도가 이뤄질 수 있는 생태계가 구축되어야 하며, 많은 기업들이 융합에 참여하고 협력하며 그 혜택을 널리 공유할 수 있는 환경이 마련되어야 한다. 본 연구에서는 AHP 분석을 토대로 IT융합을 촉진하기 위한 이해관계자들의 역할을 도출하고자 하였다. 연구 결과, IT융합을 촉진하기 위한 산업 생태계 마련을 위해 정부의 규제 완화와 벤처 육성정책 확대, 키스톤 기업의 협업기반 융합과제 확대와 경험 공유, 벤처기업 등 기술개발 주체의 기술역량 강화, 그리고 크로스오버형 인재양성을 위한 대학의 역할이 필요한 것으로 나타났다. IT convergence plays a key role in increasing the value of goods and services in other industry sectors. The government has enhanced the policy and institutional support for convergence technology development and technology commercialization. Some of the leading companies already achieve performance through the strategic IT convergence. However, in order to maximize the benefits and performance of IT convergence, policies should be established from the viewpoint of industrial ecology and many companies can participate in and share benefits of IT convergence business. From an industrial ecology perspective, this study suggests a role of the government, keystone enterprise, and other stakeholder for promoting the IT convergence using analytic hierarchy process(AHP).

Industrial ecology at factory level: a prototype methodology

The concept of sustainable manufacturing is a form of pollution prevention that integrates environmental considerations in the production of goods while focusing on efficient resource use. Taking the industrial ecology perspective, this efficiency comes from improved resource flow management. The assessment of material, energy and waste resource flows, therefore, offers a route to viewing and analysing a manufacturing system as an ecosystem using industrial ecology biological analogy and can, in turn, support the identification of improvement opportunities in the material, energy and waste flows. This application of industrial ecology at factory level is absent from the literature. This article provides a prototype methodology to apply the concepts of industrial ecology using material, energy and waste process flows to address this gap in the literature. Various modelling techniques were reviewed and candidates selected to test the prototype methodology in an industrial case. The application of the prototype methodology showed the possibility of using the material, energy and waste resource flows through the factory to link manufacturing operations and supporting facilities, and to identify potential improvements in resource use. The outcomes of the work provide a basis to build the specifications for a modelling tool that can support those analysing their manufacturing system to improve their environmental performance and move towards sustainable manufacturing.

Industrial solid waste flow analysis of eco-industrial parks: implications for sustainable waste management in China

Sustainable waste management in the industrial ecology perspective brings enormous challenges to the existing methodology of waste analysis at the industrial park (IP) scale. In this study, a four-step method was proposed for industrial solid waste (ISW) flow analysis of eco-industrial parks (EIPs) and applied to two IPs in eastern China. According to a park-wide census of 619 industrial enterprises and 105 questionnaires by a survey from 2006 to 2008, the results indicated that: 1) at the enterprise scale, more than 60% of enterprises were small-ISW-generation enterprises which encountered great difficulties on effective waste management; 2) at the IP scale, though the two IPs have set up their own environmental management systems and passed the ISO 14001 certification, the efficiencies of the ISW management systems have yet to be improved in the industrial ecology perspective; and 3) at the regional scale, more than 97% of ISW flowed within the provincial region, indicating that the provincial governments prevented the wastes from flowing into their own “back yard”. Effective waste management should be placed in a broader perspective. Approaches to sustainable waste management may include wastes exchange, efficient waste and information flow, virtual EIP, waste minimization clubs and regionalization of waste management.

Analysis of the Energy Efficiency in the Large Enterprises from an Industrial Ecology Perspective: Case Study from BaoGang Group

Abstract According to the industry ecology theory, in the simulating flowing way between substance and energy in the nature ecology, to design the industrial production systems can use less resource reasonably and reduce emissions. As the most important large iron & steel enterprise in Inner Mongolia, applying the theory of industrial ecology, the Baogang Group gains great achievement in energy saving and emission reduction in recent years. Based on the industrial ecology theory, this paper mainly analyzes the practice of energy-saving and ejection-decreasing of the BaoGang Group.