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EAEE E4001
Industrial Ecology of Earth
Resources:
A Brief Look at Eco-Industrial Parks
Joe Di Dio, Teaching Assistant
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).
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.
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.
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 together
Industrial 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 other
For 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 enterprises
With 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.
Detail of the energy and material flows of the
industrial ecosystem at Kalundborg
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.