350
For industrial symbiosis to deliver its full commercial potential in terms of engineering effi ciency, it needs to move beyond the fi rst-generation approach of material
transfer. This is certainly not to dismiss the benefi t of ‘long-radius’ synergies involving material transfers from further afi eld; the positive carbon credit for use of material by-products against the extraction and processing of virgin materials is eminently
quantifi able. However, real progress is only achievable by including the integration
of heat and power in ‘short-radius’ synergies with associated heat and power supply
networks in dedicated industrial eco-parks. It will clearly be an economic impossibility to optimise utility systems that rely on close proximity between partner organisations unless they really are co-located. The park concept is key to this.
Furthermore, within a CO 2 minimisation agenda, supply chain integration is likely
to be subservient to the industrial symbiosis objective. This is not the case now,
where logistics represent the primary threads holding the supply chain together.
This shift will require reconfi guration or even a redefi nition of the supply chain, but
this will need an effective powerful driver either of long-term policy or of carbon
price.
Residual ‘low-grade’ heat presents a major opportunity for further improving the
already good CO 2 performance of our industrial parks. However, we suggest that a
change in mindset is needed so that its use is considered from the outset, as part of
the overall process design. Whilst district heating systems for residential areas are
good, they suffer from high seasonality of demand; what is required is a constant
demand of industrial proportions. The example already cited, regarding the development of district cooling systems powered by residual heat through absorption
chilling systems, requires bold planning moves such as co-location in the food
industry, with its typically high demand for refrigeration, cold stores, data centres,
etc., alongside the sources of residual heat, particularly the chemical, petrochemical
and power industries.
As a consequence of this study, Link2Energy Ltd has proposed such a system for
the South Humber Bank; waste heat from the petrochemical plants is being considered to provide cooling for a cluster of food companies 10 km away with the two
sites potentially linked through a utility corridor within the coastal industrial strip.
However, not all residual heat is low grade. By way of example, the energy fl ows
through an integrated steel complex dwarf those of most other industries, and the
ability to recover waste heat from the cooling of products and from the slags, though
inevitably diffi cult and a technological challenge (that is being grasped), is a signifi -
cant source of potential high-grade heat and hence of reduced emissions.
The recovery of heat is clearly only of value if there is a home for it. Industrial
clustering on parks is paramount to capitalise on this potential. The challenge is clear:
how can we better integrate our industries and deliver collective CO 2 emission reductions rather than leave industries isolated and subject to carbon leakage pressures?
Furthermore, each future park may benefi t from having its own technology centre for evaluating the optimum utility confi gurations of the resident industries in a
dynamic setting, for assessing new opportunities for the valorisation of by-products
and for the deployment of new technology. There are certainly examples of this
across Europe (e.g. CPI at Wilton, Chemelot Campus, etc.)
M. Bailey and A. Gadd
For industrial symbiosis to deliver its full commercial potential in terms of engineering effi ciency, it needs to move beyond the fi rst-generation approach of material
transfer. This is certainly not to dismiss the benefi t of ‘long-radius’ synergies involving material transfers from further afi eld; the positive carbon credit for use of material by-products against the extraction and processing of virgin materials is eminently
quantifi able. However, real progress is only achievable by including the integration
of heat and power in ‘short-radius’ synergies with associated heat and power supply
networks in dedicated industrial eco-parks. It will clearly be an economic impossibility to optimise utility systems that rely on close proximity between partner organisations unless they really are co-located. The park concept is key to this.
Furthermore, within a CO 2 minimisation agenda, supply chain integration is likely
to be subservient to the industrial symbiosis objective. This is not the case now,
where logistics represent the primary threads holding the supply chain together.
This shift will require reconfi guration or even a redefi nition of the supply chain, but
this will need an effective powerful driver either of long-term policy or of carbon
price.
Residual ‘low-grade’ heat presents a major opportunity for further improving the
already good CO 2 performance of our industrial parks. However, we suggest that a
change in mindset is needed so that its use is considered from the outset, as part of
the overall process design. Whilst district heating systems for residential areas are
good, they suffer from high seasonality of demand; what is required is a constant
demand of industrial proportions. The example already cited, regarding the development of district cooling systems powered by residual heat through absorption
chilling systems, requires bold planning moves such as co-location in the food
industry, with its typically high demand for refrigeration, cold stores, data centres,
etc., alongside the sources of residual heat, particularly the chemical, petrochemical
and power industries.
As a consequence of this study, Link2Energy Ltd has proposed such a system for
the South Humber Bank; waste heat from the petrochemical plants is being considered to provide cooling for a cluster of food companies 10 km away with the two
sites potentially linked through a utility corridor within the coastal industrial strip.
However, not all residual heat is low grade. By way of example, the energy fl ows
through an integrated steel complex dwarf those of most other industries, and the
ability to recover waste heat from the cooling of products and from the slags, though
inevitably diffi cult and a technological challenge (that is being grasped), is a signifi -
cant source of potential high-grade heat and hence of reduced emissions.
The recovery of heat is clearly only of value if there is a home for it. Industrial
clustering on parks is paramount to capitalise on this potential. The challenge is clear:
how can we better integrate our industries and deliver collective CO 2 emission reductions rather than leave industries isolated and subject to carbon leakage pressures?
Furthermore, each future park may benefi t from having its own technology centre for evaluating the optimum utility confi gurations of the resident industries in a
dynamic setting, for assessing new opportunities for the valorisation of by-products
and for the deployment of new technology. There are certainly examples of this
across Europe (e.g. CPI at Wilton, Chemelot Campus, etc.)
M. Bailey and A. Gadd