Industrial Symbiosis for Sustainable
Production
*Prof. Olli Dahl,
*MSc. Mikko Mäkelä, MSc. Gary Watkins and Dr. Roope Husgafvel
Dr. Jyrki Heino, University of Oulu
*School of Chemical Technology
Department of Forest Products Technology
Clean Technologies Group
P.O. Box 16300, 00076 Aalto, Finland
Phone +358 40 5401070
email: [email protected]
Content
• Sustainability in industry
• Industrial symbiosis
• Existing industrial symbiosis systems
• Future industrial symbiosis systems
• Conclusions
Sustainability in industry - definitions
Barbier's view of sustainable development
(Holmberg & Sandberg, 1992)
Prism of sustainability
(Stenberg, 2001)
Many definitions, but how to select
the right one?
Egg of Sustainability
(Found et. al, 1997)
Sustainability in industry - metrics
•
Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)
–
•
Global 100 index
–
•
has been designed to measure the performance of companies that meet globally recognized
corporate responsibility standards
Carbon Disclosure Leadership – index
–
•
the 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World
FTSE4Good-index
–
•
provide asset managers with reliable and objective benchmarks to manage sustainability
portfolios
highlighting companies which have displayed the most professional approach to climate
change disclosure practices
World's Most Ethical Companies
–
designation recognizes companies that truly go beyond making statements about doing
business “ethically” and translate those words into action.
My claim is that existing metrics are planned for global money makers
and do not take care of local aspects at all!
Sustainability in industry - confusing example
• How it is possible that a company that:
– has shut down many mills (even profitable ones)
– has made over 2000 white-collar workers redundant
– has been suspected of using illegal means and to violate human rights
when acquiring land for forest plantations
•
Has been selected as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies
using various sustainability indexes?!
• What do these indices really measure?
• Should we develop better indices and metrics?
Sustainability in Industry – new approaches
Balanced Sustainability (BS)
• Launched by Pöyry 2009 in its 2020 vision:
– BS includes three aspects which are environmental, economic
and social.
– BS is weighting values of different aspects - can vary depending
on the nature of the project and location.
– BS defines social aspects as how solutions affect people,
institutions and cultures, economic aspects as how solutions
impact local and global economies, and environmental aspects as
how solutions impact nature and the environment
This metric also takes care of individual mills and their effects on
local aspects!
Industrial Symbiosis - definitions
Industrial ecology – “What should we do?”
•
Industrial ecology is a broad, systemic and cross-industrial approach,
it studies industrial systems as ecosystems which encompass a
network of processes and flows, includes industry’s wider links to
society – Broad metaphor.
Industrial symbiosis – “What can we do?”
•
Industrial symbiosis is a part of industrial ecology looking at the
interaction and utilization of processes and flows within the industrial
ecosystem such as recycling of residues for the development of new
symbiosis products – A model.
Existing industrial symbiosis systems – Copper
production - steps
Concentrate, silica sand
FLOW SHEET OF COPPER SMELTER
Feed mixture
Flue dust
Bag
filter
Oxygen
and air
SCREENING AND
GRINDING
Ba g
filter
Steam
CONCENTRATE
DRYING
WHB
FLASH SMELTING
FURNACE
PRESSURE
FILTER
Slag concentrate
Slag
Matte
Scrap, anode scrap
THICKENER
Silica sand,
coke, reverts
SLAG GRINDING
WHB
SLAG COOLING
EP
CONVERTER
Ni drying
HEAT
EXCHANGER
Ni Electric
furnace bins
ANODE CASTING
Propane, air
ANODE
FURNACE
Waste slag
Bag
filter
Air and oxygen
Blister
SLAG
CONCENTRATOR
Acid
plant
EP
Cu-ANODE
Existing industrial symbiosis systems – Copper and
Nickel production today
Benefits:
Better environmental
efficiency
Better energy
efficiency
Better material
efficiency
Excellent example of
today’s approach to
industrial symbiosis
Landfill
Future industrial symbiosis systems – new symbiosis
products – symbiosis with other industry fields
Power plant
fly ash
Pulp mill
lime waste
bottom ash
Paper mill
green liquer dregs
Carbon steel
plant
steel ladle slag
sludge
desulphurisation
slag
Symbiosis products
Mine
attle rock
Soil amelioration pellet
Inferior concrete
Mine filler
New symbiosis products:
•
New fertilizer (soil improvement pellets), lower grades concretes and mine
fillings
•
Avoid landfilling
Future industrial symbiosis systems – new symbiosis
products – symbiosis with other industry fields
Results via LCA calculation:
Symbiosis
products
Primary
products
GWP
(kg, CO2-Ekviv.)
Carbon footprint
(kg)
1.6
1.6
2
1.9
Mine filling
0.13
0.12
Soil improvement
12.2
11.4
NPK 15-15-15 fertlizer
1497
845
Precast concrete
124
119
Portland cement
899
885
Mine filling (portland)
1.5
1.4
3 141 303
2 816 680
Soil improvement
Lower grade concrete
Landfilling of slag
Barriers:
•
Existing laws (dilution of waste is forbidden, total concentration thinking!)
•
Old attitudes in industry and authorities in Finland
•
Lack of guidance for industry
Future industrial symbiosis systems and scales/levels
Symbiosis vs Ecology?
1 - IS Installation
2 - IS Local
3 - IS/IE Sub Regional
4 - IE Regional
5 - IE Transnational?
1>2>3>4>5->more systemic/complex
We want improvements on which scale? Inter-plant
symbioses or for a regional system? i.e. are suboptimal elements allowed in overall solutions?
Conclusions
Sustainability in industry
•
Too many metrics and indexes, which are made for money makers
•
Do not take care of local aspects
•
New indicators and indexes will be needed!
Industrial symbiosis
•
Good examples of industrial symbiosis have been developed
•
New symbiosis products will be coming to market
•
Industrial symbiosis and symbiosis products means:
– Better material efficiency, Better energy efficiency, Better environmental efficiency
However new thinking will be needed by both industry and regulatory
authorities!
Thanks!
Antoine de Saint
Saint--Exupéry
“We do not inherit our land from our ancestors
We just borrow land from our children”