The conceptual model of an eco-industrial park based upon ecological relationships

The necessity to follow the rules of sustainable development in the everyday industrial practice has led to the formulation of the concept of an industrial ecosystem mimicking the natural ecosystem. Following this analogy, the conceptual model of an eco-industrial park, which is an organised form of the industrial ecosystem, was presented in this paper. The model comprises of (1) the structure of the ecosystem, (2) the classification of the enterprises as producers, consumers and decomposers, (3) mass and energy flows and (4) types of interactions. The classification of the enterprises introduced here as well as the analysis of mass and energy flows indicates that the diversity of the enterprises in eco-industrial parks is desired. Furthermore, the minimal condition to create the symbiotic relationships between the enterprises is established, claiming that at least one industrial producer or decomposer must be involved in the eco-industrial park. The application of this model will facilitate the design and development of eco-industrial parks and enable the identification of symbiotic relationships between the entities of such a park and other types of industrial ecosystems. In order to show the applicability of the proposed model and its potential for the practical implementation two case studies are presented.     

A conceptual framework for analyzing sustainability strategies in industrial supply networks from an innovation perspective

This article proposes a new conceptual framework concerning the implementation of sustainability in supply networks from an innovation perspective. Based upon a recent qualitative literature review in environmental, social/ethical and logistics/operations management journals, this article summarizes and analyses the approaches found. Concluded is that even though innovation, socialization, experimental learning and cultural perspectives have been acknowledged as being relevant to explaining supply network dynamics in general, they are rarely included in the current frameworks concerning sustainability. The question still remains why companies influenced by the same external factors and similar in size and power develop a different strategy towards sustainability aspects in their supply network. The article demonstrates with the first results of a survey held in the fashion/clothing sector the relevance of this question.The proposed conceptual framework states that the capability to develop a strategy is influenced by the innovation power of the “focal” company and its supply network. The three implementation strategies presented in the framework are: resign, offensive and defensive. Two propositions are defined to be tested. These propositions focus on the relation between the level of innovation power and the implementation strategy concerning sustainability. Factors used to characterize the innovation power of the “focal” company are: external orientation and transparency, cooperation between departments, learning and adapting, leadership, autonomy and possibility for experimenting, and result driven. Cooperation in the supply networks is characterized by factors like trust, reputation, joint programmes, and cooperative information systems throughout the supply network.In empirical research, strategies found will be related with the level of innovation power. This level will be measured using the factors mentioned. The results might add a new innovation dimension to an improved conceptual framework within the interdisciplinary field of sustainability and supply network research.     

Eco-efficiency and industrial symbiosis – a counterfactual analysis of a mining community

Complex utilization, a production model analogous to those described by industrial symbiosis, was planned at the Russian Kola Science Center in mid-1980. The model integrates the waste streams of mining industries in the Kola Peninsula in such a way that waste from one industrial operator becomes raw material for another. Using a counterfactual method, this article determines the eco-efficiency of the model between the years 1985 and 2005. A parallel study of the eco-efficiency of the actual system, i.e. in the absence of complex utilization, is then performed for the same time period. The study shows that complex utilization would indeed have yielded increased eco-efficiency, even though not all environmentally harmful emissions would have decreased. As a result of market collapse and the use of upstream pollution prevention together with traditional end-of-pipe technologies, however, the actual system shows net emission reductions similar to those modeled in complex utilization. It is suggested that in systems like the mining industry of the Kola Peninsula, with high production volumes and poorly developed environmental technologies, upstream pollution prevention together with traditional end-of-pipe technologies may prove more attractive than industrial symbiosis, despite the substantial increases in eco-efficiency of the latter.     

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.     

Waste management policies for industrial symbiosis development: case studies in European countries

Industrial symbiosis (IS) emerged as a self-organizing business strategy among firms that are willing to cooperate to improve their economic and environmental performance. The adoption of such cooperative strategies relates to increasing costs of waste management, most of which are driven by policy and legislative requirements.Development of IS depends on an enabling context of social, informational, technological, economical and political factors. The power to influence this context varies among the agents involved such as the government, businesses or coordinating entities. Governmental intervention, as manifested through policies, could influence a wider range of factors; and we believe this is an area which is under-researched.This paper aims to critically appraise the waste policy interventions from supra-national to sub-national levels of government. A case study methodology has been applied to four European countries i.e. Denmark, the UK, Portugal and Switzerland, in which IS emerged or is being fostered.The findings suggest that there are commonalities in policy instruments that may have led to an IS enabling context. The paper concludes with lessons learnt and recommendations on shaping the policy context for IS development.     

Improving enterprise competitive advantage with industrial symbiosis: case study of a smeltery in China

Industrial symbiosis, a subfield of industrial ecology, focuses on transforming the waste of one firm into the valuable input of another, which improves the competitive advantages of supply chain by reducing production cost and improving environmental performance. Considering the specific situation where there are so many state-owned big company groups in China, this paper utilizes the ideas of constructing an industrial symbiosis among different firms, and does a case study on applying the concept into the inner relationships' reconstruction among different production systems in a big state-owned smeltery in South-west China. Three kinds of approaches are explored: 1) recycling and reusing the release; 2) concentrating and abstracting metals from the residues; 3) extending the product chain for value-added products. The results show that it can effectively improve the competitive advantage of the enterprise in terms of decreasing production cost and improving environmental performance.     

Design for remanufacture: a literature review and future research needs

‘Design for Remanufacture’ or DfRem, is an area of remanufacturing research that has received relatively high levels of interest in recent years, due to the recognition that a product’s design may have a high impact on remanufacturing efficiency. However, the overall volume of literature dedicated to DfRem is low and there is still much to learn about the subject. The purpose of this literature review is to collate the current body of literature and establish a contemporary understanding of DfRem through analysing the trends, agreements and conflicts of opinion in the field. Much of the DfRem literature to date is focused upon the investigation of remanufacturing problems associated with product design, and the subsequent development of design methods and tools, either specifically developed to aid DfRem or as adaptations of existing design methods. These methods and tools vary in purpose and intended use but all largely remain within the academic realm to date. Within the literature there is widespread agreement that any approach to DfRem must consider both product and process, yet the ‘design for X’ definition of the task continues to spark debate. The key problems and issues that future DfRem research should address have been identified in this paper, from both within the literature and from the current gaps in the literature. Some key recommendations for future research include the need for ‘lifecycle thinking’ within design method development and the need for greater exploration into the organisational factors affecting DfRem integration into the design process, from the perspectives of the OEM and designer.     

Life cycle assessment of an industrial symbiosis based on energy recovery from dried sludge and used oil

Recovering energy from wastes is a useful strategy for integrated waste and energy management in an eco-industrial park (EIP) and gives promising reduction of wastes, total energy consumption and operation cost. In Jinqiao EIP, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, an industrial symbiosis, based on the energy recovery from municipal sewage sludge and re-refined oil, was proposed in the central heat-supplying company of Jinqiao EIP. It is expected that hot off-gas or part of the steam from the central heat-supplying company could be used for sludge drying and used oil re-refining while the dried sludge and refined oil can be partial substitution for fossil fuel. For the purpose of assessing the environmental performance of this industrial symbiosis, life cycle assessment (LCA) was used and different scenarios were set up in this study to evaluate the Global warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP), Human toxicity air (HTA) and Total Environmental Impact Potential (TEIP) of the system. Results indicate that when the substitute ratio of coal by sludge is 14%, the proposed industrial symbiosis has the least environmental impact. Compared with the current situation (sludge is landfilled), co-combustion of dried sludge and re-refined oil with coal at optimal scale will release less CO₂, CH₄, NO_x, N₂O and CO, but more SO₂, H₂S, NH₃, HCl, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) and heavy metals.     

Empirically based development of a framework for advancing and stimulating collaboration in the chemical industry (ASC): creating sustainable chemical industrial parks

Based on literature, we identify collaboration drivers and partner features for enhancing vertical and/or horizontal collaboration in the chemicals using industries. We further develop constructs for both types of collaboration. A survey-based analysis within the largest chemical cluster worldwide was carried out to verify and to test our literature-based constructs. Using our empirically based results, we develop and propose a framework for Advancing and Stimulating Collaboration (ASC) in the chemical industry. This framework can be used to increase collaborative arrangements within the chemical industry and thereby lead to more sustainable chemical product and process flows and management practices resulting in more sustainable chemical industrial parks.     

Experiences from early stages of a national industrial symbiosis programme in the UK: determinants and coordination challenges

This paper reviews the factors influencing the development and sustained operation of regional industrial symbiosis (IS) networks and discusses the roles a coordination body can play to alter these factors so as to catalyse the development and functioning of such networks. These are analysed within the context of experiences gained in the early stages of three regional IS programmes under development in the UK, and of the recently launched national IS programme (NISP) that they are part of. It is stated that the policy framework in the UK has elements supportive of such networks to evolve, and the regional public bodies are favouring their development. Based on differences among studied cases, it is argued that the nature of companies’ operations and industrial history in the regions, the extent of peer pressure, the positioning of the coordinating body in the region, and its approach to awareness raising and recruitment have major influence on the progress of the programmes. Finally, the paper emphasises the importance of aligning the characteristics of emerging operations with the longer-term sustainability requirements. If accepted, this challenge assigns additional responsibilities to the coordinating parties.     

Integrated chain management in Germany – identifying schools of thought based on a literature review

The concept of integrated chain management has received much attention in German management literature. This can be seen in the increasing output of both papers and books on the topic as well as in the number of Ph.D. and habilitation (post-Ph.D.) theses that have contributed to the concept. Integrated chain management can be comprehended as supply chain management that takes environmental and social issues into account.This paper is designed to provide an overview of the concept of integrated chain management. This is done by means of a literature review, where related book publications with a focus on similar Ph.D. and habilitation theses have systematically been collected and analyzed. On the basis of this content analysis, major historical lines of development can be observed. Three schools are identified: the material and information flow school, the strategy and cooperation school and the regional industrial network school. The major research captured in these schools is described.     

Biogeography of diseases: a framework for analysis

A growing body of literature offers a framework for understanding geographic and ecological distributions of species; a few applications of this framework have treated disease transmission systems and their geography. The general framework focuses on interactions among abiotic requirements, biotic constraints, and dispersal abilities of species as determinants of distributional areas. Disease transmission systems have key differences from other sorts of biological phenomena: Interactions among species are particularly important, interactions may be stable or unstable, abiotic conditions may be relatively less important in shaping disease distributions, and dispersal abilities may be quite variable. The ways in which these differences may influence disease transmission geography are complex; I illustrate their effects by means of worked examples regarding West Nile Virus, plague, filoviruses, and yellow fever.     

Remanufacturing for the automotive aftermarket-strategic factors: literature review and future research needs

While the concepts of remanufacturing and reverse logistics are gaining popularity in practice, the available literature and theory on strategic decision making in these areas are limited. This paper is designed to address this gap, in particular, for the automotive industry aftermarket. In doing so, the authors reviewed literature pertaining to: customer demand(s), product design and development, cost-benefit analysis of reman, core (i.e., used product) supply management, reman competencies and skills, product life cycle strategies, reman and reverse logistics network design, relationships among key stakeholders, environmental considerations, regulations, and impact of emerging economies. The literature findings along with our experience in working with automotive reman products were used as inputs to guide the formulation of seven major propositions for the strategic factors in decision making within reman. The propositions were then tested through a case study. The case study reconfirmed many of the factors like product life cycle, regulations, etc. from the literature review and also identified new factors like OE customer requirements. Our results provide a foundation for further research for companies that deal with Original Equipment (OE) Sales, Original Equipment Service (OES), as well as Independent Aftermarket (IAM) business in the automotive industry.     

Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of metastatic neuroblastoma: Report of a case and review of the literature

Congenital malignant tumours are rare. Neuroblastoma is the most common solid tumour, accounting for about 30–50 per cent of tumours evident during the neonatal period. A case of metastatic, rapidly growing neuroblastoma, diagnosed prenatally by ultrasound at 32 weeks' gestation, is presented.     

Ultrasonographic diagnosis of a fetal abdominal mass: A case of a mesenchymal liver hamartoma and a review of the literature

A case of a prenatally recognized hepatic mesenchymal hamartoma is presented and the literature reviewed. These tumors are benign and usually present in early infancy with symptoms that are related to the mass effect on adjacent organs. Radiologic methods used in the past to image this tumor include angiography and ultrasound. However, there is no specific radiologic finding, and, therefore, the diagnosis is usually made during surgery. Once the tumor is removed, the prognosis is generally good. With the increasing use of high resolution ultrasound in prenatal diagnosis, this rare tumor should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any multicystic mass found in the fetal abdomen. The recognition of a mass should then alert the physician to the need for early neonatal intervention.     

The benefits of a Brazilian agro-industrial symbiosis system and the strategies to make it happen

Alcohol fuel is generally presented as a sustainable fuel in comparison with other fossil fuel due to lower emissions during production and combustion steps as well as due to its (assumed) closed carbon cycle. However, assessing the Brazilian traditional alcohol production cycle, many social and environmental impacts may still be indicated: burning, pesticides, biodiversity, labor exploration, high water consumption, erosion and others. Based on the strategy of an agro-industrial networking and symbiosis, a project was designed to optimize the system by means of polygeneration and total integration of production steps. The case presented in this paper is the project for a social and ecological agro-industry model, named GERIPA (Geração de Energia Renovável Integrada à Produção de Alimentos), which produces renewable fuel, electricity and organic food. Besides the technical project, an economic evaluation is also presented, resulting into a five year pay back time. In addition, environmental and social aspects were evaluated by means the Emergy Synthesis methodology (Odum, 1996), which assesses the value of all inputs through an estimate of the environmental work directly and indirectly required for their production and sustainable supply. The emergy-based comparison of GERIPA system and a traditional system in Brazil indicates better performance of GERIPA, with an eMergy Sustainability Index of 1.26, much higher than for a traditional system, 0.22. The project is presently under discussion with investors and Government and, if approved, will be carried out in marginal and presently unused land. In addition to providing an environmentally friendly process for food and energy production, the project would generate new jobs opportunities for Brazilian rural workers presently unemployed.     

Prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 9. Six cases and a review of the literature

Six prenatally diagnosed cases of trisomy 9 are reported and 22 previously reported cases are reviewed; the difficulty of genetic counselling for such cases and the variation in the percentage of trisomic cells in different tissues, thus making accurate diagnosis of trisomy 9 difficult, are emphasized. In addition to karyotyping results, ultrasound findings are important in achieving diagnoses. Finally, a course of action when prenatal trisomy 9 is detected is proposed.     

Evaluation of innovative municipal solid waste management through urban symbiosis: a case study of Kawasaki

Industrial symbiosis encourages the establishment of a broad eco-industrial network so that more synergy opportunities can be identified. By linking municipal solid waste management (MSWM) with local industries, i.e., urban symbiosis, new symbiotic opportunities can be generated from the geographic proximity of urban and industrial areas, transferring physical resources from urban refuse directly to industrial applications and improving the overall eco-efficiency of the city as a whole. Using a case study of Kawasaki, this paper simulates and evaluates an innovative waste management initiative in Kawasaki by an scenario simulation model based on the LCA approach. Results show that recycling mixed paper, mixed plastics, and organic wastes and utilizing the recycled materials in industrial production will potentially reduce about 69 kt CO₂(e) emissions and 8 kt incineration ashes to be landfilled in 2015. To achieve these outcomes, the total additional cost compared with the current practice is about 1.2 billion JPY.     

Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of intracranial haemorrhage: Report of a case with a sinusoidal fetal heart rate tracing,and review of the literature

The sinusoidal fetal heart rate pattern has been described in association with severe fetal anaemia, with fetal hypoxaemia, and with the administration of parenteral narcotics. Here, we report a case of decreased fetal movement in which a sinusoidal tracing was recorded. The sonographic diagnosis of a massive fetal intracranial haemorrhage was made. A non-interventive approach was taken and the fetus died soon after in utero. We review 28 previous cases in which the prenatal sonographic diagnosis of fetal intracranial haemorrhage was made, including the underlying maternal and fetal factors and neonatal outcomes. We propose that the sinusoidal tracing in this case was due to the intracranial bleed and suggest that fetal intracranial haemorrhage be considered in the sonographic evaluation of the fetus with a sinusoidal pattern.