Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Emergy-based assessment on industrial symbiosis: a case of Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Industrial symbiosis is the sharing of services, utility, and by-product resources among industries. This is usually made in order to add value, reduce costs, and improve the environment, and therefore has been taken as an effective approach for developing an eco-industrial park, improving resource efficiency, and reducing pollutant emission. Most conventional evaluation approaches ignored the contribution of natural ecosystem to the development of industrial symbiosis and cannot reveal the interrelations between economic development and environmental protection, leading to a need of an innovative evaluation method. Under such a circumstance, we present an emergy analysis-based evaluation method by employing a case study at Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone (SETDZ). Specific emergy indicators on industrial symbiosis, including emergy savings and emdollar value of total emergy savings, were developed so that the holistic picture of industrial symbiosis can be presented. Research results show that nonrenewable inputs, imported resource inputs, and associated services could be saved by 89.3, 32.51, and 15.7 %, and the ratio of emergy savings to emergy of the total energy used would be about 25.58 %, and the ratio of the emdollar value of total emergy savings to the total gross regional product (GRP) of SETDZ would be 34.38 % through the implementation of industrial symbiosis. In general, research results indicate that industrial symbiosis could effectively reduce material and energy consumption and improve the overall eco-efficiency. Such a method can provide policy insights to industrial park managers so that they can raise appropriate strategies on developing eco-industrial parks. Useful strategies include identifying more potential industrial symbiosis opportunities, optimizing energy structure, increasing industrial efficiency, recovering local ecosystems, and improving public and industrial awareness of eco-industrial park policies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bastianoni S, Nielsen N, Marchettini N, Jorgensen SE (2005) Use of thermodynamic functions for expressing some relevant aspects of sustainability. Int J Energy Res 29:53–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Budihardjo S, Hadi S, Sutikno S, Purwanto P (2013) The ecological footprint analysis for assessing carrying capacity of industrial zone in Semarang. J Hum Resour Sustain Stud 1:14–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chertow M (2000) Industrial symbiosis: literature and taxonomy. Annu Rev Energy Environ 25:313–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chertow M (2007) “Uncovering” industrial symbiosis. J Ind Ecol 11(1):11–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chertow M, Lombardi R (2005) Quantifying economic and environmental benefits of co-located firms. Environ Sci Technol 39(17):6535–6541

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dong H, Geng Y, Xi F, Fujita T (2013) Carbon footprint evaluation at industrial park level: a hybrid life cycle assessment approach. Energy Policy 57:298–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong H, Ohnishi S, Fujita T, Geng Y, Fujii M, Dong L (2014) Achieving carbon emission reduction through industrial & urban symbiosis: a case of Kawasaki. Energy 64:277–286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Cote R (2003) Environmental management system atindustrial park level in China. Environ Manag 31(6):784–794

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Doberstein B (2008) Developing the circular economy in China: challenges and opportunities for achieving leapfrog development. Int J Sustain Dev World Ecol 3(15):231–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Sarkis J (2012) Achieving national emission reduction target: China’s new challenge and opportunity. Environ Sci Technol 46:107–108

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Zhao HX (2009) Industrial park management in the Chinese environment. J Clean Prod 17:1289–1294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Cote R, Fujita T (2007a) A quantitative model for optimizing water resources at the industrial park level. Reg Environ Chang 7:123–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Zhu QH, Haight M (2007b) Planning integrated waste management system at the industrial park level: a case of Tianjin, China. Waste Manag 27(1):141–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Zhang P, Cote R, Fujita T (2009) Assessment of the national eco-industrial park standard for promoting industrial symbiosis in China. J Ind Ecol 13(1):15–26

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Zhang P, Ulgiati S, Sarkis J (2010a) Emergy analysis of an industrial park: the case of Dalian, China. Sci Total Environ 408:5273–5283

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Wang XB, Zhao HX, Zhu QH (2010b) Regional initiatives on promoting cleaner production in China: a case of Liaoning. J Clean Prod 18:1500–1506

    Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Fujita T, Chen XD (2010c) Evaluation of innovative municipal solid waste management through urban symbiosis: a case study of Kawasaki. J Clean Prod 18:993–1000

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Fu J, Sarkis J, Xue B (2012) Towardsa national circular economy indicator system in China: an evaluation and critical analysis. J Clean Prod 23:216–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Sarkis J, Ulgiati S, Zhang P (2013a) Measuring China’s circular economy. Science 339:1526–1527

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Ren W, Zhu Q, Xue B, Xi F, Liu Y, Han H (2013b) Regional medical waste management in China: a case of Shenyang. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 15:310–320

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Sarkis J, Wang XB, Zhao HY, Zhong YG (2013c) Regional application of ground source heat pump in China: a case of Shenyang. Renew Sust Energ Rev 18:95–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Ma Z, Xue B, Ren W, Liu Z (2013d) Co-benefit evaluation for urban public transportation sector—a case of Shenyang, China. J Clean Prod 58:82–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hashimoto S, Fujita T, Geng Y, Nagasawa E (2010) Realizing CO2 emission reduction through industrial symbiosis: a cement production case study for Kawasaki. Resour Conserv Recycl 54(10):704–710

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hau J, Bakshi B (2004) Promise and problems of emergy analysis. Ecol Model 178:215–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang SL, Hsu WL (2003) Materials flow analysis and emergy evaluation of Taipei’s urban construction. Landsc Urban Plan 63(2):61–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingwersen WW (2011) Emergy as a life cycle impact assessment indicator: a gold mining case study. J Ind Ecol 15(4):550–567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y (2010) Study on the mode and evaluation of chlor-alkali industry cluster-based eco-industrial park. Doctoral thesis, Donghua University Library: Shanghai, China. (in Chinese)

  • Li H (2013) Evaluation index system and evaluationmethod for sustainable developmentof industrial park. Lect Notes Electr Eng 209:199–207

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mu H, Feng X, Chu K (2011) Improved emergy indices for the evaluation of industrial systems incorporating waste management. Ecol Eng 37:335–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Odum HT (1988) Self-organization, transformity, and information. Science 242:1132–1139

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Odum HT (2000) Handbook of emergy evaluation. Folio#2. Emergy of global process. Center for Environmental Policy, University of Florida, Gainsville, FL, available at http://www.cep.ees.ufl.edu/emergy/publications/folios.shtml.

  • Odum HT, Nilsson P (1996) Environmental accounting: emergy and environmental decision making. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ren W, Geng Y, Xue B, Fujita T, Ma Z, Jiang P (2012) Pursuing co-benefits in China’s old industrial base: a case of Shenyang. Urban Clim 1:55–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rugani B, Benetto E (2012) Improvements to emergy evaluations by using life cycle assessment. Environ Sci Technol 46(9):4701–4712

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rugani B, Panasiuk D, Benetto E (2012) An input-output based framework to evaluate human labour in life cycle assessment. Int J Life Cycle Assess 17(6):795–812

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SETDZ (2013) Environmental protection and emission reduction report. Governmental document. (In Chinese)

  • Shenyang Municipality (2011) Shenyang yearly book for 2010. Shenyang Press, Shenyang (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Song Y, Liu J, Xu Y (2014) National industrial parks development report. Governmental report, Ministry of Commerce, Beijing (in Chinese)

  • Sun L, Geng Y, Sarkis J, Yang M, Xi F, Zhang Y, Xue B, Luo Q, Ren W, Bao T (2013) Measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a Chinese brownfieldredevelopment site:the case of Shenyang. Ecol Eng 53:115–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taskhiri M, Tan R, Chiu A (2011) Emergy-based fuzzy optimization approach for water reuse in an eco-industrial park. Resour Conserv Recycl 15(7):730–737

  • Ulgiati S, Brown MT (2002) Quantifying the environmental support for dilution and abatement of process emissions—the case of electricity production. J Clean Prod 10:335–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulgiati S, Brown M (2013) Labor and services. In: Brown MT, Sweeney S, Campbell DE, Huang S, Kang D, Rydberg T, Tilley D, Ulgiati S (eds). Emergy Synthesis 7: theory and applications of the emergy methodology. Proceedings of the 7th Biennial Emergy Conference. Center for Environmental Policy, University of Florida, Gainesville, pp 557–562.

  • Ulgiati S, Ascione M, Zucano A, Campanella L (2011) Emergy-based complexity measures in natural and social systems. Ecol Indic 11(5):1185–1190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Berkel R, Fujita T, Hashimoto S, Geng Y (2009) Industrial and urban symbiosis in Japan: analysis of the Eco-Town program 1997–2006. J Environ Manag 90:1544–1556

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang LM, Zhang JT, Ni WD (2005) Emergy evaluation of eco-industrial park with power plant. Ecol Model 189:233–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xi FM, Geng Y, Chen XD, Zhang YS, Wang XB, Xue B, Dong HJ, Liu Z, Fujita T, Zhu QH (2011) Contributing to local policy making on GHG emission reduction through inventorying and attribution: a case study of Shenyang, China. Energy Policy 39:5999–6010

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan M, Chien K (2013) Evaluating the economic performance of high-technology industry and energy efficiency: a case study of science parks in Taiwan. Energies 6:973–987

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, J, Chen, B, Qi, J, Zhou, S, Jiang, M (2012) Life-cycle-based multicriteria sustainability evaluation of industrial parks: a case study in China. The Scientific World Journal, Article ID 917830

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (71033004, 71325006, 41101126, and 71311140172), Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2011BAJ06B01).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Yong Geng

  2. Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, Liaoning Province, China

    Yong Geng, Zuoxi Liu & Bing Xue

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Zuoxi Liu

  4. National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

    Huijuan Dong & Tsuyoshi Fujita

  5. Department of Industrial Engineering, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines

    Anthony Chiu

Authors
  1. Yong Geng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zuoxi Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bing Xue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Huijuan Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tsuyoshi Fujita
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Anthony Chiu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yong Geng.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Geng, Y., Liu, Z., Xue, B. et al. Emergy-based assessment on industrial symbiosis: a case of Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 13572–13587 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3287-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3287-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation