Urban and industrial symbiosis for circular economy: Total EcoSite Integration

The paper presents an extension of Pinch Analysis and namely, Total Site Process Integration. It benefits from up to date developments and introduction of Total EcoSite Integration for urban and industrial symbiosis. An important development is Pinch Analysis for Solid Waste Integration which is a crucial step for the symbiosis in a circular economy. As the potential EcoSites are usually extensive and cover various units, a methodology based on clusters has been used. The solution has been supported by graphical tools using the analogy with already implemented extensions of Pinch Analysis. The results of a demonstration case study revealed the potential of the novel approach. The identified integrated design increased the energy recovered from the solid waste by 11.39 MWh/d and diverted 2 t/d of the waste from the landfill, benefiting both the urban and industrial site. The proposed approach is also capable of minimising the requirement of energy-intensive thermal drying for waste whenever the process allowed, subsequently offer a solution with lower environmental footprint and cost. For future work, a even more comprehensive case study can be conducted by considering the other forms of the waste, recovery process and drying approaches.

Automated summary

This paper introduces an extension of Pinch Analysis called Total Site Process Integration, which has been successfully applied to urban and industrial symbiosis projects. It enhances energy recovery and waste diversion, contributing to a more sustainable and efficient resource management system. Future work may involve exploring other waste forms, recovery processes, and drying methods to further optimize the approach.