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Front. Earth Sci.    2016, Vol. 10 Issue (2) : 352-365    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-015-0520-9
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Network analysis of eight industrial symbiosis systems
Yan ZHANG1,*(),Hongmei ZHENG1,Han SHI2,Xiangyi YU3,Gengyuan LIU1,Meirong SU1,Yating LI4,Yingying CHAI4
1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
2. Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
3. Solid Waste and Chemical Management Center of MEP, Beijing 100029, China
4. Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
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Abstract

Industrial symbiosis is the quintessential characteristic of an eco-industrial park. To divide parks into different types, previous studies mostly focused on qualitative judgments, and failed to use metrics to conduct quantitative research on the internal structural or functional characteristics of a park. To analyze a park’s structural attributes, a range of metrics from network analysis have been applied, but few researchers have compared two or more symbioses using multiple metrics. In this study, we used two metrics (density and network degree centralization) to compare the degrees of completeness and dependence of eight diverse but representative industrial symbiosis networks. Through the combination of the two metrics, we divided the networks into three types: weak completeness, and two forms of strong completeness, namely “anchor tenant” mutualism and “equality-oriented” mutualism. The results showed that the networks with a weak degree of completeness were sparse and had few connections among nodes; for “anchor tenant” mutualism, the degree of completeness was relatively high, but the affiliated members were too dependent on core members; and the members in “equality-oriented” mutualism had equal roles, with diverse and flexible symbiotic paths. These results revealed some of the systems’ internal structure and how different structures influenced the exchanges of materials, energy, and knowledge among members of a system, thereby providing insights into threats that may destabilize the network. Based on this analysis, we provide examples of the advantages and effectiveness of recent improvement projects in a typical Chinese eco-industrial park (Shandong Lubei).
Keywords industrial ecology      network analysis      density      network degree centralization      eco-industrial park     
Corresponding Author(s): Yan ZHANG   
Just Accepted Date: 17 June 2015   Online First Date: 05 August 2015    Issue Date: 05 April 2016
 Cite this article:   
Yan ZHANG,Hongmei ZHENG,Han SHI, et al. Network analysis of eight industrial symbiosis systems[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2016, 10(2): 352-365.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-015-0520-9
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2016/V10/I2/352
Type Name of park Construction date Location Characteristics Data sources
Co-located eco-industrial parks Kalundborg 1960s Denmark It formed spontaneously through promotion of the economic benefits of its members Ehrenfeld and Gertler (1997), Chertow (2007), Mihelcic and Zimmerman (2010)
Tianjin TEDA 2005 Eastern China It was one of the first 14 national economic development zones in China, and was planned by governmental officials and researchers Shi et al. (2010), TEDA Trade Promotion Centre (2012)
Shandong Lubei 2003 Eastern China It was the biggest ammonium phosphate, sulfate, and cement manufacturing enterprise in China, and was owned by the Lubei Chemical Company Ltd Feng (2003), Yang et al. (2004), Fang et al. (2007)
Xinjiang Shihezi 2002 Western China It was located in an arid region of northern China Wu et al. (2004)
Guangxi Guigang 2001 Western China It resulted from efforts to improve an existing park to reduce its high levels of emissions Zhu et al. (2007)
Choctaw 1995 Central U.S.A. It was developed based on a master plan, and its aim was to solve the significant problem of storing and utilizing shredded tires Potts Carr (1998)
Kitakyushu 1997 Japan It was the first eco-industrial park in Japan to recycle and reuse wastes Muto (2004), Kitakyushu Eco-Town Project (2005), Kitakyushu Eco-Town Plan by the City of Kitakyushu (2012)
Virtual eco-industrial park Styria 1992 Austria It includes paper-production industries, power plants, cement plants, iron scrap dealers, and a wastewater treatment plant Schwarz and Steininger (1997)
Tab.1  Characteristics of the eight typical industrial symbiosis systems.
Fig.1  Connections between nodes and the resulting adjacency matrix: (a) the exchanges within an industrial network, including the flow directions; (b) the corresponding elements in the adjacency matrix; and (c) the adjacency matrix for the industrial network shown in (a). Notes: 1, 2, and 3 represent members of the industrial network (nodes); aij represents the resource exchanges from Member i to Member j. In the simplified network shown in (a), we have assumed that there are no exchanges internal to each member of the network, thus the adjacency value is 0.
Fig.2  Industrial symbiosis networks for the eight eco-industrial parks. Details of each park are shown in Online Supplemental Figures S1 to S8.

(a) The Guangxi Guigang eco-industrial park.

Notes: 1, sugar refinery; 2, alcohol plant; 3, pulp and paper mill; 4, compound fertilizer plant; 5, power plant; 6, wastewater treatment plant; 7, alkali recovery plant; 8, cement mill; 9, light calcium plant; 10, sugarcane planting system.

(b) The Xinjiang Shihezi eco-industrial park.

Notes: 1, Achnatherum cultivation system; 2, paper-making system; 3, animal husbandry system; 4, wastewater treatment system; 5, animal-products processing system; 6, eco-tourism industry.

(c) The Kalundborg eco-industrial park.

Notes: 1, liquid fertilizer; 2, Statoil refinery; 3, Asnaes fish farm; 4, Asnaes power plant; 5, Gyproc gypsum board plant; 6, Alborg cement plant; 7, Novo Nordisk biopharmaceutical plant; 8, Kalundborg city; 9, recovered nickel and vanadium; 10, farm; 11, A-S Bioteknisk Jordens.

(d) The Shandong Lubei eco-industrial park.

Notes: 1, ammonium phosphate plant; 2, sulfuric acid plant; 3, cement plant; 4, thermal power plant; 5, chlorine plant; 6, aquaculture plant; 7, bromine plant; 8, salty gypsum production plant; 9, raw salt production; 10, chlor-alkali plant; 11, potassium and magnesium salt production; 12, living area.

(e) The Choctaw eco-industrial park.

Notes: 1, tire crushing plant; 2, tire pyrolysis plant; 3, hard rubber tire manufacturers; 4, carbon black processing plant; 5, ink cartridge production and recovery plant; 6, plastics plant; 7, plastic products plant; 8, wastewater treatment plant; 9, greenhouse; 10, crushed steel recovery plant.

(f) The Kitakyushu eco-industrial park.

Notes: 1, plastic bottle recycling plant; 2, car disassembly factory; 3, office equipment wastes plant; 4, home appliance recycling factory; 5, PCB treatment facilities; 6, composite core facility; 7, construction waste treatment plant; 8, medical equipment plant; 9, fluorescent lamps plant; 10, empty cans plant; 11, computer recycling plant; 12, recreational machine plant; 13, waste wood and plastics plant; 14, cooking oil plant; 15, styrofoam plant; 16, ink cartridges plant; 17, scrap car plant; 18, organic solvent and waste plastics plant; 19, waste paper plant; 20, kitchen waste treatment plant; 21, food wastes treatment plant.

(g) The Tianjin TEDA eco-industrial park.

Notes: 1, TEDA water treatment plant; 2, industrial, commercial, and residential users; 3, TEDA wastewater treatment plant; 4, construction companies; 5, Guahua cogeneration plant; 6, Binhai energy cogeneration plant; 7, TEDA new water source company; 8, TEDA eco-landscaping company; 9, desalination plant; 10, FAW resource recovery company; 11, other Toyota-family firms; 12, Toyota FAW dies company; 13, Tianjin Rainbow Hills cast iron company; 14, other automobile die makers; 15, Tianjin AW automatic transmission company; 16, Tianjin Toyotsu aluminum smelting; 17, Tianjin Toho FAW Toyota motor company; 18, Tianjin Toyotsu resource management company; 19, Takaoka Lioho industries; 20, Tianjin pipe corporation; 21, Tianjin FAW Toyota engine company; 22, Toyota-family automobile part manufacturers; 23, CMW industrial company; 24, steel scrap contractors; 25, refineries; 26, Cabot chemical company; 27, TEDA chemical park corporation; 28, Tianjin Tong Tee industrial company; 29, Tianjin Toho lead recycling company; 30, Tianjin cement mill; 31, Kumho tire company; 32, Tianjin Aoxing rubber company; 33, Tianjin Motorola China; 34, Tianjin Yuasa batteries company; 35, various users of lead-acid batteries.

(h) The Styria eco-industrial park.

Notes: 1, paper-producing industry 3; 2, pressboard plant; 3, paper-producing industry 4; 4, scrap material dealer; 5, wastewater treatment plant; 6, mining company; 7, paper-producing industry 1; 8, wastepaper dealer; 9, textile plant 1; 10, textile plant 2; 11, chemical plant; 12, sawmill; 13, paper-producing industry 6; 14, iron scrap dealer; 15, construction materials plant 1; 16, power plant 1; 17, region of Voitsberg; 18, stone and ceramic industry 2; 19, cement plant 6; 20, construction materials plant 2; 21, cement plant 3; 22, region of Graz; 23, power plant 2; 24, cement plant 4; 25, iron manufacturing industry; 26, used tire dealers; 27, paper-producing industry 5; 28, plastics plant; 29, color industry; 30, paper-producing industry 2; 31, stone and ceramic plant 1; 32, used oil dealer 3; 33, used oil dealer 2; 34, used oil dealer 1; 35, fuel producer; 36, cement plant 2; 37, cement plant 1; 38, cement plant 5.

Name of system D CRD/%
Guangxi 0.26 24
Xinjiang 0.20 55
Lubei 0.15 15
Choctaw 0.14 17
Kalundborg 0.12 34
Kitakyushu 0.06 11
Tianjin 0.04 7
Styria 0.03 8
Tab.2  The density (D) and relative degree of centralization (CRD) of the eight systems
Type(“Connectance” theory) Density (D) Centralization degree (CRD)/% Mutualism sub-type(“Key species theory” in a natural system) Industrial symbioses
Weak degree of completeness 0≤D<0.10 — — Kitakyushu, Tianjin TEDA, Styria
Strong degree of completeness 0.10≤D<1.0 20≤CRD<100 “Anchor tenant” Guangxi Guigang, Xinjiang Shihezi, Kalundborg
0<CRD<20 “Equality-oriented” Shandong Lubei, Choctaw
Tab.3  Theoretical grounding and criteria for the three types
Type Structural characteristics Network activities
Weak degree of completeness The network is relatively sparse, with few connections and paths among the members The degree of completeness is low
“Anchor tenant” mutualism The members can be divided into important and less-important ones; affiliated enterprises depend on core (anchor) enterprises The degree of completeness is relatively high, but the dependence on core nodes is too high
“Equality-oriented” mutualism The members have relatively equal roles; there are few or no core and affiliated enterprises The degree of completeness is relatively high; the symbiosis paths are diverse and the system is flexible; the network is relatively stable
Tab.4  Characteristics of the three types
Fig.3  Networks with (a) “anchor tenant” mutualism and (b) “equality-oriented” mutualism. Dashed lines in (a) indicate potential new paths.
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