1

Day 2/Topic 2: Biological

Metabolism and Industrial

Ecosystems

Dr. Anthony Halog

Source: UNEP, ABC of

SCP. 2010

10/26/2018 Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Engineering Course

The Relevance of

Biological Ecology (BE)

to Technology

“In an industrial ecosystem, the

consumption of energy and materials is

optimized, waste generation is minimized,

and the effluents from one process serve

as the raw material for another”

R.A. Frosch, and N. Gallopoulos, Strategies for

manufacturing, Scientific American, 260 (3),

144, 1989.

THE BE/IE

METAPHOR/ANALOGY:

PRINCIPAL QUESTIONS

• Are there recognizable similarities

between BE and IE?

• If so, does anything useful come from that

realization?

Analogy #1 –

Organisms as an

Organizing Concept

Organism

An entity internally organized to

maintain vital activities

PROPERTIES OF

ORGANISMS• Capable of independent activity

• Utilizes energy and material resources

• Releases waste heat and material

residues

• Capable of reproduction

• Responds to external stimuli

• Grows and dies

Question:

What is the industrial organism?

-the product?

-the factory?

-the ecoindustrial park?

-the city or country?

PROPERTIES OF

ORGANISMS• Capable of independent activity

• Utilizes energy and material resources

• Releases waste heat and material

residues

• Capable of reproduction

• Responds to external stimuli

• Grows and dies

“I think of the organism as being the

industrial process or the set of industrial

processes that leads to a particular product

or product family”

R.A. Frosch, “Industrial ecology: A

philosophical introduction”, Proc. Nat. Acad.

Sci. US, 89 (3), 800-803, 1989.

Frosch’s Perspective

Analogy #2 –

The Ecosystem as an

Organizing Concept

A Type I Biological Ecosystem

Unlimited

resourcesUnlimited

waste

A Type II Biological Ecosystem

Energy and

limited

resources

LLimited

waste

A Type III Biological Ecosystem

EnergyL

“I think of ecology as being the network of

all industrial processes as they may

interact with each other and live off each

other”

R.A. Frosch, “Industrial ecology: A

philosophical introduction”, Proc. Nat. Acad.

Sci. US, 89 (3), 800-803, 1989.

Frosch’s Perspective:

A Type II Industrial Ecosystem

Limited

resources

LLimited

waste

A Type II Industrial Ecosystem

Limited

resources

LLimited

waste

V

R

P

M

S

I

Analogy #3 –

Engineering by Organisms

Case 1

Organism

State 1

Organism

State 2

BE Example: An osprey eats a fish

IE Example: A factory roof is repaired

These cases are NOT engineering, because

although materials are utilized, no environmental

change occurs

Case 2

Material

State 1

Material

State 2

BE Example: A bird builds a nest

IE Example: Neolithic humans construct a log road

Organism

Case 3

Organism

State 1

Organism

State 2

BE Example: Plankton blooms warm surface waters

IE Example: Urban areas alter water flows

Resource flow

Case 4

Material

State 1

Material

State 2

BE Example: Beavers build a dam

IE Example: Humans manufacture energy-using portable radios

Organism

Resource flow

Case 5

BE Example: Mussel beds protect sediments

IE Example: Urban areas raise regional temperatures

Organism

State 1

Organism

State 2

Resource flow

Abiotic

Force

Case 6

BE Example: Plankton emit cloud-forming dimethyl sulfide

IE Example: CFC emissions create ozone hole

Material

State 1

Material

State 2

Resource flow

Abiotic

ForceOrganism

Analogy #4 –

Evolution as an

Organizing Concept

Evolution

The transformation over time of

groups of organisms so that

descendants differ physically and

morphologically from their

ancestors

Biological Evolution Driving Factors

• Random genetic variations

• Changes in local ecosystem structure

• Changes in environmental pressures or

constraints

Industrial Evolution Driving Factors

• Tool use

• New energy sources

• Materials and technology development (metals, petrochemicals, polymers, etc.)

• The information explosion

Evolution of the Automobile

Model TThe Edsel

The Prius

Industrial Evolution: Jumps

Industrial Evolution: Borrowing from

Any Technology That’s Needed

The Tree of Technology

L

The Technological Sector Sequence

From

Customer

To

Customer

Various

Process

And Product

Reuse

Options

METAL

MINING

METAL

PROCESSINGMETAL

FABRICATION

NATURAL GAS

EXTRACTION

COAL MINING

POWER

GENERATION

PLASTICS

FABRICATION

PRODUCT

ASSEMBLYPACKAGING &

SHIPPING

RECYCLING

INORGANIC

MINERAL

EXTRACTION

INORGANIC

CHEMICALS,

SAND &

GLASS

SYNTHETIC

ORGANIC

CHEMICALS

ELECTRONIC

FABRICATION

PETROLEUM

REFINING,

PETROCHEMICALS

PETROLEUM

EXTRACTION

EXTRACTION MATERIAL

PROCESSING

INTERMEDIATE

PRODUCT MFR.

IfINAL PRODUCT

MFR.

PRODUCT

DELIVERY

AGRICULTURE

FOOD

PROCESSING

FOREST

PRODUCTS

CONSTRUCTION

TEXTILES

Metabolic Analysis

Metabolism

The aggregate of all physical and

chemical processes taking place

within an organism or group of

organisms

The Metabolism of

Industrial Organisms

The Framework of Industrial Metabolism

FactoryAutos,

computers

Industrial

nutrients

Operating nutrients

(electricity, petrol, etc.)

Excreta Excreta

Reprocessing,

recyclingNutrients in or nearer

original forms

M

S W

Industrial Organism Material Flow

C

RA

Single Facility Energy Flow

Oil 2000 Steam

Coal 200

Electricity 400

Process A 1270

Process B 150

Process C 140

Boiler Losses

Power House Losses

Steam Losses

400 30 300

Boilers

Heating Factory

Heating Office Lighting

60

50

100 100

Waigaoqiao Power Plant Power Station

Industrial Activity: Power generation

Footprint/Physical Size: 144 hectares

MATERIAL INPUTS

5.9 million tons/year

high sulfur coal

ENERGY REQUIREMENTS

N/A (Energy producer)

WATER REQUIREMENTS

14*1010 L/year saltwater

(cooling)

Freshwater (purified) for

steam

PRODUCTS

14.8 Billion kWh per year

Electricity

NON-PRODUCT OUTPUTS/WASTES

CO2 16 million tons/year

SOx 105,000 tons/year

NOx 140,000 tons/year

Elevated temperature wastewater 14*1010 L/year

Fly Ash & Bottom Ash 570,000 tons year

Waste solvents (cleaning)

Waste oil

Single facility – material flow profile

Courtesy of M. Chertow

Toyota’s Worldwide Metabolism

Courtesy of Toyota Motor Company

11 Elements

+4 Elements

Semiconductor Technology: The Complexity is

Increasing Exponentially

+45 Elements(Potential)

Source: T. McManus, Intel Corp., 2006

Metabolic Analysis – A Desktop Computer

• Major constituents – silica (25% by weight), plastics (23%), iron (20%), aluminum (14%), copper (7%), lead (6%), etc.

• Essential trace elements (50-1000 parts per million): tantalum, gold, silver, palladium, cobalt, gallium, and many others

Redefining Metabolic Terminology

• Industrial Pathway

• Industrial Enzymes

• The Industrial Genome

Redefining Metabolic Terminology

• Industrial Pathway – the route of transformation of materials (industrial metabolites) into products

• Industrial Enzymes (agents that make transformations happen) – Industrial reactors or machines

• The Industrial Genome (designs the enzymes) – Machine and reactor designers

Industrial Transformation Terminology

• Chemical transformation – “unit process”

• Physical transformation – “unit operation”

To follow the pathway of a material,

we need to know

• The processes transporting or

transforming the material

• The products containing the material

To follow the rate of flow of a

material, we need to know

• The mass fluxes of the input goods

• The material concentrations in the input goods

• The transfer function of this material in each process

Overview: Doorknob Metabolism

An industrial transformation

sheet steel steel part

An industrial metabolic process

sheet steel steel part shaped part packaged part

punch drawing

press pressplating

bath

plated part

packaging

packaging

The Industrial Metabolism S Matrix

Industrial

transformationspunch draw plate …..

Sheet

Part

Shaped part

Plated part

…….

Indu

str

ial m

eta

bo

lite

s

-1 0 0 ……

+1 -1 0 …..

0 +1 -1 …..

….. ….. ….

The Scope of Materials Requirements Planning (MRP)

Materials

requirements

Reporting

functions

Inventory

status

Production

schedule

Central

database

Facility

personnel

Corporate

(financial,

planning, etc.)

Part mfr.

Product mfr.

The Scope of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Manufacturing

Reporting

functions

Sales and

service

Human

resources

Central

database

Suppliers

Customers

Financial

activities

The Scope of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Manufacturing

Reporting

functions

Sales and

service

Human

resources

Central

database

Suppliers

Customers

Environmental

impacts

Resource

consumption

Human

resources

Facility

personnel

Corporate

(financial,

planning, etc.)

Part mfr.

Product mfr.

MRP

ERP

The Utility of Industrial Metabolic Understanding

Data After J. Papin et al., Trends Biochem. Sci., 28, 250-258, 2003

Process

design

Machine

design

Worker

activities

Factory-scale

network

Pathway

analysis

Elucidation of

systems properties

Management of

environment and

sustainability issues

Systems analysis of

metabolites, enzymes,

byproducts, etc.

Metabolism from the industrial organism on up

Metabolism of

the industrial organism

Metabolism of the

industrial population

Metabolism of the

industrial ecosystem

BE AND IE ORGANISMS: RESOURCE

UTILIZATION DIFFERENCES

• BE organisms eat other organisms

• IE organisms transform nutrients

forwarded by other organisms

• Respiration is defined differently

• Heat loss is explicit in IE

• IE organisms are not designed to store

resources

BE AND IE ORGANISMS:

METABOLIC DIFFERENCES

• IE organisms metabolize resources to

manufacture products that are not copies

of themselves

• Production from an IE organism may grow,

and factory additions may be made, but

there is no predictable growth pattern

• Factories die when obsolete or when a

product is no longer wanted, not because

they become old

Summary

• If the metabolism of a biological organism is completely understood, the detailed effects of perturbations to that metabolism can be predicted.

• Similarly, if the metabolism of an industrial organism is completely understood, the detailed effects of perturbations to that metabolism can be predicted.

• In principle, the detailed metabolism of an industrial organism is known. In practice, it tends not to be fully comprehended, and opportunities for improvement are often lost.

Industrial Symbiosis

Industrial Symbiosis

• Industrial symbiosis engages traditionally

separate industries in a collective approach to

competitive advantage involving physical

exchange of materials, energy, water, and/or by

products. The keys to industrial symbiosis are

collaboration and the synergistic possibilities

offered by geographic proximity.

M. Chertow 2000

Annual Review of Energy and Environment

Three primary opportunities for

industrial symbiosis

• By-product exchanges - the exchange of firm-specific materials between two or more parties,

• Utility/infrastructure sharing - the pooled management of commonly used resources such as energy, water, and wastewater

• Joint provision of services – meeting common needs across firms for ancillary activities such as fire suppression, transportation, food provision, and so forth.

Materials Cycling in Industries

Waste

Brokerage

Industries grouped by a common

waste and re-use stream

#3

#2#1

Others

#4

A B C D

Industries connected by

a byproduct stream

Source: M. Chertow

Types of industrial symbiosis

1. Waste exchanges

2. Within a facility or firm

3. Among co-located firms

4. Among nearby firms

5. Among distant firms

Chertow’s “3/2 Heuristic”

To qualify as an industrial ecosystem, at least three industrial actors must

exchange at least two different materials among themselves

Industrial Symbiosis Attributes

• IS examines cooperation between traditionally separate industries in close geographic proximity.

• IS is most commonly characterized by physical exchanges of materials, water, energy, or by-products, but can also be accomplished through joint provisioning of resources (water, electricity, transportation) or joint facilities (wastewater treatment, cafeteria)

• IS can create new revenue streams, lower disposal costs, build new links within the community, and reduce environmental harm

Byproduct Exchange: Mosto at Bacardi

Courtesy of M. Chertow

By-Product Exchange: Water Cascading at Pfizer

Clean Water Use

Industrial Use

Treatment

Brown Water Use

Courtesy of M. Chertow

Industrial Symbiosis of Kalundborg DenmarkIndustrial Symbiosis of Kalundborg Denmark

Liquid

Fertilizer

Production

Statoil

Refinery

Energy E2 Power

Station

Novo Nordisk/

Novozymes A/S

Pharmaceuticals

Farms

Lake

Tissø

Cement;

roads

Fish

farming

Gyproc

Nordic East

Wall-board

Plant

Water

Water

Water

Sludge

(treated)

Heat

Scrubber

Sludge

Ste

am

Bo

iler

wa

ter

Co

olin

gw

ate

r

Ste

am

Recovered nickel

and vanadium

A-S Soilrem

Ho

t

wa

ter

Municipality of

Kalundborg

District Heating

Wastewater

Treatment Plant

SulfurO

rga

nic

resid

ue

s

Fly ash

Heat

Slu

dg

e

Gas (back up)

Yeast

slurry

Wa

ste

wa

ter

Waigaoqiao Power Plant Power Station

Industrial Activity: Power generation

Footprint/Physical Size: 144 hectares

MATERIAL INPUTS

5.9 million tons/year

high sulfur coal

ENERGY REQUIREMENTS

N/A (Energy producer)

WATER REQUIREMENTS

14*1010 L/year saltwater

(cooling)

Freshwater (purified) for

steam

PRODUCTS

14.8 Billion kWh per year

Electricity

NON-PRODUCT OUTPUTS/WASTES

CO2 16 million tons/year

SOx 105,000 tons/year

NOx 140,000 tons/year

Elevated temperature wastewater 14*1010 L/year

Fly Ash & Bottom Ash 570,000 tons year

Waste solvents (cleaning)

Waste oil

Single facility – material flow profile

Courtesy of M. Chertow

Distilled

Water

Low

Pressure

Steam

Eco-Electrica and Costa Sur

Port Industries

Value-

Added

Industries

Guayanilla Bay Economic Development Opportunities

from Industrial Symbiosis: The Initial Conditions

Guayanilla Bay Economic Development Opportunities

from Industrial Symbiosis: The Beverage Cluster

Distilled

Water

Low

Pressure

Steam

Recycling Facility

Eco-Electrica and Costa Sur

Absorption Chillers

Cool

Air

Beverage Manufacture

Port Industries

Discarded Packaging

Recycled Packaging

Recycled Packaging

Regional Produce

Island Industrogeography

The island microcosm has been the basis

for numerous scientific advances

• Darwin – evolutionary

biology

• MacArthur and Wilson –

island biogeography

• anthropologists – study of

human behavior

• Industrial ecologists –

resource use under

environmental constraints

The island context vs.

the island paradigm

• Modern transportation has made geographical boundaries permeable and increased the connectivity of islands to the rest of the world

• Still, islands do have limits imposed by the cost of importation and the assimilative capacity of the environment

• Thus we can consider the island context (an isolated system with scarce resources) as a more realistic framework than the island paradigm (a bounded system with controlled conditions).

Why should industrial ecologists

care about islands?

• Islands are systems that are closed and

bounded in many respects and thus present a

manageable unit of study

• Island populations are challenged with limited

resource availability, tenuous resource

security, and limited natural carrying capacity

• The need to find solutions for sustainable

development is much more immediate for

island systems

Industrial ecology tools for island

settings: material flow analysis

• MFA is used to identify and quantify all significant

material inputs and outputs of each firm or other

entity in the island setting

• The results suggest opportunities for exchange of

materials among companies, as well as

opportunities for more efficient resource use in

the industrial ecosystem

• On islands, material accounting can also

highlight key resource vulnerabilities

Material Flow Diagram for the Island of Hawai’i, 2005

Courtesy of M. Chertow

Mismatched Material Flows in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico imports an estimated 400 tons/week

of recycled glass for glass manufacturing

Puerto Rico has exported an

additional 200 tons/day of

used boxboard to Venezuela

Puerto Rico imports some 500 tons/day of

used boxboard for cardboard manufacturing

Puerto Rico discards an estimated

1000 tons/week of recyclable glass

Puerto Rico discards an

estimated 800 tons/day of

recyclable boxboard

Courtesy of M. Chertow

Industrial ecology tools for island

settings: energy systems analysis

• Evaluates the current and historical status of energy supply and demand and the key determinants of those trends, by looking at resource price and availability, patterns of generation and consumption, and the likely directions of future change.

• Increasingly involves an examination of renewable options (geothermal, wind, solar, biomass) and the displacement of fossil fuels (especially oil)

Energy Use on the Island of Hawai’i, 2005

Courtesy of M. Chertow

Resource cascading in the island context

• The repeated use of a resource in

different applications, where each use

requires a lower level of refinement or

lower value, and preserves and extends

resources

• In the island context, resource

cascading contributes to improved

sustainability