Regional industrial recycling network in energy supply—the case of Joensuu city, Finland

Abstract

Industrial recycling networks offer an example of the practical application of some of the industrial ecology (IE) principles. In the industrial ecosystem and eco‐industrial park approaches the material cycles and energy cascades in a natural ecosystem serve as the metaphoric vision for a local/regional industrial system in which waste material and waste (residual) energy are utilized through cooperation between the actors in the system. In this paper, a local/regional recycling network scenario is presented with the energy supply system of the city of Joensuu in Finland. The conditions of success include the co‐production of heat and electricity (heat and power, CHP), waste energy utilization for industrial steam and renewable flow use as fuel. Some difficulties in the industrial ecosystem‐type development of the system are discussed. Methodological suggestions for industrial ecosystem and eco‐industrial park case studies are considered and the experience from this Finnish case is discussed in terms of wider application of IE in local/regional economic energy systems. For future research on the theme, it is suggested that regional industrial ecology may benefit from regional economics theory and, vice versa, regional economics theory may find a new area of application in regional industrial ecology. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.

Eco-linkages and an optimal portfolio of resources: A step towards sustainable development

“…From these, the soundest descriptions are industrial ecosystems (Frosch and Gallopoulos, 1989), eco-industrial parks (Côté and Cohen-Rosenthal, 1998) and industrial symbiosis (Chertow, 2000), all referring to how waste can be transformed into a valuable resource, inside or outside of a company's facilities. The first example of a functional industrial ecosystem, which was discovered in the city of Kalundbrog in Denmark at the beginning of the 1990's, has inspired similar studies (Schwarz and Steininger (1997), Korhonen et al (2002), Bossilkov and Berkel (2004), Geng et al (2007) and Ashton (2008), which have made it possible to identify eco-linkages. The enthusiasm shown by these spontaneous eco-industrial parks has triggered numerous efforts to replicate this novel type of network.…”

Urban and Industrial Metabolism: Towards Sustainable Planning

“…The energetic system supply in Joensuu (50.000 inhabitants) can supply the necessary heat to industrial processes and district heating, besides supply the 66% of local electricity demand. The cogeneration power plant Sirkkala avoids external fuel consumption through the use of waste materials and renewable local material, such as peat and forestalls wastes [30].…”

Industrial symbiosis in the Swedish forest industry

“…One reason for the lack of such studies could be that there are few documented examples, and these have mainly developed due to their historical pathway, driven by economic objectives, and not as a result of a conscious strategy, including the leadexample of Kalundborg (e.g. Lowe, 1997;Ehrenfeld and Chertow, 2002;Korhonen et al 2002;Desrochers, 2004). In fact, in Kalundborg they refer to the symbiosis as a 'non-project made by a non-organization' (Christensen, 2007).…”

“…This has led some authors to suggest that the industrial ecosystems should be self-organized, whereas others are of the opinion that the systems should be planned from scratch, sometimes using computer models (cf. Desrochers, 2004;van Leeuwen et al 2003;Korhonen et al 2002;CohenRosenthal, 2000). Some authors also argue that the fact that it may be impossible to plan local industrial ecosystems rationally does not mean that their evolution cannot be facilitated by different kinds of support (e.g.…”

“…Previous studies of industrial symbiosis in the forest industry include some examples from Finland (Korhonen, 2001a;2001b;Korhonen et al 2001;Korhonen et al 2002;Snäkin, 2003). Korhonen et al (2001) developed a theoretical model of the flow of matter, nutrients, energy and carbon in a natural forest ecosystem and applied this model to the national forest industry in Finland.…”