Revealing the Environmental Advantages of Industrial Symbiosis in Wood‐Based Bioeconomy Networks: An Assessment From a Life Cycle Perspective

Abstract

The German government has recently initiated funding schemes that incentivize strategies for wood-based bioeconomy regions. Regional wood and chemical industries have been encouraged to act symbiotically, that is, share pilot plant facilities, couple processes where feasible, and cascade woody feedstock throughout their process networks. However, during the planning stages of these bioeconomy regions, options need to be assessed for sustainably integrating processes and energy integration between the various industries that produce bio-based polymers and engineered wood products. The aim of this paper is to identify the environmental sustainability of industrial symbiosis for producing high-value-added, biobased products in the wood-based bioeconomy region of Central Germany. An analysis was conducted of three possible future scenarios with varying degrees of symbiosis in the bioeconomy network. A life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to compare these three scenarios to a traditional fossil-based production system. Eleven environmental impact categories were considered. The results show that, in most cases, the bioeconomy network outperformed the fossil-based production system, mitigating environmental impacts by 25% to 130%.

The Potential of Industrial Symbiosis: Case Analysis and Main Drivers and Barriers to Its Implementation

“…One of the first steps in the design and analysis of a potential synergy network is the collection of information and quantitative data. Various methods have been used for this, such as interviews [44,65,78,82,106], questionnaires [9,37,63,85,111], site visits [64,84,86,112], and focus groups [53,64,68,85].…”

“…The reduction of carbon dioxide emissions was the most frequently addressed in the various analyses [35,36,38,63,70,73,98], followed by quantification of savings in the consumption of resources such as energy, water, raw materials and fossil fuels [9,39,63,88,95], and quantification of the reduction of waste sent to landfills [9,34,39] resulting from the potential application of industrial symbiosis. Life cycle assessment [9,38,63,84,98] was the method most commonly used to assess the environmental impact. The economic aspect, which was the second most frequently assessed, was measured using the life cycle costing method [104] and several metrics that primarily reflected reductions in raw material [39,60], fuel [13,106], energy consumption [35,36], waste disposal costs [38,39], and increased revenue [34,35,38,45,109].…”

Resources, Collaborators, and Neighbors: The Three-Pronged Challenge in the Implementation of Bioeconomy Regions

“…For this reason, they outline the necessity to collaborate not only within one sector but also between clusters, sectors, and technologies so as to foster the bioeconomy on regional levels, as well as outline the models of regional bioeconomic ecosystems as an integration of all relevant agents [42]. These clusters and networks could then be used as exchange platforms for discussion and knowledge exchange, as well as supply chain improvements, adaptions, and integration [43,44]. The use of these platforms is particularly important at the regional level (bottom-up), as they can help to identify key regional (and national) players, as well as encourage transparency and trust within and beyond the networks.…”

A Path Transition Towards a Bioeconomy—The Crucial Role of Sustainability

“…[65]). In this light, incentives for the formation and development of industrial symbiosis in the bioeconomy network can support the integration of different processes and material streams and thus, save costs and mitigate environmental impacts of the production system [157].…”