Industrial Ecology
Industrial Energy
Industrial Ecology is a regional planning concept which includes;
- pollution prevention and eco-efficiency,
- energy conservation,
- switching to more benign fuel sources,
- the recovery of various waste streams, and
- recycling and reuse of waste material streams
When implemented as Eco-Industrial Parks, these types of synergistic projects are cost-effective, they reduce most pollutants simultaneously, with benefits to health and the ecosystem, and they create investment and value-added jobs.
Industrial ecology is focused on changing our society's processes from a linear production-disposal function, to a more cyclic reduce-reuse-recycle mode which emphasizes conservation. An industrial recycling program could conceivably sort out all types of wastes for reuse in a similar manner to residential applications. Specifically, projects making energy through recovery of our large amounts of rejected waste heat can be regarded as virtual zero emissions technology.
Combined heat and power (CHP) systems, energy-from-waste and landfill gas, are important energy aspects of the eco-industrial park concept. At the same time, many companies could cooperate to reduce waste management costs by reassessing industrial processes to recycle many liquid and solid waste streams. These concepts form the basis for several recent studies shared by Environment Canada, Industry Canada and Natural Resources Canada, to assess synergies and barriers.
The basis for some future research will be the investigation and quantification of energy and material balances of various waste streams in an industrial region, as well as technical evaluation of mitigation strategies, and solutions to important implementation barriers.
