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Industrial ecology The ‘industrial ecology’ approach suggests a view of the industrial system as one type of human ecosystem in interaction with the biosphere. Like biological ecosystems, this particular type can be described in terms of flows and stocks of materials, energy and information. On this theoretical basis, a number of methodologies have been developed to help the decision-making process concerning the industrial system. Apart from the two most famous – life-cycle assessments (LCA) and material flow analysis (MFA) 17 – the principle of ‘industrial synergies’ (by-product synergies or industrial symbiosis) has had a significant impact on the planning of industrial sites, and planning in general. Inspired by biological synergies, this principle focuses on possible forms of interaction between various industrial activities or processes within the same plant. The aim is to reduce the overall mate- rial and energy consumption by considering all types of waste or by-products as a potential resource for another process. Heat discharged into the air by many industrial processes can, for example, serve to reduce the amount of heating energy needed by other processes. Two main obstacles still hamper development of the synergy principle. Firstly, industrial production covers a large diversity of material flows, with specific compounds and properties. Without particular attention to the design of processes, a majority of output or throughput flows (mostly heterogeneous) does not match the requirements for input (homogeneous). Moreover for synergy planning to work, industrial actors must have a detailed understanding of their production operations and, perhaps more problematic, they must be prepared to share it.

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