Evaluating the environmental benefits of industrial symbiosis: discussion and demonstration of a new approach

Abstract

In this study, a computer model that includes a pulp mill, a paper mill, a sawmill and a biofuel upgrading plant, together with the possible energy and material exchanges between them, is used to evaluate the environmental impact of a possible Industrial Symbiosis (IS) arrangement in the forest industry. The method used is called the Method for analysis of INDustrial energy systems (MIND), which is an optimisation method based on mixed integer linear programming. In this study, the emission of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO