Efficiently preserving material resources in manufacturing: Industrial symbiosis revisited

The fraction of materials that does not reach the target product in discrete manufacturing is very significant. Directing secondary material streams towards other manufacturing processes, possibly after intermediate pre-processing, offers opportunities for more energy and resource efficient recycling routes. This paper contributes to the exploration of such symbiotic recycling strategies by identifying relevant process mechanisms and by systematically scanning the manufacturing domain for relevant process combinations. Emerging and proven symbiotic combinations within the discrete manufacturing domain are reviewed, with proper attention for the quantification of the thus avoided environmental impact. A series of representative case studies illustrates the feasibility of applying industrial symbiosis principles in a discrete manufacturing context, with uniform data sheets providing detailed information on relevant research achievements.