Energy integration and sustainability improvement of an eco-industrial network

The paper focuses on problems and challenges related to the integration, resources management and environmentally benign operation of urban based SMEs forming clusters of mutual trust and benefits known as Eco-industrial network. Presented analysis is based on the conceptual approach of design and redesign and utilises the experience in energy integration of remote areas of integrity, reuse/recovery/utilization of resources between partner factories, guided design changes for beneficial solutions and incorporates an optimality criteria (multiple resources management - water, energy, effluents) with environmental impact considerations. It proposes a procedure assisting decision making when centralized versus distributed waste treatment competes with balanced/mixed options. This procedure is tailored to assist partner companies to decide what part of waste to treat on their own production site and what part of it to send to a centralized service or neighboring company for treatment. An attempt is reported to bring together in one analysis the products, raw materials and services, accounting for their sustainable origin (history) and required treatment (future), considering possibilities for guided waste recovery and utilization in other areas of integrity and finally focusing on production/process management for maximum efficiency and sustainability through combined Emergy-Pinch analysis.