Page 100 - Biorefinery 2030 Future Prospects for the Bioeconomy (2015)

68 3 Industrial Symbiosis at the Bazancourt-Pomacle Biorefinery

CHAMTOR (starch and glucose processing plant), high-technology firms
were set up to take advantage of these synergies: SOLIANCE producing
molecules for cosmetic use, BIOAMBER for succinic acid, CRISTANOL for
bioethanol, the Air Liquide recovery and processing plant for CO 2 and
WHEATOLEO for detergents. The pilot plants and demonstrators
(BIODEMO and FUTUROL) also benefitted from the synergy.
This search for synergies has been continuous insofar as processes have
continually been optimised, new by-products continue to be developed and
raw material savings are always on the agenda. All the biorefinery actors we
interviewed stressed their aim to process the whole of a plant, to minimise
pollution and environmental footprints and to give back to the farmer the
organic elements he needs. We also describe avenues for future progress in
this chapter.
Finally, Chap. 3 confirms that industrial ecology is not simply a fad or a way
to satisfy regulatory requirements: it is indeed also applied for rational
economic reasons, to develop market value and competitive strategy, and
ensure a fair return on R&D investment.

Abstract The increasingly important role given to sustainable development in
public policy and by the public at large is gradually bringing firms and public
authorities to reconsider the material flow management.
Industrial ecology aims to integrate this flow management within economic devel-
opment. Industrial ecology as a discipline appeared in the 1960s and developed
rapidly in the 1990s. It considers that industrial ecosystems should aim to enable the
“normal” functioning of biological ecosystems (Erkman 2004). For this reason, an
“ideal” ecosystem should operate in a circular fashion, in other words limiting the
production of waste as much as possible and maximising exchanges of products,
by-products and material flows (water, steam etc.) between the different members
of the ecosystem.

1 What Is Industrial Symbiosis?

Industrial symbiosis is a key concept in the area of industrial ecology. Although
there is no consensus over the definition of “industrial symbiosis,” Chertow 1
proposes the following definition, which is relatively well accepted: “Industrial
symbiosis engages traditionally separate industries in a collective approach to
competitive advantage involving physical exchanges of materials, energy, water,
and/or by products.” These exchanges generate environmental and/or financial

1
Chertow (2004).