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Design Rules and Guidelines 163
of participants, including a Novo Nordisk pharmaceutical plant,
Asnæs coal-fired electric power station, StatOil refinery, Gyproc
plasterboard plant, Kemira, a sulfuric acid manufacturer, Bioteknisk
Jordrens, a soil remediation company, local farmers, and others (see
Figure 8.11).
The Novo Nordisk plant produces 40% of the world’s supply of
insulin, as well as industrial enzymes. One million tons per year of
sludge by-product from pharmaceutical processes are used as fertil-
izer for nearby farms. 5000 tons per year of surplus yeast from the
pharmaceutical plant’s production of insulin is shipped to farmers
for pig food. The 1500 megawatt power station uses refinery gas
from Statoil to generate electricity and steam, which is supplied
to both Statoil and Novo Nordisk for heating of their processes.
A local cement company uses 135,000 tons per year of fly ash from
the power plant, while 200,000 tons per year of gypsum produced
by the power plant’s flue gas desulfurization process are shipped to
Gyproc, which produces gypsum wallboard.
These synergistic relationships and efficient use of resources
have led to numerous benefits including decreased water demand,
reduced energy consumption, and reduced airborne emissions [13].
The water demand of the “big four” industry participants has
dropped 20 to 25 percent, a reduction of 1.2 million cubic meters
per year. At the same time, oil consumption has been reduced by
19,000 tons per year, coal consumption by 30,000 tons per year, CO
2
emissions by 130,000 tons per year, and SO emissions by 25,000
2
tons per year.
FIGURE 8.11 Industrial symbiosis in the Kalundborg region of Denmark.