Opportunities and challenges for the waste management in emerging and frontier countries through industrial symbiosis

This paper describes the fulfilled research process for the development of an intelligent system for the efficient use of water in sanitary units in the domestic environment. Fundamentally, the research focused on two processes, firstly, the development of a high reliability system to monitor the actual consumption of sanitary units and secondly the development of an enhanced system for the intelligent control of consumption of the same sanitary unit. The research highlights the constitution of an M2M technological solution, with high precision that impacts environmental sustainability, through the generation of awareness regarding the rational use of water resources in daily actions of personal hygiene.

http://www.scielo.org.co/pdf/dyna/v85n204/0012-7353-dyna-85-204-00311.pdf

M2M system for efficient water consumption in sanitary services, based on intelligent environment

Abstract Eco-innovation will play a major role in contributing to a sustainable future. Understanding the diffusion is critical, since the diffusion rate is slow and the path unclear. We present the conceptual methodology for eco-innovation diffusion. This methodology combines mixed and combined research methodology to improve the validity and reliability of results. A survey is used as a quantitative method; artificial neural networks and system dynamic are applied as qualitative methods. With this article we aim to contribute to the applications of combined and mixed methods research in the field of eco-innovation diffusion. The application of the presented methodology can be extended for other problems.

Combined and Mixed Methods Research in Environmental Engineering: when Two is Better than One

Business management perspectives on the circular economy: Present state and future directions

Industrial symbiosis (IS) allows the use of the resources of a productive chain, based on collaboration between companies, finding ways to use the waste of one as inputs or raw materials for the other entity. IS seeks to generate environmental sustainability, maximize resources, and generate social, environmental, and economic benefits based on the physical exchanges of waste, residues, and materials, which generate various advantages for companies and environmental benefits for society. Over the years, research has been conducted worldwide on the implementation of IS in business settings and case studies related to IS in countries with strong economies; however, no papers mapping studies on IS that are focused on emerging and frontier market countries have been identified, and academic literature on research in these countries is also scarce. In this research, an in-depth review of the literature on IS cases in emerging and frontier market countries was conducted to provide future researchers with information on the similarities, weaknesses, strengths, and elements to consider in addressing the topic and closing research gaps in the area. In addition, a mapping was made of the evolution of studies on IS according to country, economic activity, distribution by journal, year of publication, methods used, barriers and drivers in the case studies, and the importance of this topic in the current academic context. In Asian and developing countries, the integration of companies and economic activities takes place in industrial parks, and they have legislation and government regulations that support IS. On the other hand, in the United States and Africa, integrating various sources such as energy, water, coal, and waste in industrial environments is at an early stage of development, and opportunities are being identified to promote IS between companies. This research interests a broad audience, including investors, regulators, policymakers, and researchers interested in fostering IS in emerging and frontier market countries as a mechanism for industrial and economic development.

/pdf/analysis-of-the-development-of-industrial-symbiosis-in-m5k89avr.pdf

Analysis of the Development of Industrial Symbiosis in Emerging and Frontier Market Countries: Barriers and Drivers

Proposal of an assessment tool to diagnose industrial symbiosis readiness

This paper aims to analyze the research themes that are addressed in studies on industrial symbiosis (IS), from the perspective of theories. The paper method is a longitudinal analysis of retrospective nature from 1998 to 2021. This approach allowed to detects the main drivers and associated themes that structured researches on IS in the period. In general, Industrial Ecology Theory, Network Theory, Systems Theory and Organizational Theory were present in a considerable part of research themes on IS. It was observed that the IS research themes moved over the period analyzed to nine areas of study: (1) Waste as a resource, (2) development industrial symbiosis network, (3) circular economy and industrial symbiosis, (4) industrial co-localization, (5) energy innovations, (6) closed loop chains, (7) IS's social aspects, (8) regional-level metabolism, and (9) waste knowledge. In summary, the contributions of this paper are the thematic proposition of IS from the perspective of theories, pointing out the key-aspects; and presentation of a research themes' diagram towards the IS buildup. 

Unfolding research themes for industrial symbiosis and underlying theories

Purpose - To analyze whether the concepts of industry 4.0 and the circular economy are integrated or disjointed, recognizing which keywords are most used in the literature regarding this relationship and the occurrence. Design/methodology/approach  – A bibliometric study and keyword study were used to recognize which were the most latent actions and strategies in the study of integration. The software VOSviewer was used to study the keywords. Findings - The concepts of industry 4.0 and the circular economy can be considered interconnected, with some limitations explored in the article, along with proposed future research opportunities on the subject. Originality/value - This study contributes to business managers in the sense that it facilitates an understanding that industry 4.0 and the circular economy can be used together. The result of the keywords identifies which skills, strategies, technologies and fundamentals the company should develop to make the circular economy effective, through industry 4.0. For academic research, another study has contributed to the integration of industry 4.0 and the circular economy, which is not found very often in the literature. Keywords were also mapped, which, until now, had not been developed in existing articles on integration, in addition to proposing a framework that can be transformed and suggesting research opportunities. Keywords - Industry 4.0; Circular Economy; Integration; Sustainability; Future research.

/pdf/industry-4-0-and-the-circular-economy-are-these-integrated-1dfp6moonx.pdf

Fabiana Liar Agudo

Papers

Proposal of an assessment tool to diagnose industrial symbiosis readiness

Unfolding research themes for industrial symbiosis and underlying theories

Industry 4.0 and the circular economy: are these integrated or disjointed concepts? a research agenda

Symbiotic readiness: Factors that interfere with the industrial symbiosis implementation