Perspectives on Industrial Ecology

by Bourg, Dominique; Erkman, Suren; Chirac, Jacques

• ISBN13: 9781874719465
• ISBN10: 1874719462
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-01
• Publisher: Greenleaf Pubns

Summary

Business-as-usual in terms of industrial and technological development - even if based on a growing fear of pollution and shortages of natural resources - will never deliver sustainable development. However, the growing interest in recent years in the new science of industrial ecology (IE), and the idea that industrial systems should mimic the quasi-cyclical functions of natural ecosystems in an 'industrial food chain', holds promise in addressing not only short-term environmental problems but also the long-term holistic evolution of industrial systems.
The possibility requires a number of key conditions to be met, not least the restructuring of our manufacturing and consumer society to reduce the effects of material and energy flows at the very point in history when globalisation is rapidly increasing them. This book sets out to address the theoretical considerations that should be made implicit in future research as well as practical implementation options for industry. The systematic recovery of industrial wastes, the minimisation of losses caused by dispersion, the dematerialisation of the economy, the requirement to decrease our reliance on fuels derived from hydrocarbons and the need for management systems that help foster inter-industry collaboration and networks are among the topics covered.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 9
Introduction	p. 13
Concepts and Ideas	p. 19
Industrial ecology and material flow analysis: basic concepts, policy relevance and some case studies	p. 20
On the history of industrial metabolism	p. 35
Technology, global change and industrial ecology	p. 46
Industrial ecology: philosophical and political meanings	p. 58
Ideas in action	p. 63
Industrial ecology and services to enterprises: cell metabolism versus industrial metabolism	p. 64
Physicochemical characterisation and recycling of industrial residues	p. 67
The ecodesign process	p. 82
Eco-industrial sites and networks	p. 91
Metropolitan industrial ecosystem development	p. 95
Towards a methodology for assessing effectiveness of recovery systems: a process system approach	p. 101
Recycling of zinc-containing secondary products from the galvanising and steel industries: a new case of applied industrial ecology	p. 112
The chemical industry from an industrial ecology perspective	p. 120
Industrial ecology in motion: enterprise integration	p. 135
Electric power consumption and sustainable consumption	p. 143
Industrial ecology and metallurgy	p. 153
Industrial ecology and the oil industry	p. 163
Industrial ecology and the glass industry	p. 167
Applied industrial ecology and technology transposition: steelmaking slag and dust co-products, and secondary slag metallurgy	p. 181
Future challenges	p. 193
The future of the industrial system	p. 194
Obstacles and opportunities for a 'green' industrial policy	p. 223
A systems option for sustainable techno-metabolism: an ecological assessment of Japan's industrial technology system	p. 233
The functional society: the service economy	p. 264
Urban transportation and industrial ecology	p. 283
The adoption of cleaner production technology and the emergence of industrial ecology activity: consequences for employment	p. 291
The relevance of industrial ecology in developing countries	p. 306
The impact of industrial ecology on university curricula	p. 315
From ecology of natural systems to industrial ecology: the need for an extension of the scope of ecology	p. 324
Perspectives on industrial ecology	p. 338
Bibliography	p. 343
List of abbreviations	p. 364
Author biographies	p. 368
Index	p. 375
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.