Ecological network analysis of an industrial symbiosis system: A case study of the Shandong Lubei eco-industrial park

• The Lubei system is dominated by exploitation and control relationships.
• The circular structure plays an important role in the sulfur flows.
• The ecological structure of the system forms a pyramidal hierarchy.

China's Shandong Lubei eco-industrial park was approved for construction in 2003, just after the first national eco-industrial demonstration parks were confirmed by China's State Environmental Protection Administration in 2002. It has therefore been recognized around the world as a successful example of an industrial symbiosis system. The park's success results from the harmonious and coordinated relationships among its members. Analyzing the ecological characteristics of these relationships and identifying the resulting advantages provide a basis for improving the park's efficiency and examining other parks. In this paper, we analyzed the flows of sulfur in the Lubei park (as an example of typical flows) using ecological network analysis to describe this industrial symbiosis system. The integrated analysis of the utility resulting from direct and indirect exchanges of byproducts and wastes can reflect the ecological relationships among members within the system. Based on these ecological relationships, members can be divided into producers, primary consumers, and secondary consumers; the integral flow weight for each level of the hierarchy can then be compared to reveal the system's overall ecological structure. By examining the exchanges of resources within the system, we can describe the ecological connotations of the symbiosis and how these ecological relationships influence the overall development and resource flows within the system.