The conceptual model of an eco-industrial park based upon ecological relationships

The necessity to follow the rules of sustainable development in the everyday industrial practice has led to the formulation of the concept of an industrial ecosystem mimicking the natural ecosystem. Following this analogy, the conceptual model of an eco-industrial park, which is an organised form of the industrial ecosystem, was presented in this paper. The model comprises of (1) the structure of the ecosystem, (2) the classification of the enterprises as producers, consumers and decomposers, (3) mass and energy flows and (4) types of interactions. The classification of the enterprises introduced here as well as the analysis of mass and energy flows indicates that the diversity of the enterprises in eco-industrial parks is desired. Furthermore, the minimal condition to create the symbiotic relationships between the enterprises is established, claiming that at least one industrial producer or decomposer must be involved in the eco-industrial park. The application of this model will facilitate the design and development of eco-industrial parks and enable the identification of symbiotic relationships between the entities of such a park and other types of industrial ecosystems. In order to show the applicability of the proposed model and its potential for the practical implementation two case studies are presented.