Industrial Symbiosis as an Integrated Business/Environment Management Process: The Case of Ulsan Industrial Complex

The Ulsan/Mipo Onsan industrial complex is the largest industrial area of petrochemicals, automobiles, shipbuilding and nonferrous metals in Korea. Over the past decade, a few companies in Ulsan have been interested in trading their excess materials from the production line for economic purpose, but the increasing numbers of companies are participating to the industrial symbiosis (IS). By the recovery of previously discarded waste or by-products and recycling of wasted heat and water, Ulsan Eco-Industrial Park project team is taking the head for designing and implementing the industrial symbiosis by which the companies can sustain economically and environmentally. This paper describes an overview of current and future development of industrial symbiosis such as by-product exchange (BPX) and discusses the further research in terms of design and implementation of industrial symbiosis.