Integrated Eco-Industrial Park Planning Towards Net Zero Pathway

The global urgency to combat climate change and limit global warming to 1.5 ℃, as the Paris Agreement outlines, has prompted industries to adopt strategies for achieving net zero emissions (NZE) by 2050. While individual companies are making significant efforts to reach NZE, collaborative approaches, such as industrial symbiosis and circular economy models, offer the potential for more significant impact and green economy development. This paper explores the role of industrial symbiosis in progressing toward NZE industrial sites. Industrial symbiosis encompasses various collaborative strategies, such as CO2utilisation, waste heat recovery, and waste-to-energy solutions. Industries within a cluster can optimise resource utilisation and reduce emissions by working together, thereby contributing to NZE targets. The paper also discusses the process integration tools and methodologies that can aid in designing NZE industrial sites, emphasising Total Site Integration (TSI) as a holistic approach to resource management. Furthermore, integrating digitalisation and data sharing, facilitated by blockchain technology and smart contracts, is crucial for coordinating industrial symbiosis across multiple industries. To promote the adoption of NZE practices globally, universities are encouraged to incorporate this concept into their curricula. An example from UniversitiTeknologi Malaysia is highlighted, where the net zero emission industrial site design has been integrated into the chemical engineering undergraduate program. In conclusion, achieving NZE industrial sites requires a paradigm shift from siloed approaches to collaborative industrial symbiosis models. Government support, capacity building, and university involvement are essential to drive this transition and promote a sustainable and resilient future.