Environmental and Economic Benefits of Waste Heat Recovery as a Symbiotic Scenario in Sweden

María Dolores Mainar-Toledo (), Irene González García, Hector Leiva, Jack Fraser, Danna Persson and Thomas Parker
Additional contact information
María Dolores Mainar-Toledo: CIRCE—Technology Center for Energy Resources and Consumption, Parque Empresarial Dinamiza, Avda. Ranillas 3D, 1st Floor, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Irene González García: CIRCE—Technology Center for Energy Resources and Consumption, Parque Empresarial Dinamiza, Avda. Ranillas 3D, 1st Floor, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Hector Leiva: CIRCE—Technology Center for Energy Resources and Consumption, Parque Empresarial Dinamiza, Avda. Ranillas 3D, 1st Floor, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Jack Fraser: WA3RM AB, 211 41 Malmö, Sweden
Danna Persson: WA3RM AB, 211 41 Malmö, Sweden
Thomas Parker: WA3RM AB, 211 41 Malmö, Sweden

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-27

Abstract: This study pioneers a combined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) evaluation of an industrial symbiosis (IS) case involving waste heat recovery from a pulp and paper mill to a tomato greenhouse in Sweden. Unlike previous studies that assess environmental or economic aspects separately, this research provides a holistic assessment quantifying both environmental burdens and economic feasibility. A comparative analysis framework is applied, evaluating a symbiotic real case of waste heat recovery versus conventional greenhouse tomato production in the Netherlands and subsequent import to Sweden. LCA examines greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication, toxicity, land use, and resource depletion, while LCC assesses total ownership costs, including Capital and Operational Expenditures. The findings demonstrate that the IS scenario significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and operational costs while enhancing energy efficiency. This work fills a gap in IS literature, offering a replicable framework for sustainable greenhouse operations. The results highlight the potential of IS to improve resource efficiency, promote circular economy strategies, and foster sustainable practices in the agri-food sector.

Keywords: greenhouse; industrial symbiosis; life cycle assessment; life cycle costing; waste heat recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/7/1636/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/7/1636/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:7:p:1636-:d:1619698

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().