Understanding the Level of Integration in Existing Chemical Clusters: Case Study in the Port of Rotterdam

Michael Tan (), Paola Ibarra-González, Igor Nikolic and Andrea Ramírez Ramírez
Additional contact information
Michael Tan: Delft University of Technology
Paola Ibarra-González: Delft University of Technology
Igor Nikolic: Delft University of Technology
Andrea Ramírez Ramírez: Delft University of Technology

Circular Economy and Sustainability, 2025, vol. 5, issue 1, 125-146

Abstract: Abstract The petrochemical industry is composed of several interconnected processes that use fossil-based feedstock for producing chemicals. These processes are typically geographically clustered and often belong to different parties. Reducing the environmental impacts of the petrochemical industry is not straightforward due to, on the one hand, their reliance on fossil fuels for energy and as a feedstock and, on the other hand, the significant level of interconnected energy and material flows among processes. Current methods for analyzing changes to existing processes cannot capture the multitude and level of interactions. The goal of this paper is to create a model of a petrochemical cluster and analyze its physical characteristics and performance. This paper addresses this goal by developing an assessment method that combines process simulations, multiplex graph analysis, and key performance indicators. The method is applied to a case study based on the petrochemical cluster in the Port of Rotterdam, resulting in a uniquely highly detailed model of a petrochemical cluster. The network analysis results show that only some of the processes are very interconnected. From the performance analysis, it can be observed that the olefins process is the most carbon-intense and has high CO2 emissions. Additionally, the results showed the importance of considering existing interconnections when assessing the current performance of existing petrochemical clusters or the performance due to future changes to chemical processes. For instance, some changes would occur to an industrial cluster by introducing alternative carbon sources, such as biomass or CO2.

Keywords: Petrochemical clusters; Complex networks; Network analysis; Performance evaluation; Industrial clusters (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s43615-024-00410-5 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

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:spr:circec:v:5:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s43615-024-00410-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.springer.com/journal/43615

DOI: 10.1007/s43615-024-00410-5

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Circular Economy and Sustainability from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().