Barriers, drivers, and relationships in industrial symbiotic initiatives of two steelmaking plants

Abstract The purpose of this article is to identify barriers, drivers, and the structure of the relationships that support industrial symbiosis initiatives in a network of Brazilian manufacturing companies. Two steelmaking plants are the anchor tenants of the network comprising a cement manufacturer, a thermoelectric generation plant, a lead ingots manufacturer, a zinc ingots manufacturer and refractory liner manufacturer, totaling eight relationships. The companies mutually exchange approximately 300,000 tons of by-products per year, comprising coal ash, mill scale, electric arc furnace dust, steam, zinc sludge, lead sludge, and refractory lining leftover, totaling eight dyadic or triadic relationships. The results of the study show that in three relationships, economic barriers exist (excessive processing or logistic cost). In four, internal barriers exist (risk of discontinuity and lack of research). In five, a technical barrier exists, the imbalance between generation and consumption. In seven, the drivers are cost reduction, new products or sources of revenue, and legal requirements. Environmental drivers (increasing the life of deposits or landfills) are present in five relationships. As for the structure, three relationships are one-way, whereas five are closed-loop, that is, involving direct and reverse transfers among partners.