**5. Industrial ecology and eco-efficiency**

The industrial ecology is the design of industrial infrastructures as a series of interlocking manufactured ecosystems in order to maximize the energy use efficiency, reduce the costs, reduce the environmental problems, identify new value-added products, and maximize the resources use efficiency, which leads to the sustainability. An important key issue is the interpretation of the insinuation of employing the ecological models to restore the agro-industrial systems, through applying the concepts of eco-design and eco-efficiency leading to a cleaner production allowing to reach a zero-waste and zero-emission system. This requires inevitably conducting environmental impact assessment and life cycle analysis of the agroindustrial processes and products. On the other hand, the aim of eco-efficiency is to boost the values of products by optimizing the utilization of resources and minimizing the negative environmental impacts by incorporating both efficiency and innovation into the industrial process without expensive pollution control techniques.

### **6. Cleaner production**

The cleaner production procedure is the first step in the implementation of the concept of industrial ecology. The procedure includes: (1) the examination of production systems in terms of the efficient use of natural resources and the efficient use of energy, and (2) the utilization of life cycle analyses method to evaluate the products and the agro-industrial processes in order to minimize waste and pollution as well as reduce costs and identify new prospects such as new products and employment opportunities.

Regarding the products, the procedure aims at reducing the negative impacts throughout the entire life cycle of the product from cradle to grave, i.e., from design to final disposal. Regarding the agro-industrial processes, cleaner production aims at (1) efficient use of raw materials, (2) efficient use of energy, and (3) reduction of emissions and wastes. An important key issue is to incorporate environmental concerns into designing processes and delivering the products.

### **7. Integrated bioindustrial systems and biorefinery**

The concept of integrated bioindustrial systems aims at (a) designing circular production and consumption systems leading to maximize the efficiencies of resources

#### *An Approach to Modify the Current Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Systems into Integrated… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102360*

and energy uses and to allow the required energy and resources for forthcoming development, (2) forming a further ecologically sound and healthy environment through less waste is generated at each level of production and the conversion of waste into value-added products, and (3) emphasizing the socio-economic development through creating new employment opportunities and ground-breaking technologies and new products.

The biorefinery is the cornerstone of the integrated bioindustrial systems, where a biorefinery is a production plant that combines bioconversion processes biomass and devices such as bioreactors to generate biofuels, electrical energy, heat energy, and value-added biochemicals from biomass. The International Energy Agency, Bioenergy Task 42 on Biorefineries, has defined biorefining as the sustainable processing of biomass into a spectrum of bio-based products (food, feed, chemicals, materials) and bioenergy (biofuels, power, and/or heat). Considering that biomass is all organic matters -except fossil fuels- such as forest materials, agricultural crops residues, livestock manure, organic fraction of municipal solid wastes, fish processing wastes, and food processing wastes [4].

The concept of biorefinery has several objectives: (1) maximizing energy use efficiency, (2) maximizing resource use efficiency, (3) minimizing environmental problems, (4) creating new value-added products, and (5) creating new employment opportunities. However, there are some critical concerns such as the competing uses of materials, market demands, and production costs.

The biorefinery has several advantages: (1) through producing numerous products, a biorefinery takes advantage of the numerous components in biomass and their intermediates then intensifying the value derived from the biomass, and (2) through producing various low-volume, nevertheless high-value, chemical products such as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals and a low-value, nonetheless high-volume liquid transportation fuel such as biodiesel and bioethanol, (3) meanwhile generating electrical energy and heat, through combined heat and power (CHP) plant, and (4) creating new high value-added products maximizes the feasibility, where the high-volume fuel's production meet the energy demands, and the electricity and heat production minimizes the energy costs and decreases the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

However, the subsequent concerns should be considered: (1) risk of excessive consumption of edible crops, (2) risk of deterioration of organic and mineral content of soils, (3) risk of excessive utilization of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to advance the production levels, (4) risk of competition between food and biorefinery, and (5) risk of deforestation.

The following is an approach to transform the present agricultural systems (beef, dairy, and poultry farms as well as cereals and vegetable crops production) and agroindustrial systems (ethanol industry and fish industry) into integrated bioindustrial systems by altering their linear mode of production into a circular mode of production to create a coherent bioeconomy, where the bioeconomy includes the conversion of renewable bioresources and waste streams into value-added bioproducts, such as food, feed, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, biomaterials, biochemicals, biofuels, and bioenergy.

Cereal and vegetable production encompasses the utilization of several inputs such as water, fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, and energy. The products are grains, fruits, and tuber/roots. However, the waste is agricultural crops residues (**Figure 1**). The concept of bioeconomy is to use the output i.e., waste, of an industry or production system as an input i.e., feedstock, in another new industry. Therefore, this waste is planned to be used as feedstock for a new forage industry, where the produced forages are used

**Figure 1.**

*Linear mode of cereal and vegetable crops production (the orange oval designates the input, the blue rectangle designates the industry, the green hexagon designates the product, and the red circle designates the waste).*

for feeding livestock in a new livestock production system that produces milk and meat. However, this industry generates animal waste i.e., manure, which is planned to be used as feedstock for a new biogas plant that produces biogas that fuels the cereal and vegetable crops production system. Besides, the generated sludge is used as a biofertilizer within the crops production system. Part of the generated sludge is used in a new compost facility and the produced compost is used within the crops production system as a biofertilizer. An important key issue is that 4 new industries were established and, therefore, 5 new products were produced, which are considered as economic development. It should be noticed that the core of all these newly planned industries and facilities, which were integrated with the crops production system, is creating new employment opportunities, which is considered as social development. Furthermore, these integrated bioindustrial systems have zero-waste, zero-emission, and efficient resources and energy use, which are considered as environmental development (**Figure 2**).

Beef and dairy production encompass the utilization of several inputs such as water, forages, and energy. The products are milk and meat. However, the wastes are slaughter waste, manure, and whey (**Figure 3**). The concept of bioeconomy is to use the output i.e., waste, of an industry or production system as an input i.e., feedstock, in another new industry. Therefore, the slaughter waste is used as feedstock in a biorefinery to produce biofuels, biochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals. Additionally, manure and whey are planned to be used as feedstock for a new biogas plant, where the produced biogas is used for fueling the beef and dairy production system. The biogas plant generates sludge, which is used as biofertilizer for a new crops production system that produces grains and tuber/roots. Besides, the generated crop residues are used as feedstock for the forage industry, which produces forages for beef and dairy production. Part of the generated crops residues is used in a new compost facility and the produced compost is used in fertilizing the crops production as biofertilizer. An important key issue is that 5 new industries were established and, therefore, 9 new products were produced, which are considered as economic development. It should be noticed that the

*An Approach to Modify the Current Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Systems into Integrated… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102360*

#### **Figure 2.**

*Cyclic mode of cereal and vegetable crops production through integrated bioindustrial systems (the orange oval designates the input, the blue rectangle designates the industry, the green hexagon designates the product, the red circle designates the waste, and the yellow wave designates the employment opportunity).*

core of all these newly planned industries and facilities, which were integrated with the beef and dairy production system, is creating new employment opportunities, which is considered as social development. Furthermore, these integrated bioindustrial systems have zero-waste, zero-emission, and efficient resources and energy use, which are considered as environmental development (**Figure 4**).

The poultry industry encompasses the utilization of several inputs such as water, forages, and energy. The products are meat and eggs. However, the wastes

#### **Figure 3.**

*Linear mode of beef and dairy production (the orange oval designates the input, the blue rectangle designates the industry, the green hexagon designates the product, and the red circle designates the waste).*

#### **Figure 4.**

*Cyclic mode of beef and dairy production through integrated bioindustrial systems (the orange oval designates the input, the blue rectangle designates the industry, the green hexagon designates the product, the red circle designates the waste, and the yellow wave designates the employment opportunity).*

*An Approach to Modify the Current Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Systems into Integrated… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102360*

#### **Figure 5.**

*Linear mode of poultry production (the orange oval designates the input, the blue rectangle designates the industry, the green hexagon designates the product, and the red circle designates the waste).*

are slaughter waste and manure (**Figure 5**). The concept of bioeconomy is to use the output i.e., waste, of an industry or production system as an input i.e., feedstock, in another new industry. Therefore, the slaughter waste is used as feedstock in a biorefinery to produce biofuels, biochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals. Additionally, poultry manure is planned to be used as feedstock for a new biogas plant, where the produced biogas is used for fueling the poultry production system. The biogas plant generates sludge, which is used as biofertilizer for a new crops production system that produces grains and tuber/roots. Besides, the generated crop residues are used as feedstock for the forage industry which produces forages for the poultry farms. Part of the generated crops residues is used in a new compost facility and the produced compost is used in fertilizing the crops production as biofertilizer. An important key issue is that 5 new industries were established and, therefore, 9 new products were produced, which are considered as economic development. It should be noticed that the core of all these newly planned industries and facilities, which were integrated with the poultry production system, is creating new employment opportunities which is considered as social development. Furthermore, these integrated bioindustrial systems have zero-waste, zero-emission, and efficient resources and energy use, which are considered as environmental development (**Figure 6**).

The fish processing industry encompasses the utilization of several inputs such as water, feed, and energy. The product is canned fish. However, the wastes are a large amount of fish waste and a large amount of wastewater (**Figure 7**). The concept of bioeconomy is to use the output i.e., waste, of an industry or production system as an input i.e., feedstock, in another new industry. Therefore, a large amount of wastewater is planned to be used as feedstock for a new wastewater treatment plant, where the treated water is used as input water in the fish processing industry. Further, this plant generates sludge, which is planned to be used as feedstock for a new biogas plant that produces biogas that fuels the finish processing industry. Besides, the generated sludge is considered a new product as biofertilizer. On the other hand, the large amount of fish waste is used as feedstock for a new biorefinery that produces fish meal and fish silage, pharmaceuticals (proteins, jadomycin, collagen, lactic acid,

#### **Figure 6.**

*Cyclic mode of poultry production through integrated bioindustrial systems (the orange oval designates the input, the blue rectangle designates the industry, the green hexagon designates the product, the red circle designates the waste, and the yellow wave designates the employment opportunity).*

glycerol, proteases, lipases, and collagenases), nutraceuticals (omega-3, amino acids, fish oil, fatty acids, carotenoids, isoflavones, and lutein), chemicals (1,2-propanediol and 1,3-propanediol, dihydroxy-acetone, and methanol), biofuels (biodiesel, bioethanol, and biohydrogen). An important key issue is that 6 new industries were established and, therefore, a multitude of new products were produced, which are considered as economic development. It should be noticed that the core of all these

*An Approach to Modify the Current Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Systems into Integrated… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102360*

#### **Figure 7.**

*Linear mode of fish industry (the orange oval designates the input, the blue rectangle designates the industry, the green hexagon designates the product, and the red circle designates the waste).*

newly planned industries and facilities, which were integrated with the fish processing industry, is creating new employment opportunities, which is considered as social development. Furthermore, these integrated bioindustrial systems have zero-waste, zero-emission, and efficient resources and energy use, which are considered as environmental development (**Figure 8**).

The bioethanol industry encompasses the utilization of inputs such as energy and raw cellulosic materials. The product is bioethanol. However, the waste is broth (**Figure 9**). The concept of bioeconomy is to use the output i.e., waste, of an industry or production system as an input i.e., feedstock, in another new industry. Therefore, this waste is planned to be used as feedstock for a new processing industry that produces wastewater and biofertilizer, where these products are used in a new hydroponics system that produces biowastes (crops residues). These wastes i.e., crop residues, are planned to be used as feedstock for a new forage industry that produces forages for a new livestock production system. However, this industry generates animal waste i.e., manure, which is planned to be as feedstock for a new biogas plant, which produces biogas that fuels the bioethanol industry. Besides, the generated sludge is used as biofertilizer for a new crops production system. Part of the generated sludge is used in a new compost facility and the produced compost is used within the crops production system as biofertilizer. The produced crops residues from the new crops production system as feedstock in a new compost industry, which produces a biofertilizer. An important key issue is that 6 new industries were established and, therefore, 7 new products were produced which are considered as economic development. It should be noticed that the core of all these newly planned industries and facilities, which were integrated with the bioethanol industry, is creating new employment opportunities, which is considered as social development. Furthermore, these integrated bioindustrial systems have zero-waste, zero-emission, and efficient resources and energy use, which are considered as environmental development (**Figure 10**).

#### **Figure 8.**

*Cyclic mode of fish industry through integrated bioindustrial systems (the orange oval designates the input, the blue rectangle designates the industry, the green hexagon designates the product, the red circle designates the waste, and the yellow wave designates the employment opportunity).*

#### **Figure 9.**

*Linear mode of bioethanol industry (the orange oval designates the input, the blue rectangle designates the industry, the green hexagon designates the product, and the red circle designates the waste).*

*An Approach to Modify the Current Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Systems into Integrated… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102360*

#### **Figure 10.**

*Cyclic mode of bioethanol industry through integrated bioindustrial systems (the orange oval designates the input, the blue rectangle designates the industry, the green hexagon designates the product, the red circle designates the waste, and the yellow wave designates the employment).*
