Concept of Co-processing
Co-processing is a proven sustainable development concept that reduces demands on natural resources, reduces pollution and landfill space, thus contributing to reducing the environmental footprint. Co-processing is also based on the principles of industrial ecology, which considers the best features of the flow of information, materials, and energy of biological ecosystems, with the aim of improving the exchange of these essential resources in the industrial world.
Figure 1: Types of Co-processing
In summary, the benefits of Co-processing are:
- to conserve natural (non-renewable) resources of energy and materials,
- to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in order to slow global warming and demonstrate a positive impact on integrated environmental indicators, such as the ecological footprint,
- to reduce the environmental impacts of the extraction (mining or quarrying), transporting, and processing of raw materials,
- to reduce dependence on primary resource markets,
- to save landfill space and reduce the pollution caused by the disposal of waste, and
- to destroy waste completely eliminating potential future liabilities.
Co-processing contributes to the industrial competitiveness, is a complementary technology to concepts such as cleaner production or recycling and should be considered as a treatment alternative within an integrated waste management concept. Some EII offer co-processing as a sustainable waste management service. It is usually more cost effective to adapt existing facilities of EII than building new waste treatment capacities thereby reducing waste management cost to society.
The waste management hierarchy (see figure below) shows that Co-processing is a recovery activity which should be considered after waste prevention and recycling; Co-processing ranks higher in this hierarchy in comparison to disposal activities such as landfilling or incineration.
Figure 2: Waste Management Hierarchy
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