Assessment of a critical mineral recycling network: A case study on nickel recovery from production waste in Korean eco-industrial parks

Abstract

The shift in industrial paradigms toward achieving global carbon neutrality and strengthening national material security may initially appear unrelated; however, both domains share a crucial intermediary: critical minerals. Despite global initiatives aimed at securing critical minerals through established supply chains, persistent challenges have arisen owing to resource depletion, geopolitical instability, and intricate international dynamics. Eco-industrial parks (EIPs) are instrumental in mitigating these challenges by facilitating the recycling of resources embedded within waste and by-products. This strategy is essential to minimize resource consumption and foster resilient domestic supply chains, particularly in resource-scarce nations. This study evaluates the recovery potential of nickel, a critical material for green technologies, within a closed-loop system utilizing an industrial symbiosis development framework with public and open-source data of industry. This approach enhances supply- and demand-matching schemes within industrial symbiosis networks, specifically focusing on nickel recovery technologies within the Korean EIP project. The findings revealed that these networks within industrial complexes encompassed 86% of the manufacturing industry, thus establishing a cohesive framework for the development of a nickel integration network. Notably, among the 190 companies across 74 industrial complexes, 135 of the 27 designated EIPs participated in the recycling network. This indicates that EIPs could serve as a viable alternative for resource recovery to secure critical minerals. The implementation of such networks in concentrated industrial complexes with diverse manufacturing sectors is expected to significantly enhance critical mineral self-sufficiency in high-demand countries.