Industrial Symbiosis in Catano Puerto Rico

Industrial Symbiosis in
Cataño, Puerto Rico
Anamaria Aristizabal
Mike Gerst
Kate Hamilton
Andrey Voynov
May 9, 2005
1
Table of Contents
INDEX OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................... 3
INDEX OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 4
BACKGROUND ON INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY AND INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS ..................................................... 4
OVERVIEW OF PROJECT OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................... 4
APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................... 6
PLANNING .................................................................................................................................................... 6
SURVEY ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
OUTREACH................................................................................................................................................... 7
DATA COLLECTION ...................................................................................................................................... 7
BACKGROUND ON CATAÑO AND LAS PALMAS .............................................................................. 9
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MAPPING .................................................................................................................................................... 12
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MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS............................................................................................................... 16
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APPROACH ................................................................................................................................................. 16
FIRM LEVEL ............................................................................................................................................... 16
INDUSTRY GROUP LEVEL .......................................................................................................................... 23
REGION LEVEL .......................................................................................................................................... 25
SOCIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL NETWORKS ............................................................................... 28
LOCAL RECYCLING ISSUES ........................................................................................................................ 30
EXISTING INTER-FIRM SYNERGIES .................................................................................................. 32
POTENTIAL INTER-FIRM SYNERGIES .............................................................................................. 36
JOINT SERVICES ......................................................................................................................................... 37
MATERIAL WASTE ..................................................................................................................................... 39
NEW COMPANIES/ TECHNOLOGY............................................................................................................... 39
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BARRIERS TO INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS........................................................................................... 42
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CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 43
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................ 44
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BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................................ 45
APPENDIX A: SURVEY OF INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS IN CATAÑO ............................................ 47
APPENDIX B: MATERIAL FLOWS BY COMPANY........................................................................... 49
APPENDIX C: MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS BY INDUSTRY GROUP ........................................ 58
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Index of Tables
TABLE 1: ORGANIZATIONS INTERVIEWED ........................................................................................................ 8
TABLE 2: LIST OF COMPANIES FOUND IN CATAÑO REGION BY INDUSTRY GROUP. COMPANIES IN BOLD WERE
INTERVIEWED IN THIS STUDY. ............................................................................................................... 24
TABLE 3: MAIN SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP OF SURVEYED COMPANIES .................................. 30
TABLE 4: EXISTING INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS LINKAGES BETWEEN COMPANIES IN THE CATAÑO AREA. .......... 33
TABLE 5: POTENTIAL LINKAGES SUGGESTED BY THIS RESEARCH. ................................................................. 36
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Index of figures
FIGURE 1: LOCATION OF THE CITY OF CATAÑO, PALOSECO COAST AND PALMAS INDUSTRIAL PARK.. PICTURE
TAKEN FROM RIVERA, 2005. ................................................................................................................... 9
FIGURE 2: MAP OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CATAÑO. NOTE LOCATIONS OF THE PALO SECO POWER PLANT,
MOLINOS DE PUERTO RICO AND BACARDI CORPORATION NORTH OF THE INDUSTRIAL PARK .............. 14
FIGURE 3: MAP OF LAS PALMAS INDUSTRIAL PARK IN RELATION TO THE CATAÑO INDUSTRIAL
AGGLOMERATION. NOTE THE CONVENIENT LOCATION OF HIGHWAY 24 AND ROUTE 968 CROSSING THE
INDUSTRIAL ZONE. ................................................................................................................................ 14
FIGURE 4: MAP OF LAS PALMAS INDUSTRIAL PARK – INCLUDES COMPANIES SURVEYED, THE MUNICIPALITY
OF CATAÑO AND WAREHOUSES OUTSIDE THE PARK. NOTE THE SMALL SCALE POTENTIAL OF
EXCHANGES BETWEEN FOOD AND CHEMICAL COMPANIES. ................................................................... 15
FIGURE 5: MATERIAL FLOWS OF THE CATAÑO INDUSTRIAL ECOSYSTEM. ..................................................... 26
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Introduction
Background on Industrial Ecology and Industrial Symbiosis
Humans and technology have become increasingly interdependent leading to both
positive and negative effects on the environment. Technology has led to numerous
environmental problems, yet is also responsible for many beneficial advances in our
civilization. Thus, to achieve a more harmonious relationship among humans, nature and
technology, there is a need to study the interactions between these actors. The discipline
of industrial ecology emerges as a response to this need, aiming to “study the
metabolisms of technological organisms, their potential environmental impacts, and the
ways in which their interactions with the natural world could be restructured to enable
global sustainability.”1
Industrial Ecology (IE) borrows concepts from the natural sciences to describe and
analyze industrial systems.2 Among these biological metaphors and tools is the sub
discipline of Industrial Symbiosis (IS). IS “draws on the concept of biological symbiotic
relationships in which unrelated organisms find mutual benefit through the exchange of
resources, typically wastes”3. IS is both descriptive and prescriptive. It describes the
current linkages and associations between technological organisms in an industrial
ecosystem, as well as recommends feasible symbiotic links that could be beneficial both
for the industries, and for the encompassing social and environmental systems.
Overview of Project Objectives
In this paper, we used IE concepts and tools, and specifically the concept of an industrial
ecosystem as a basis for our analysis to study the Las Palmas Industrial Park in Cataño,
Puerto Rico.4 An inventory was constructed of the material flows of firms within the
park and of the current symbiotic linkages existing between firms. Consecutively, a
1
Graedel, power point presentation, 2005.
Kaiser, 1999.
3
Chertow, Ashton et al., 2004.
4
Chertow, 2000. Graedel and Allenby, 2003.
2
4
prospective analysis of the symbiotic potential of the park was undertaken by examining
the major opportunities and barriers for symbiotic linkages. Our report is part of the
research project entitled “Puerto Rico Island of Sustainability” (PRIOS).
The PRIOS project began in May 2001 as a collaboration between the Yale School of
Forestry and Environmental Studies, the University of Puerto Rico, and the Luis Muñoz
Marín Foundation. The goal of the project is to “analyze Puerto Rico from the
perspective of industrial ecology”. This project identifies sustainable development
opportunities that have the potential to improve the island’s competitiveness and
attractiveness as a business location”.5 Such research is especially important since the
constraints of resource and energy scarcity are felt much faster on an island, which is
bounded by its physical size and distance from other terrestrial regions.6
5
6
Puerto Rico: An Island of Sustainability Activity Report, 2003
Yang and Lay, (2004), Chertow and Ashton, 2003.
5
Approach and Methodology
Planning
Our starting point for planning was a list of all the companies in Las Palmas Industrial
Park and their contact information, which was supplied by the Yale investigators of the
PRIOS project. We searched for company websites and relevant articles, and then
organized the companies by industry: warehousing and distribution; food and beverage;
metal products; printing and office materials; building and infrastructure; chemical
processing; textile; and utilities. The goal these initial group efforts was to build upon the
preliminary information received on the Cataño industrial complex, by obtaining as many
details about the companies as possible.
This information was compiled into a
spreadsheet that provided the group with a snapshot of each company that facilitated
further planning for the field study in early March in Puerto Rico. Information included
about each company (as available) is detailed as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Company name
Type of product
SIC (industrial category)
Number of employees
Ownership
Type of operations
We decided to target the largest representatives of each group especially the
manufacturing companies, which are the biggest employers and have the largest
environmental “footprint”. Our goal was to interview the range of companies in the park
and to gain an understanding of all the industry sectors represented in the park.
Survey
To prepare companies for our arrival, learn more background information about the
companies, and identify current and potential linkages, we developed a survey and
introduction letter that we faxed to each company in Cataño. The letter introduced the
PRIOS project, described our specific research goals and asked companies to fax back the
completed survey. The survey included a blank diagram to display inputs and outputs,
6
and questions concerning current sharing with other companies, waste disposal, and
social connections. The survey questions are outlined in Appendix A.
Outreach
In addition to the survey questionnaire, we contacted select companies from the park for
interviews.
During these introductory phone calls we further explained the PRIOS
project, our specific project goals, and set up appointments for our trip to Puerto Rico.
90% of companies we were able to contact were willing the meet with a member of the
group. Most of the appointments were with upper management personnel that were
familiar with the process flow of the companies.
Data Collection
While in Puerto Rico, our group interviewed representatives from nineteen different
organizations. Sixteen of these organizations were businesses in or around Las Palmas
industrial park. We spoke with representatives from PRIDCO (Puerto Rico Development
Corporation), the governmental organization whose mission is to promote economic
development on the island, and which rents out buildings to companies in Las Palmas. In
order to make a better sense of the social interactions in the park we interviewed
managers of the Cataño municipality recycling center, and Cienaga Cucharillas, a local
wetland. The goal of these interviews was to obtain information on the size and types of
businesses; material, water and energy flows; current linkages; social connections; and
current challenges facing businesses.
Table 1 (below) summarizes the businesses and
industries visited.
7
Organization
Industry
Perry Distribution
PREPA Plant
Malgor and Co.
Ochoa Industrial Sales
Corporation
Universal Seat Covers
Water Treatment Specialists
Industrial Distributor
Power Plant
Food Manufacture/ Distribution
Warehousing/ Distribution and
environmental services
Manufacture seat covers
Water filter regeneration and production
of aqua ammonia
Electroplating
Production of roof and concrete sealants
Caribbean Electroplating
Master Quality Products and
Industrial Roofing
Titan
Atlantic Pipe Corporation
Centro De Reciclaje
Arrowpac Corporation
Molinos of Puerto Rico
Bacardi Corporation
Fomento
Cienaga Cucharillas
El Isleno
Envasadores de Azucar
Able Sales Group
Alimientos Liquidos
Food manufacture/ distribution
Pipe manufacture/ construction
distribution
Municipal Recycling Center
Warehousing and distribution
Flour milling
Rum manufacture
Business space rentals
Wetland
Food manufacture
Sugar packaging
Warehousing and distribution
Liquid sugar production
Table 1: Organizations Interviewed
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Background on Cataño and Las Palmas
The city of Cataño, founded in 1927 by Hernando de Cataño, is located in the northeast
of Puerto Rico, overlooking the San Juan bay. Its downtown area, which has a beautiful
view of old San Juan, has been recently revitalized with a pleasant walkway along the
ocean. Cataño can be reached easily from San Juan by taxi-motor boat or by car. The city
houses around 36,000 people and covers an area of about 13 km2, which includes a marsh
called “Cucharillas.” Its proximity to San Juan and beautiful view gives it distinctive
tourism potential.
Figure 1: Location of the city of Cataño, PaloSeco coast and Palmas Industrial park.. Picture taken
from Rivera, 2005.
9
Some of this tourism potential has been tapped by Bacardi Corporation, which installed
one of its biggest rum distilleries in the northern tip of Cataño. Bacardi offers an
entertaining tour of its operations through a tasting of its products, a visit to the Bacardi
Family Museum, and a showing of a promotional documentary. Bacardi also annually
organizes a crafts fair, where crafts-people from all over Puerto Rico exhibit their pieces.
The city of Cataño also hosts a variety of popular feasts, such as the Bomba and Plena
festival, an annual swim across the San Juan Bay, races by foot along the ocean, and local
food festivals.7
Much of the Cataño economy is driven by Las Palmas industrial park, which includes a
significant amount of distribution and manufacturing operations. Las Palmas was built
by PRIDCO, also referred to as “Fomento”, in the 1950s.
In spite of the city’s strategic location, beautiful view, industrial activity and
natural/cultural assets, the city has a negative reputation. It is often referred to as “the
town that never could”8. Despite its resources, the city is plagued by crime and
environmental justice issues. Community organizations perceive that the industry impact
on the human and natural landscape is negative. Cataño has been an area of nonattainment for air quality standard since the 1970s, a reason cited for higher than average
rates of cancer and asthma9. Hence, Cataño is considered as an area of Puerto Rico with
serious environmental justice issues.
There have been numerous lawsuits by community groups pertaining to air quality and
other issues. A major lawsuit was filed by local activists against the PREPA power plant,
which forced it to abide to the 1990 EPA Clean Air Act standards. The latest lawsuit was
to stop illegal development on the Cucharillas marsh. The EPA issued a resolution to
protect the Cucharillas marsh in May 2003, claiming that:
7
http://welcome.topuertorico.org/city/Cataño.shtml
Gomez Alayon, group communication, rough translation for “el pueblo que se negó a progresar”
9
San Juan Star, Cancer Clouds Horizon for Citizens of Cataño, July 22, 1992, cited by CUCCO’s website
(http://home.coqui.net/rosah/health.htm)
8
10
“[The Cucharillas marsh] contains the highest diversity of waterfowl in the San Juan Bay area and
serves as an essential environmental filter for industrial and urban runoff from nearby populated
areas. Las Cucharillas also provides important flood water storage for the communities of Puente
Blanco, Las Cucharillas, Juana Matos and Reparto El Paraiso, which are located in a flood-prone
area and are protected by the marsh.” 10
One community group, called “Coalition for the Conservation of the Cucharillas Marsh”,
states that the marsh is still constantly threatened by urban development, pollution, illegal
dumping of solid wastes, spill of contaminants from industrial activities, erosion,
sedimentation from development projects, and changes in the flow of water due to
development.
While the community distrusts industries because of their environmental track record, the
industries have similar distrust in the community because they are negatively affected by
the crime in the area. In addition, the local industries generally will not employ local
workers due to many past experiences with theft and lack of work ethic.
10
www.epa.gov
11
Mapping
Three maps were constructed for the area showing the three spatial levels of industrial
symbiosis examined. Figure 2 shows the entire municipality of Cataño and most of the
bigger companies that were included in the study. Although Bacardi Corporation,
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Molinos de Puerto Rico and the Palo Seco power plant were removed from the
congregation of the rest of the companies they played a major role in the industrial
exchanges in Cataño and were included in this analysis. This map shows the interplay
between the industrial landscape, the housing units, the natural component (Cucharillas
Marsh) and the need for cooperation between the three in order to achieve the full
benefits from industrial symbiosis.
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lines
Figure 2: Map of the municipality of Cataño. Note locations of the Palo Seco power plant, Molinos
de Puerto Rico and Bacardi Corporation north of the industrial park
12
Figure 4 provides a closer look at the industrial agglomeration in the southern part of the
Cataño municipality surveyed in the study. The area highlighted in red and described in
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Figure 3 is the Las Palmas industrial park mostly owned and rented by PRIDCO. The
area outside it has been purchased by different companies like ARAUCO, who rent it to
other companies or private agents. This figure shows the convenient location of the major
highways (24 and 869) as well as the major congregations of industries. The southern
part is mostly occupied by the factory and storage space of Atlantic Pipe, while the
Figure 2: Map o
Note locations o
Molinos de Puer
north of the indu
eastern side consists mostly of warehousing space. Many of the smaller companies are
located in the Palmas industrial park or near-by areas. According to Sterr and Ott (2004)
an industrial region can be defined by regional options to close material loops and create
more sustainable industrial ecosystems. We followed this concept of industrial region
when choosing to examine companies outside the boundaries of Las Palmas.
Figure 4, displays the companies in Las Palmas. The park is composed of several multitenant buildings. The buildings are owned by PRIDCO in the northern part of the park
and independent owners, like Verticolor, in the southern part. This survey was not able to
gain access to privately owned facilities because contact information was not available in
advance. Also included on the map is the municipality recycling center, which is located
inside the Palmas park. There
are several unoccupied lots that
have
been
designated
as
‘unknown’.
13
Figure 4
Figure 2: Map of the municipality of Cataño. Note locations of the Palo Seco power plant, Molinos
de Puerto Rico and Bacardi Corporation north of the industrial park
Figure 4: Map of Las Palmas industrial park in
relation to the Cataño Industrial agglomeration.
Note the convenient location of highway 24 and
Route 968 crossing the industrial zone.
14
Figure 6: Map of Las Palmas Industrial Park – includes companies surveyed, the municipality of
Cataño and warehouses outside the park. Note the small scale potential of exchanges between food
and chemical companies.
15
Material Flow Analysis
Approach
Industrial analysis for Cataño was performed on three levels. At the firm level, each firm
production process was decomposed into stages, and major inputs and outputs were
quantified for each stage. The underlying goal for each firm-level material flow was to
capture only the significant flows of each firm. The complete overview of the flows is
listed in Appendix B. At the industry level, firms were grouped according to common
production and generalized material flows were constructed for the whole group. These
flows are outlined in Appendix C. Finally, a material flow diagram for the entire
industrial complex of Cataño was produced to qualitatively show the major material
flows (Figure 5). Once completed, this analysis yielded estimates of material and energy
flow significance at three spatial levels: the firm level, the industry group level, and the
regional level.
Although all attempts were made to either obtain or estimate material flow parameters,
some were difficult to quantify. This difficulty occurred because companies were not
willing to provide them, companies did not have the time to estimate or retrieve data, or
the specific parameter was not one that could be readily estimated. Taking this into
account, quantitative descriptions of firm level material flows are providing as available,
along with qualitative descriptions. For the two larger spatial scales, qualitative analysis
is used to signify which components of the material flow are most important at that scale.
Although not an ideal result for a material flow analysis, such qualitative descriptions are
of use in characterizing where significant flows occur, and what opportunities for
symbiosis might be present.
Firm Level
The material flows related to each company’s production process are illustrated in the
Appendix B.
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Perry Product Co of Puerto Rico is one of the typical warehousing and distribution
companies in the park. It specializes in supplying stainless steel, aluminum, and plastic
profiles for the pharmaceutical industry and some food producers. The company manages
and sells about 40 tons of products each month and employs 22 people. Its biggest
suppliers are from the mainland USA – Penn Stainless and Alfa Laval11. Perry is
interested in finding profitable uses for its wood boxes and in coordinating better
transportation for its employees. It has a backup generator using diesel fuel, but has no
significant water usage. Most of the company’s packaging materials are reused by other
manufacturers and institutions.
Palo Seco Central Power Plant is one of the five major power plants operated by the
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. It was constructed in 1960 and services a
population of more than one million people in the municipalities of San Juan and Cataño.
The power plant consists of two 280-MW oil-fired main units, and two 216-MW natural
gas peaking units12. The primary type of fuel used is No. 6 fuel oil with 2.4% sulfur
content. The plant does not have any air emission control equipment installed. It is
situated close to the coast, and uses large volumes of seawater to transfer low quality
waste heat from the produced steam at the end of the electricity production process. The
existence of this waste heat provides an opportunity for pollution prevention in the form
of a forward osmosis water treatment station to be operated in conjunction with the
Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA), which will be discussed in further
detail in the potential linkages section. The plant’s major throughputs are the fuel oil and
natural gas, and the addition of 26,000 gallons/month of makeup water treated on-site to
remove dissolved solids. Makeup water quality for the plant is of great importance,
because water with suspended and dissolved solids causes damage to the generator
turbine blades. The plant disposes of the 133 yds3/year of bottom ash and other chemical
spillage as toxic waste in a nearby landfill.
11
12
http://www.pennstainless.com/ and http://www.alfalaval.com/
http://www.prepa.com/paloseco.asp
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Malgor and Co., founded in 1926, is a producer of wine, vinegar and spices and a
distributor of various home improvement goods. Malgor employs 87 people. Its main
outputs (table, cooking and sparkle wines) require inputs of frozen, mashed grapes from
outside Puerto Rico and produce 12 tons of waste organic material per year. This material
was experimentally fed to pigs, but the symbiosis did not prove viable. The company has
also considered capturing the CO2 byproducts from fermentation processes, but this
project will require considerable capital investment. Malgor also produces spices by
mixing ingredients from the US mainland and uses plastic and glass packaging. The
company is actively involved in community issues, such as the flooding problem and air
pollution.
Ochoa Industrial Sales Corporation is the main pharmaceutical and industrial chemical
distributor for Puerto Rico, with more than 160 employees and 100,000 square feet of
warehouse space13. The company has recently expanded it business in provision of
environmental services such as disposal of hazardous waste and byproduct surplus
brokerage. The company provides certification and quality assessment for the byproducts
it receives thus facilitating the reception of the materials in other companies. Hence, the
company managers have a good understanding with most of the other representatives in
the park. They have the potential to serve as an anchor and project champion for future
development of industrial symbiosis. As it is mostly a warehousing and distribution
company, Ochoa most significant flows are the goods they handle and the materials
associated with running such an operation, such as pallets, cardboard, and plastic
wrapping. The company is a major user of water and electricity.
Universal Seat Covers is one of the smaller companies in the park, with just 15
employees. The company produces cloth seat covers for the popular car models in Puerto
Rico. It obtains its cloth, Velcro, and elastic from mills in the USA and Pakistan.
Universal Seat Covers uses a significant amount of energy (2500 kWh/month) and a
13
http://www.ochoagroup.com/index.cfm?site=CHEMICAL&section=MAIN
18
moderate amount of water (5250 gal/month) for its production process. The company’s
major byproducts of industrial symbiosis interest are cloth scraps and cardboard tubes.
Water Treatment Specialists specializes in the regeneration of spent water filtering
systems for household and industrial use. It employs only 13 full time workers. Water
Treatment Specialists is also a franchise of Culligan, distributing a whole range of
filtration systems14. Its location in Las Palmas Industrial Park is very beneficial for its
relations with the nearby companies, as they share casual necessities such as forklifts and
some hand tools. Water supply is of great importance for the firm because it uses 12,000
gal/month, and generates 20,000 gallons of aqua ammonia per month.
Caribbean Electroplating is one of the two electroplating companies on the island. It
employs 19 people and uses 13,000 ft2 of space. The company’s production process is
energy intensive and uses a variety of hazardous substances. For this reason the company
has installed a water treatment system that generates 800 lbs/month of metal-laden
sludge, which is then sent to a company in the mainland US to be processed for metal
recovery. Most of the industrial water needs for the company are met from underground
well water at 76,000 gal/month. Despite its polluting process, the company is very
environmentally friendly and organized – it obtains recycled paper from ProNatura for its
packaging needs and makes effort to recycle all of its plastic and cardboard through the
local municipality. The company is highly connected to Ochoa Industrial sales, from
which it gets 60% of its raw materials.
Industrial Roofing is one of the smallest companies in the park, with only 3 employees.
It specializes in mixing raw chemicals for the production of concrete seals. The
production process is entirely physical, mixing latex, titanium oxide, and minor additives.
Industrial roofing uses a moderate amount of water for washing the tanks and mixing as
well. The company is mostly interested in finding a profitable use for its polyethylene
drums and jars, which it presently landfills. It also produces a steady supply of wooden
pallets that are donated to the community as fuel-wood.
14
http://www.culligan.com/americas.asp
19
Centro de Reciclaje – The municipal recycling center of Cataño, founded in 1997, has
been recently active in promoting the new recycling laws of Puerto Rico and raising
awareness in the park about each company’s duties. The center uses several trucks to
collect recyclables (corrugated metal, cardboard, paper and newspapers) from the
companies. It employs less than 10 people full time, but more during collection times.
The center then organizes the materials and sells them to processors outside the island. It
does not have the capacity to service the entire park. The center organizes small- scale
educational programs to train companies in managing their waste.
Atlantic Pipe Corporation is one of the larger producers of building materials on the
island, located just south of Highway 24. Atlantic Pipe manufactures infrastructure
components such as concrete and corrugated steel pipes. The company employs 70
people in production and has large throughputs of cement, sand, steel and water to
produce 4500 tons of piping every month. The company’s material process is largely
energy intensive. However, it cascades its water to reuse within the production process.
The biggest problems for the company are the low availability of landfill space and recent
regulations concerning extraction of stone and sand. Atlantic Pipe would also like to see
improvements in the transportation system in the park.
Emprezas Barsan (Titan) is the biggest food manufacturer in the park, producing the
Titan line of turnovers. Emprezas Barsan employs more than 50 people. It also distributes
foods to supermarkets around the island and is interested in distribution for other similar
companies in the park. The company’s biggest problem is the general poverty in the area
causing security problems, and the nearby idle lots, which have been turned into dumps
for scrap materials by the municipality. It uses 530 liters of water per day for cleaning
and production, which is a substantial flow. Emprezas Barsan produces 30,000 lbs of
product per day, but does not have any major byproducts that could serve in industrial
symbiosis.
20
Arrowpac, Inc. is one of the numerous warehousing and freight forwarding companies
on the island, with 22 employees. The company works mainly for the pharmaceutical
industry and has 9 terminals in the USA. It transports and processes more than 3500
containers per year, but does not have any major material or energy flows. The company
reuses its wooden pallets as much as possible, and recycles the waste paper through the
municipality. It is collocated with several other companies, such as Perry Metal Products
in an enclosed facility owned by the Greek company ARAUCO.
Molinos de Puerto Rico is the largest producer of flour on the island and member of
Conagra Foods Group15. The company has a volume of sales up to $100 million per year.
It is located on the coast, in conjunction with three producers of animal feed - Nutrimix
Feed Corporation and others. The companies have created a common security system,
because all four are of national security interest. They also have created a system of
shared transportation of raw materials, whereby they coordinate shipments of wheat, corn
or oats for common delivery. The company has been in operation for 45 years and is
looking to expand its production to new varieties of flour. The major material flows of
Molinos are flour, paper bags and energy for filtering, milling and ventilation.
San Mar Manufacturing is a small fruit juice producer with 12 employees. The
company takes in fruit pulp and other materials from all over the Caribbean, to produce
about one ton of juice per day. Its biggest concern is energy use during refrigeration. It
has little byproducts of interest, except for several metal drums each week. The company
expressed interest in using another distribution company, such as Emprezas Barsan.
Bacardi-Martini Caribbean Corporation, with 350 employees, can be easily classified
as the biggest employer in Cataño. The company produces 800 bottles of alcohol per
minute in 4 production lines that operate non-stop on three shifts. The company has been
working with members of Yale University for several years and has championed several
industrial ecology projects. Some of the chemicals for its production process are supplied
by other companies in the park, like Ochoa. The physical equipment is constructed by
15
http://www.conagrafoods.com/index.jsp
21
one of the metals manufacturers Alanso y Carus. At present the company is completing
construction of a system that will take biogas produced by anaerobic digestion of waste
process organics, and burn it in a boiler to meet the facilities steam and electricity needs.
In addition, Bacardi also has installed equipment to capture, refine, and liquefy carbon
dioxide from its fermentation process.
Approximately 30% of the liquefied carbon
dioxide is sold to Pepsi, however no other market has been found to date for the
remaining amount. Despite these gains, Bacardi is still having problems with finding a
way to re-use the waste mosto from the rum production process. One possible use for the
remaining carbon dioxide is discussed in the possible symbiosis section of the paper.
Able Sales Group is a large warehousing and distribution company that also owns two
small food and beverage operations. Alimientos Liquidos produces liquid sugar from
solid sugar, and Envasadores de Azucar repackages solid sugar from large bulk packages
into smaller industrial and consumer size packages. Alimientos Liquidos’ main customer
is Pepsi Corporation from nearby Toa Baja.16 An issue for Alimientos Liquidos is the
disposal of water it uses to wash tanks, which must be treated before it can be discharged.
The company has looked into sharing wash bays with nearby Tropicana, but this and
current solutions to date may prove too cost-prohibitive to keep the company in
operation. Envasadores de Azucar has little material byproducts, besides several reusable
totes, which it obtains from the input bulk sugar. As a warehousing and distribution
company, Able Sales Group has large inputs of goods along with materials associated
with warehousing and distribution such as pallets and cardboard.
The warehouse
manager for the company had spent a significant amount of time dealing with the solid
waste issue. The company currently recycles most of its recyclable waste through the
municipality, and uses a pallet company to supply, repair, and dispose of its pallets.
El Isleño – a small, family owned company specializing in pepper paste spices. It has
less than 10 employees, but produces a wide variety of products. The most important
material flows are water for cleaning, the raw materials (onions, peppers, salt, vinegar,
sugar, spices) as well as packaging. The company is located in the boundaries of Las
16
http://www.pepsiamericas.com/locations/caribbean.shtml
22
Palmas industrial park and takes advantage of the recycling services provided by the
municipality.
Industry Group Level
As part of our company sampling plan, industries were aggregated together into eight
groups (Table 2). For material flow analysis, this method was useful in that it revealed
which material flows were characteristically significant for each group; and allowed for
generalizations to be made about companies for which our research team was not able to
collect data for. Flow diagrams for each industry group are included in Appendix C.
The most important material flows for each industry group are highlighted in red. From
this analysis, it is evident that the most significant flow in terms of potential symbiosis
for the Warehousing and Distribution group are materials such as pallets, plastic
wrapping, cardboard and paper. The most interesting flow for the Food and Beverage
industry is waste organic matter. This industry also is one of the largest users of cleaning
water in Cataño. The Metal Processing group, although less numerous had one of the
highest environmental impacts due to the toxic nature of its byproducts and high-energy
usage. Most of the members of this group required wastewater pre-treatment to separate
the heavy metal contents before releasing it into the municipal water treatment system.
For the printing and office materials group, we were not able to contact any of the
companies. However, a generalization concerning significant flows can be speculated
based on the fact that the group consists of small companies. As such, significant flows
have been estimated to be the material inputs and process wastes. The Building and
Infrastructure group was well represented in Cataño. Its members accounted for some of
the major water and electricity throughput and had considerable amounts of land-filled
material, with potential to serve in future IS linkages. In contrast, the Textile industry had
only one representative producer and used minimal quantities of materials. The last
industry group, Utilities, was composed of two different companies – the Palo Seco
power plant and the Municipal Recycling Center. This group had considerable potential
for a leadership role in future IS.
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Warehousing and Distribution
Food and Beverage
Metal Products Processing
Printing and Office Materials
Building and Infrastructure
Chemical Processing
Textile
Utilities
Plaza Motors Corp.
AGA Puerto Rico (Linde Gas)
Ochoa Industrial Sales Corp.
VWR International
Leonardo's Fifth Ave.
Able Sales Company
Arrowpac, Inc.
Olympic Group, Inc
Distribuidora Norma, Inc.
Performance Chemicals Company
Perry Products Co. of Puerto Rico
Alimentos Liquidos Industriales
Bacardi Corp.
El Isleno
Empresas Barsan, Inc.
Envasadora de Azucar, Inc.
Malgor & CIA., INC.
Marlin Distributors, INC.
Molinos de Puerto Rico
Platanutres El Borincano
Postres de Aqui, INC.
San Mar Manufacturing
VDL Distributors
Vizcaya Food
Accurate Tooling
Alonso y Carus Iron Work, Inc.
Caribbean Electroplating, Inc.
Palmas Sheet Metal Works, INC.
Quadrel Leasing de P. R.
General Office Industries
Moore del Caribe
New Printing Corp.
Parra Printing Corp.
Atlantic Pipe
Roof Decks of PR
Santiago Hermanos Air Conditioning
Schindler Elevator of PR
Verticolor
Glasstra Manufacturing
AGA Puerto Rico (Linde Gas)
Industrial Roofing
Master Quality Products
Water Treatment Specialists
Luxevan Corp.
Pro Beauty Manufacturing, INC.
Universal Seat Covers
PREPA
Recycling Municipality
Table 2: List of companies found in Cataño region by industry group. Companies in bold were
interviewed in this study.
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Region Level
The last spatial level involves the aggregation of all the industry groups together to form
a Cataño-area material flow diagram (Figure 5). This figure provides a qualitative picture
of the flows significant at a regional level. The significant material flows are designated
by wider arrows.
The meaning of the various colors, line types/widths, and shapes are as follows.
Industry
Group
Material input or output
Description
of material
flow
Electricity
Distribution
system
Product output
Treated water
Wastewater
Waste to municipal recycler
Waste to private recycler
From inspection of Figure 5, several observations can be made about the material flow in
the Cataño area. Significant amounts of material input and output flows exist for the
warehousing and distribution, food and beverage, metal products, building and
infrastructure, and chemical processing groups.
Of these, the warehousing and
distribution group is the only industry that has a material inputs and outputs as a single
dominant flow. For water usage, the food and beverage, metal products, building and
infrastructure, and chemical processing groups are the major consumers. However, all of
these have coupled significant flows of wastewater except for the building and
infrastructure group. For use of electricity, the food and beverage, metal products,
building and infrastructure, and chemical processing groups are the major users. In
addition, the appears to be few material (by-product or otherwise) or energy exchanges
between industry groups in the region, except for the standard interactions of utilities
with their customers.
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There are several factors, which contribute to the significance of flows within the area,
including the intrinsic nature of the industry, the existence of large companies within a
group, and the total size of the industry.
Figure 7: Material Flows of the Cataño Industrial Ecosystem.
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