Applying agent-based modeling to the evolution of eco-industrial systems

Agent-based modeling is simply a modeling technique for describing complex adaptive systems in a form that can be solved by computers. In this paper, agent-based modeling is applied to eco-industrial systems to gain new insights into their behavior. The factory in the eco-industrial systems is taken as an agent, and the objects, attributes and behaviors are determined. Some important interaction mechanisms between agents are also designed. Besides, the sustainability evolution is also studied through emergy theory. More importantly, a new concept, the Internal-flow emergy, is used to indicate the evolution direction of an eco-industrial system. Finally, a hypothetical eco-industrial park utilizing natural gas and halite as the main raw material inputs is adopted as a case study to illustrate the effectiveness of the agent-based modeling.