An optimisation framework for eco-industrial parks integrated with greenhouses considering an energy-water-food-carbon nexus approach

The accelerating depletion of natural resources poses a critical challenge to modern society, further intensified by the growing global demand for water, energy, and food resulting from rapid population expansion. The development of optimised and integrated Energy–Water–Food–Carbon (EWFC) nexus systems has become essential for achieving low-carbon and resource-efficient industrial development. Nexus–based optimisation in urban or industrial contexts shows significant greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potentials when sectors are integrated rather than managed in isolation. This study develops a novel optimisation-based EWFC nexus framework integrating greenhouse agriculture within an operational eco-industrial park. A superstructure-based Mixed-Integer Non-Linear Programming (MINLP) model is formulated to capture resource synergies among industrial processes, biomass utilisation, carbon capture, and greenhouse climate control. Applied to a Qatar-based industrial cluster, the model evaluates baseline, integrated, carbon–neutral, and carbon-negative scenarios. Results demonstrate that CO₂ capture and utilisation within greenhouses enables net negative emissions of –9.13 × 10⁸ kg CO₂/yr with only a ∼1% increase in total annualised system cost. Water reuse reduces freshwater demand by up to 57%, while energy demand decreases by almost 10% across all integrated scenarios. The framework reveals that greenhouse–Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) integration transforms industrial emissions into productive inputs, offering a scalable pathway toward carbon-negative eco-industrial systems.