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 increasingly vital. 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 aims to establish a systematic framework for analysing the integration of the EWFC nexus within eco-industrial parks, combined with a greenhouse system. In this study, an EWFC nexus superstructure is expanded by proposing an integrated framework that couples greenhouse systems with energy and water subsystems in an industrial park setting. It investigates the optimisation of resource flows and quantifies trade-offs and synergies among resources. The results indicate that greenhouse integration, the biomass utilisation, and carbon capture /utilisation scenarios yield the most extensive reduction in emission, achieving carbon negative emissions. The findings demonstrate synergistic linkages among the energy, water, and food sectors, where CO2 captured from the energy subsystem is utilised to enhance food production by mitigating the energy and water requirements of the greenhouse system. Water use reduction percentage increases substantially in integrated scenarios, ranging from 52% to 57%. Emission reductions demonstrate more enhancements, reaching the highest reduction of 160%. The system achieves the negative CO2 emissions of 9.13×108 kg/yr with an increase of almost 1% in total annual cost of the network. Therefore, despite environmental gains, the total annual cost remains relatively stable across scenarios.