New business models for the circular economy of water: A hybrid simulation study of a mobile rental wastewater treatment service

Food processing industries confront challenges in dealing with wastewater due to seasonal fluctuations. This can lead to potentially untreated wastewater discharge and regulatory non-compliance. Untreated water can also adversely affect the efficiency of municipal wastewater treatment and the local environment. A mobile rental wastewater treatment service for the food processing industry has been proposed as an innovative solution, simultaneously promoting the Circular Economy through water reuse and material recovery. It enables on-demand and on-site wastewater processing, particularly during peak operation. Moreover, it provides additional services for extracting value-added compounds (e.g., polyphenols), delivering further financial benefits. To assess the sustainability of this new business model, this paper presents a hybrid simulation study using agent-based, discrete-event simulation, system dynamics, and Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis. The hybrid model is applied to a new mobile wastewater service being trialled in the Peloponnesian region of Greece. By considering factors such as customer composition and the volume of wastewater to be treated, logistics (mobile units and hubs), and staggered investments in capacity boosting, the model supports the commercialisation efforts of the rental business model put forward in the case study. The paper contributes to modelling methodology, especially in the use of hybrid simulation within the context of the circular economy of water; it also contributes to the practice of modelling and simulation by exploring their role in assessing the feasibility of novel business models. • New business models for Circular Economy investigated using OR techniques. • Supporting decision-making for industrial symbiosis related to water. • A hybrid modelling and simulation framework for symbiotic water cycle. • Application of the hybrid framework to mobile rental wastewater treatment service. • Greek case study on food processing industries and mobile wastewater treatment.