Defining Relevance and Finding Rules: An Agent-Based Model of Biomass Use in the Humber Area

The field of industrial ecology applies ecosystem theory to industrial production, human consumption and societies. This article presents a case study of the development of the bio-based economy in the area surrounding the Humber estuary in the North-East of England. The study developed an agent-based model to simulate the evolution of the industrial system. We explain how the qualitative research process led to the development of a toy model that has successively been specified.