Themed collection UN Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production

Waste-derived biochar electrodes enhance microbial electrosynthesis by improving electron transfer, sustainability and scalability, offering a cost-effective route for CO₂ conversion into biochemicals and supporting circular economy goals.

Asymmetric catalysis is a key technology that provides enantiomerically pure compounds that are vital for the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and food and fragrance industries.

New regulation has banned some industrial uses of methylene chloride (dichloromethane, DCM) in the USA. What are the alternatives?

The overarching goal of global energy decarbonization, envisioned to combat climate change, should be coupled with material defossilization, which is just as crucial to target waste accumulation and fossil fuel depletion.

Pollution from contaminants of emerging concern is a multifaceted issue that can only be effectively addressed with the equitable inclusion of all stakeholders and their diverse knowledge systems.

Advancing the future of wood plastic composites: a synergy of materials, methods, and sustainability.

Safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) is a pre-market approach that integrates innovation with safety and sustainability along the entire life cycle.

Engineering microbial metabolism is tapped potential to convert industrial waste and by-products into high-value chemical products, providing a more sustainable alternative to traditionally oil-derived chemicals.

Chemistry should adopt material stewardship as a central mission in fulfilling its vital role in sustainability for people and planet.

Coffee husk is rich in bioactive compounds with functional properties and holds significant potential for various applications that promote a sustainable circular economy.

Polycotton waste textile valorisation; upgrading waste cotton from polycotton (left) to the platform chemical glucose without affecting the polyester (right).

This review highlights advanced catalytic processes that hold industrial relevance for transforming plastic waste into sustainable fuels, chemical feedstock and advance materials, thereby facilitating chemical circular economy. Image partially generated using iStock AI Image Generator.

This review presents a comprehensive review of graphene-based catalysts for eCO₂RR, highlighting optimization strategies, characterization techniques, applications, and future challenges.

This review explores eco-friendly materials in 3D printing biodegradable polymers, bio-composites, and hybrids—highlighting processes, advancements, and applications that drive sustainable manufacturing across diverse fields.

Via multi-enzyme cascade approaches, ω-amino fatty acids are able to be sustainably produced as nylon monomers from vegetable-derived precursors.

Food packaging plays a crucial role in preventing food spoilage, preserving food quality, minimising food waste, and ensuring food safety.

PSCs still face challenges such as lead toxicity. SCAPS-1D stands out as a valuable tool for investigating alternative metals as replacements for lead. This article reviews 54 simulation studies using SCAPS-1D, focusing on lead-free PSCs.

Schematic overview of biomass-based aerogels.

This review takes a closer look at the life-cycle of inverse vulcanized polymers and if they can be more sustainable alternatives to commodity materials in energy storage, remediation technology, agriculture or construction.

Comprehensive review of ammonia-based biomass pretreatments, examining diverse processes with varying reaction conditions and reactor configurations that modify biomass structure to enhance accessibility for biofuel, feed, and material applications.

Recycling of spent Li-ion batteries presents technical and environmental challenges that must be addressed.

Electrification in the chemical industry is increasingly regarded as a key enabler of carbon neutrality.

Environmental concerns from wipe disposal are closely tied to the material composition and construction of wipes. Mindful material selection with optimized process engineering is pivotal in shaping the next generation of sustainable wipes.

This review highlights sustainable microwave-assisted synthesis of nanomaterials, focusing on green chemistry, environmental benefits, and comparative insights for scalable, eco-friendly production aligned with sustainability goals.

Oil contamination is a critical issue affecting global water resources, which originates from a variety of sources, including domestic and industrial activities. Treatment methods include physical, chemical, and biological processes. Image source: Oil spill photo – Jesse Kavanaugh, U.S. Coast Guard.

This innovative study explores bamboo pyrolysis for biochar production, critically evaluating methods and emphasising advanced separation techniques for syngas, including both condensable (bio-oil) and non-condensable gases.

The article provides a comprehensive review of the latest advancements in graphene-based photocatalysts for CO₂ reduction, focusing on mechanisms, product selectivity, and the challenges of enhancing efficiency and scalability.

HPTPs exhibit ordered porosity and tunable coordination environments. This review highlights the synthetic strategies, structural morphology, and multifunctional applications spanning catalysis, adsorption, ion exchange, sensing, and energy storage.

Integrating Circular Economy (CE) principles with Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to promote equitable, sustainable and proactive materials design of consumer durable goods.

Photocatalysis, waste valorization, hydrogen, and the circular economy.

Phytomining, the extraction of valuable metals from soil or waste substrates using plants, has gained increasing attention as a sustainable and economically viable alternative to conventional mining practices.

PBS and PBSA can be used to manufacture cost-effective and sustainable materials for applications in food packaging and agriculture.

Phosphorus recovery from animal manures by pyrolysis can effectively close the agricultural phosphorus cycle.

The image displays various biowastes, important constituents, and possible products of the pretreatment process.

Thermochemical and bioprocessing are feasible for recovering valuable building block molecules from plastic residues. Chemo-enzymatic treatment of waste plastic-biomass mixtures is an open challenge due to the diverse composition of the residues.

Biomass-derived renewable olefins act as sustainable and cost-effective starting materials in the production of industrially valuable chemicals, such as aldehydes, amines and other compounds, through hydroformylation and related one-pot reactions.

Dual-function materials (DFMs) prepared by a sustainable dry milling procedure can efficiently capture CO₂ and produce syngas by reforming with CH₄. Yet, significant CH₄ cracking also occurs, leading to carbon buildup and a high H₂ : CO syngas ratio.

Herein, we report the biosynthesis of bioplastic precursors via the immobilization of aldehyde reductase (AHR) onto a metal organic framework (UIO-66-NH₂).

Low-methyl esterified pectin with a degree of methylation of 33% was shaped into continuous textile fibres via wet spinning with a calcium chloride coagulation bath.

The method for electrochemical bromination of methyl levulinate using ammonium bromide is reported. In MeCN : H₂O mixture, it proceeded via enol intermediate favoring C-3 bromination, and in MeOH – via enol ether favoring C-5 bromination.

Hybrid perovskite solar cells spray-coated with polystyrene retain 80% of their original efficiency after 40 hours immersed in water or temperatures of 95 °C.

Complex polysaccharide substrates can serve as direct feedstocks for PHA biosynthesis, potentially eliminating the need for extra processing steps and significantly lowering production costs for sustainable plastics.

This work investigates the critical parameters for hydrothermal polyethylene conversion via a multi-analytical approach. The mechanism of the process was elucidated with supercritical water acting as a reactant through the formation of radicals.

This work shows a mild biomass fractionation process using the green solvent γ-valerolactone. The process produces the biopolymers lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose in high yields and purities from biodiverse starting materials.

This work shows the importance of different lignin extraction strategies to create valuable products for the chemical industry. Changing process parameters, solvent additives, or biomass can influence lignin properties towards specific applications.

A GC/FID method was developed and thoroughly validated, including a round robin test, to enable objective comparison of three lignin depolymerisation methods using the same lignosulphonate feedstock.

Measuring sustainability in international chemicals management: we present 23 indicators as a contribution to the Global Framework on Chemicals. Due to the overarching concept of sustainable chemistry, the indicators are related to several SDGs.

Electrochemical quantification of totarolone in Tetraclinis articulata extract.

To synthesize xanthenes using a greener and environmentally friendly approach, the earth-abundant, iron-based Fe(MIL-53) MOF was established as a sustainable solid Lewis acid catalyst, operating effectively under mild conditions.

A novel sensitive environmental strategy for rapid monitoring of 6PPD-Q in water was developed to reduce solvent consumption and waste generation.

The interdisciplinary nature of green chemistry requires innovative approaches for engaging broad audiences, making active learning and gamified learning of interest for exploring green chemistry in classrooms and conference settings.

Heavy metal contamination, particularly mercury (Hg²⁺), poses severe environmental and health risks even at trace levels.

Combining reaction tracking, isotope labeling, and quantitative analysis provides mechanistic clarity and improved strategies for biomass valorization aimed at hydrogen storage.

Porous PVDF-HFP and silk-fibroin membranes with green-synthesised TiO₂/5-ASA/Ag nanocomposites degrade ciprofloxacin under sunlight and UV, with antimicrobial activity.

For the first time, Nb-doped BiVO₄ photoanodes enable efficient photoreforming of real agroindustrial residues into green hydrogen and value-added products.

The chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) via glycolysis is a promising route for recovering the monomer bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET), which can be used for virgin-grade PET production.

From aluminum dross to MOFs and alumina, this study closes the loop in the upcycling of aluminum dross waste towards a sustainable industrial circircular economy.

A general, mild, and environmentally friendly method for synthesizing sulfonamides in sustainable solvents was developed.

PCL and ElvaloyPTW improve the ductility and gas barrier properties of PLA. UV irradiation decreases the molecular weight of PLA and increases its crystallization.

This study employs a comparative life cycle assessment to evaluate hydrogen production via SMR, wind PEMWE, solar PV PEMWE, PEC PEM and PEC AEM reactors.

A simple biocatalytic two-step process has been optimised to produce the capsaicinoid olvanil, starting from biomass-derived oleic acid and vanillin and using only biobased reagents and catalysts.

Recycling end-of-life silicones is of interest due to the high energy and environmental costs associated with producing new materials from virgin raw materials, with this method using fluoride-catalysed processes in green solvent systems.

An integrated protic ionic liquid mediated lignin extraction and enzymatic depolymerization process for softwood biomass.

Pyrolysis of waste pinewood sawdust (PWS) was investigated using Py-GC-MS to gauge its suitability for generating fuel and chemicals.

Multi-component nanomaterials (MCNM) and High Aspect Ratio Nanomaterials (HARN) are advanced materials that present innovation potential but also challenge the innovation by Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) principles.

Biocatalytic ibuprofen synthesis enhanced via in silico-guided rational enzyme design.

The following study cements vanillin’s position as a leading replacement for BPA-based epoxy resins in high performance epoxy–amine composite applications.

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can cause severe adverse effects if released into the environment.

The potential of green rGO/AgNPs nanocomposites for broad-spectrum antibiofilm applications.

This research represents a major milestone in the synthesis of novel biodegradable polycarboxylic acid utilizing monomers derived from agro-industrial waste.