Perspective
The pathway to net zero: a chemicals perspective
The global ambition is to reach a net zero waste and emissions society by 2050.
Perspective
Chemistry and pathways to net zero for sustainability
Chemistry has a vital role in enabling the reductions in greenhouse gases, stewardship of material resources and new production processes needed to bring net CO2 emissions to zero by 2050, keeping within 1.5 °C of global warming.
Perspective
Some of the challenges faced by the Composites Industry in its bid to become more sustainable
The Composites Industry needs to participate in future circular chemical economies. Cooperation, standardisation and increased availability of transparent industry data for life cycle analysis, are seen as critical to a more sustainable future.
Perspective
Status, implications and challenges of European safe and sustainable by design paradigms applicable to nanomaterials and advanced materials
Current European (EU) policies, such as the Green Deal, envisage safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) practices for the management of chemicals, which cogently entail nanomaterials (NMs) and advanced materials (AdMa).
Critical Review
Chemical recycling of PET to value-added products
This review has focused on the concept of upcycling, which involves utilizing PET waste as a raw material for the production of value-added products such as monomers, fine chemicals, hydrogen, or carbon materials.
Critical Review
Hydrometallurgical recycling technologies for NMC Li-ion battery cathodes: current industrial practice and new R&D trends
Latest advances in hydrometallurgical recycling open new sustainable processing options beyond efficient recovery of metals towards direct recycling and upcycling of the NMC active materials.
Critical Review
A review on spent lithium-ion battery recycling: from collection to black mass recovery
The advent of lithium-ion battery technology in portable electronic devices and electric vehicle applications results in the generation of millions of hazardous e-wastes that are detrimental to the ecosystem.
Accepted Manuscript -
Paper
Ionic-liquid-processed keratin-based biocomposite films with cellulose and chitin for sustainable dye removal
Paper
One-pot synthesis of carbon dots from neem resin and the selective detection of Fe(II) ions and photocatalytic degradation of toxic dyes
Neem resin-derived CDs (NR-CDs) exhibited a quantum yield of 21%, allowing them for multiple applications in sensitive detection of Fe2+ ions, and also in the degradation of multiple dyes in the presence of NaBH4.
Paper
Recovery of palladium from waste fashion items through food waste by-products
We propose an affordable and safe route to recover palladium in its metallic form from waste fashion items and recycle it in electronic devices.
Paper
Surface modification of aramid fiber meshes – the key to chemically recyclable epoxy composites
Fiber surface functionalization can play a dual role in the development of fiber reinforced polymer composites; improving the overall performance and enabling recovery of high-quality fibers.
Paper
A techno-economic approach to guide the selection of flow recyclable ionic liquids for nanoparticle synthesis
An experimentally guided, early-stage techno-economic analysis reveals how ionic liquids can be economically adapted at scale through novel recycling methods to unlock their environmental benefits when used as solvents for nanoparticle syntheses.
About this collection
The circular economy is an economic model that seeks to create a regenerative and sustainable system of production and consumption via management of material resources through consecutive product lifecycles. The goal is to keep products, components, and materials in use for as long as possible in closed-loop systems, extracting their maximum value, and in doing so decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources while eliminating waste. Chemistry has a central role to play in designing more sustainable materials and recycling processes, and in converting waste to a valuable resource to manufacture new materials.