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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Room temperature ultrasonication of waste PCBs to separate electronic components and technology critical metals.

This study presents a novel room-temperature, two-step process for separating catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) used in fuel cells and water electrolysers.

Biochar offers a sustainable use of cannabis residues. Low temperature biochar can be used for contaminant adsorption and in soil amendment, and high temperature biochar as an electrode material in electrochemical and bioelectrochemical applications.

This study introduces a microwave assisted aqua-regia-free recycling process for Ir from IrO_x catalysts. The experimental Ir extraction efficiency measured is 83 ± 10%. The leached Ir solution was then precipitated to form ((NH₄)₂IrCl₆).

Microplastics are present in nearly all environments.

VFD technology achieves sustainable and efficient production of Mongongo FAEE, with the product demonstrating strong potential in organic cosmetics, improving hair protection by enhancing gloss, reducing pore size, and preventing damage.

Adoption of emerging technologies can be difficult, but can be improved by using a framework that incorporates the relative environmental, social, and economic performance of that new technology, such as for enzymatic recycling of a polymer.

Weakly sintered flakes have a higher recycling yield than spheres due to a higher sintered porosity of the printed structures.

State-of-the-art machine learning, reaction engineering, and component additivity models for biomass HTL, accurately predicting biocrude yields to optimize reaction conditions for biomass-to-oil yield across diverse feedstocks.

The scale up and recycling of all process streams in the H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀ catalyzed dehydration of D-fructose (Fru) to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) were investigated.

An improved process to convert 1-hexanol to hexenes under energy-saving conditions based on re-use of the catalysts Cu(OTf)₂, Hf(OTf)₄ and TfOH over 20 cycles led to an average alkene yield of 71–77%, and an initial lab scale up gave 1.3 kg product.

The environmental persistence of reactive blue 19 dye poses a significant challenge, driving the urgent need for efficient removal technologies to protect water quality.

Photovoltaics (PVs), the fastest-growing renewable energy source, play a crucial role in decarbonizing global energy systems.

Exploring the efficient conversion of methyl levulinate to GVL using mixed metal oxides derived from MOFs under CTH in continuous flow. The optimized Al₂O₃–ZrO₂/C (1 : 1) catalyst achieves 80% ML conversion and 72% GVL yield at 200 °C in 30 minutes.

We produced dissolving pulp from agricultural waste and compared the environmental impact to dissolving pulp from wood using LCA.

Producing pellets, mushrooms, and bioethanol using microbial pretreatment of camelina straw has been proven to be economically feasible.

Long-loop recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries is neither sustainable nor economical at scale.

A comparison of the effect of the preparation methods for CoMn/TiO₂ Fischer–Tropsch synthesis catalysts reveals the prevalence of Mn surface doping leading to enhanced product selectivity towards olefins and alcohols.

Non-isocyanate polyurethane nanocomposites from soybean oil and TiO₂ exhibit improved thermal stability, mechanical strength, hydrophobicity, and antimicrobial properties, highlighting eco-friendly material innovation.

This study employs Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of wastewater treatment systems in industrial zones of Vietnam.

A microwave-assisted hydrothermal method is used to synthesise carbon-supported Cu₂O/Cu electrocatalysts for CO₂ conversion using citrus peels as the source of both the carbon support and the Cu cations reducing agent.

Uncovering pathways to sustainable co-production schemes using industrial symbiosis.

Poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) is considered the greener alternative to classical poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), but still needs to be recycled. This study investigates the product-spectrum during biocatalytic hydrolysis by various esterases.

The establishment of simple and efficient lead recycling pathways from lead–acid batteries for fabricating perovskite solar cells promotes the sustainable utilization of toxic lead compounds and advances the development of perovskite photovoltaics.

ZnO and Co₃O₄ wrapped in carbon nanotubes were synthesized via one-pot pyrolysis of MOF, offering excellent lithium storage, high conductivity, and superior stability as electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

A bioderived and biodegradable nanocoating deposited on poly(lactic acid) significantly improves its oxygen barrier performance for applications in sustainable packaging.

5-(Chloromethyl)furfural (CMF) has received enormous interest over the past two decades as a carbohydrate-derived platform chemical for synthesizing organic chemicals of commercial significance.

This study reports a unique approach combining ethylene dichloride and vinylation to produce vinyl chloride that is both energy efficient and reduces chlorinated hydrocarbons, with the potential to enhance sustainable large-scale production plant set-up.

The specialty chemical sector offers unique opportunities for the development of electrochemical reaction processes to integrate low-carbon electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.