Circular Economy Solutions Research Articles

Comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment Analysis of an Italian Composting Facility concerning Environmental Footprint Minimization and Renewable Energy Integration

The present paper aims to investigate the environmental impacts of a real municipal solid waste management facility operating in Italy including two power units, i.e., a combined heat and power system and an internal combustion engine, fed by the biogas produced from anaerobic digestion and waste disposal in sanitary landfill. The Life Cycle Assessment study is carried out in Simapro 9.1.1.7 and, in addition to the base case scenario, the implementation of additional renewable energy and circular economy solutions is evaluated. More precisely a PV plant on the roof of the anaerobic digesters section and the use of plastic and paper residues in a gasification process for additional heat and power production are considered. The main outcomes of the simulations demonstrate the following: (i) the benefits in terms of energy and fuel savings provided by the two power units; (ii) the environmental impact reduction due to the compost obtained from the anaerobic digestion of the organic waste as potential fertilizer; (iii) a potential power capacity of 2 MW through the gasification of the plastic and paper residues. With reference to the latter, despite bringing an increase of the carbon emissions (+48%) compared to the base case, it could contribute to reach higher environmental standards for MSW composting facilities.

Road map for implementing circular construction practices in India: an overview

Globally, the construction industry is considered as one of the biggest consumers of natural resources and is a generator of large quantities of demolition wastes. Hence, the full-scale adoption of circular economy (CE) in the construction industry would not only conserve natural resources but also reduce environmental pollution by reusing demolition waste. Despite the recognised potential of the concept of CE, the application of CE in the construction industry is still in its infancy and is limited, particularly in developing countries such as India. Although circularity elements are applied in the construction sector in India to a certain extent, there is still a long way to go for the large-scale adoption of CE practices. Improvements in the supply chain system, incorporation of reused and recycled materials and minimisation of the use of virgin materials in construction, implementation of modular construction and use of digital tools are some of the solutions that can be adopted towards achieving CE in construction. In this context, the present study discusses the practices currently adopted in the construction sector in India towards achieving CE. Further, the methodologies adopted in other countries and limitations in implementing these technologies in India, towards circular construction, are discussed. Learning from the principles/concepts of other countries that are successfully adopting CE solutions, this study provides a road map for implementing construction practices in India to make this sector less resource intensive.

Development and validation of a tool for the integration of the circular economy in industrial companies: Case study of 30 companies

Circular Economy (CE) implementation is considered an instrumental strategy to help reaching the world's resource, energy, and climate mitigation targets, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. However, major barriers must be overcome to facilitate CE implementation in industry such as cultural, market, regulatory and technological considerantions (Kirchherr et al., 2018). Improving management systems within industrial companies is crucial when implementing effective CE solutions in compliance with existing industrial standards such as quality and environmental management systems. However, it is not yet common practice yet due to the lack of standardized, suitable, and easy-to-use supporting analytical tools. This paper attempts to fill this gap by presenting Industrial Circular Economy Questionnaire (ICEQ), a self-diagnosis questionnaire built upon the revision of industrial harmonized standards and, academic literature on business-level CE assessment tools. ICEQ, compiling a set of 165 questions for company self-CE assessment, was applied to 30 industrial companies belonging to 17 economic sectors (automotive, machining and metalworking transformation, waste management, machine tool, etc.) in the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) in Spain. The automotive sector stands out with 70% of circularity while Machining and metalworking transformation only has 34%, showing that the automotive sector is more conscious of CE since they must comply with End-of-Life Vehicles (EoLV) legislation.

A simulation model for assessing the potential of remanufacturing electric vehicle batteries as spare parts

Remanufacturing is a key element of circular economy solutions as it aims at increasing the service lifetime of entire products or specific components, which may reduce the demand for new, resource-consuming devices. To assess the potential of disassembling and subsequent remanufacturing of EV batteries , we present a discrete event simulation approach. This approach depicts the life cycle of batteries and EVs separately, which allows capturing the demand for spare batteries and the potential contribution of remanufacturing batteries to cover this demand. By running various scenarios taking the German EV market as an example, the importance of providing cost-effective spare batteries through remanufacturing is underlined. As a baseline, a linear case is examined, where remanufacturing is not an option. Additionally, we built scenarios where remanufactured batteries are used as spare parts for older vehicles. Another major variation is introduced by different average battery lifetimes (10, 15, and 20 years), while the average vehicle lifetime is 15 years in all cases. The results show that remanufactured spare batteries could decrease the demand for new batteries compared to the linear base case. When battery lifetimes are lower than those of vehicles, new battery demand could be reduced by 6–7%, given our assumptions. In future scenarios where expected battery lifetimes might exceed vehicle lifetimes, up to 2% savings in new batteries could still be possible. Therefore, remanufacturing could be a viable option for improving the sustainability of electric mobility, and (re)manufacturers should consider intensifying their engagement in designing remanufacturable batteries, in research on remanufacturing technologies, and in investing in remanufacturing infrastructure. • Supply of and demand for remanufactured batteries are determined simultaneously. • The model considers incompatibilities between vehicles and remanufactured batteries. • Remanufacturing EV batteries could lower the demand for new batteries. • Frequent changes in battery technology could limit the remanufacturing potential.

The role of U.S. policy in advancing circular economy solutions for wasted food

Food waste is a growing global sustainability challenge. The United States plays a major role in food waste generation and yet has seen limited progress toward significantly reducing the amount of food ultimately being landfilled. Circular economy offers a compelling alternative to the current linear management of food and food waste, but the U.S. also lacks comprehensive public policy that would enable circular economy in the food system. This article provides a systemic analysis of U.S. federal and state policy to identify whether current regulations and initiatives are helping or hindering circular food waste management. One key finding is that the U.S. has ambitious national goals and initiatives aimed at reducing and recovering wasted food, but these efforts are voluntary and lack enforcement mechanisms. Individual states have enacted a wide array of policies expected to both directly and indirectly influence wasted food generation and management, including highly variable requirements for food date labeling and using excess food as animal feed. The majority of U.S. states have policies in place that would support donation of excess food for human use, and a few actually mandate wasted food management through landfill bans or diversion targets. However, the heterogeneity inherent to the observed “patchwork” of state policies is expected to confound broader circular economy goals and potentially limit new business models and stakeholder participation. Therefore, high priorities for policy efforts include federal standardization of date labeling and regional harmonization of state rescue and redistribution policies to support efficient business implementation and compliance.

Accelerating circular economy solutions to achieve the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals

Circular economy seems a vital enabler for sustainable use of natural resources which is also important for achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals. Therefore, a special session addressing issues of “sustainable solutions and remarkable practices in circular economy focusing materials downstream” was held at the 16th International Conference on Waste Management and Technology, where researchers and attendees worldwide were convened to share their experiences and visions. Presentations focusing on many key points such as new strategies, innovative technologies, management methods, and practical cases were discussed during the session. Accordingly, this article compiled all these distinctive presentations and gave insights into the pathway of circular economy towards the sustainable development goals. We summarized that the transition to circular economy can keep the value of resources and products at a high level and minimize waste production; the focus of governmental policies and plans with the involvement of public-private-partnership on 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) helps to improve the use of natural resources and take a step ahead to approach or achieve the sustainability.

Assessing the potential for sea-based macroalgae cultivation and its application for nutrient removal in the Baltic Sea

Marine eutrophication is a pervasive and growing threat to global sustainability. Macroalgal cultivation is a promising circular economy solution to achieve nutrient reduction and food security. However, the location of production hotspots is not well known. In this paper the production potential of macroalgae of high commercial value was predicted across the Baltic Sea region. In addition, the nutrient limitation within and adjacent to macroalgal farms was investigated to suggest optimal site-specific configuration of farms. The production potential of Saccharina latissima was largely driven by salinity and the highest production yields are expected in the westernmost Baltic Sea areas where salinity is >23. The direct and interactive effects of light availability, temperature, salinity and nutrient concentrations regulated the predicted changes in the production of Ulva intestinalis and Fucus vesiculosus. The western and southern Baltic Sea exhibited the highest farming potential for these species, with promising areas also in the eastern Baltic Sea. Macroalgal farming did not induce significant nutrient limitation. The expected spatial propagation of nutrient limitation caused by macroalgal farming was less than 100–250 m. Higher propagation distances were found in areas of low nutrient and low water exchange (e.g. offshore areas in the Baltic Proper) and smaller distances in areas of high nutrient and high water exchange (e.g. western Baltic Sea and Gulf of Riga). The generated maps provide the most sought-after input to support blue growth initiatives that foster the sustainable development of macroalgal cultivation and reduction of in situ nutrient loads in the Baltic Sea.

BIOPLASTIC MADE OF ORANGE PEELS

This study uses orange peel waste to create a biopolymer that can be used for different purposes. In order to achieve this, we evaluated various technologies for the production of the biopolymer, and tried to design the most environmentally friendly process possible. One of the reasons why this bioplastic should be manufactured is to participate in the replacement of common environmental hazardous plastic, which has been banned in many places. On the other hand, using orange peel as the main ingredient is an alternative and gives value to an organic waste that has limited use in circular economy solutions. In this research we present a methodology to create a bioplastic of orange peels. As a result, we obtained a biodegradable, flexible and resistant material to be used in the manufacture of containers, utensils, etc. In addition, it is a material that, given the raw materials used, is considered GRAS (Generally Recognized As Save), implying a non-toxic product that is safe for the consumer.

Cultivating circular economies in the gaps of governance: lessons from Lebanon’s ecosystem of CE micro projects

ABSTRACT This article explores micro circular economies (CEs) in Lebanon. The researchers asked, “What do CEs that center human health, equity, and well-being into their design look like in practice? What lessons can macro-CE projects and policy learn from such approaches?” Employing a political ecology framework, the authors assess the socio-political conditions through which these CEs emerged to understand the possibilities for mobilising CEs as solutions for conditions of systemic violence and inequality. Analysing common discourses and practices across disparate CE micro projects, this article theorises the main differences between such projects and institutionalised or corporate CEs. This study traces CEs which emerged during the garbage crisis of 2015 and coalesced during the thawra (the 2019–2020 uprisings in Lebanon). The authors analyse the challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned in navigating multifaceted CE projects within these challenging conditions. Through examining circular economy solutions “from below”, we argue that CE projects that are designed to respond to histories of power and inequality have greater potential to advance socio-ecological equality by creating innovative models for resource (re)use and distribution.

Advancing the circular economy through dynamic capabilities and extended customer engagement: Insights from small sustainable fashion enterprises in the UK

AbstractThe circular economy holds the potential to significantly reduce resource use. However, attempts to fully utilize its potential have fallen short so far. Based on a longitudinal interview‐based study, we examine how micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the UK fashion industry advance the circular economy (CE). Whereas the dynamic capabilities framework is mostly used for medium and large businesses, our findings advance the current literature, demonstrating how the distinctive development and use of dynamic capabilities enable MSMEs to act in agile ways, allowing them to introduce, test and advance CE solutions, while providing them with more resilience during times of crises. Our study further shows that fashion MSMEs adopt circular economy business models (CEBMs) by going beyond conventional, technology‐focused approaches currently dominating business thinking. The research highlights MSMEs' ability to engage in circular practices through an extension of existing business models in the form of close interactions with their customers demonstrating the importance and potential of extended business‐customer engagement in businesses' attempts to adopt CE practices.

Rubblization of Shaybah Airport Runway Pavement—A Sustainable Circular Economy Solution

Rubblization of Shaybah Airport Runway Pavement—A Sustainable Circular Economy Solution

Water-smart circular economy – Conceptualisation, transitional policy instruments and stakeholder perception

The Circular Economy (CE) is a concept that has gained considerable global attention during the past decade amongst private and public sector actors, politicians and policymakers, citizens and media, and scientific communities. Water and water-related ecosystems, despite their vital role in practically all human activities, have been largely missing from conceptualisations and scientific definitions of the CE. Therefore, this paper presents a definition and concept for a water-smart CE that incorporates water and water-related ecosystems. A water-smart CE would (i) reduce losses of water, energy and valuable substances, (ii) improve water efficiency and productivity, (iii) reuse treated wastewater, and (iv) better protect and lessen pressure upon water-related (both aquatic and groundwater) ecosystems. The paper also touches upon the potential risks of the CE to water-related ecosystems. Policy instruments that could be used to promote a transition towards a water-smart CE in Finland – the setting of the present study – and beyond were also sought. Additionally, actors who provide and/or use water-smart CE solutions were interviewed to shed light on their perceptions about the drivers of, barriers to and potential policy instruments for promoting a transition towards a water-smart CE. Based on the analyses of policy instruments and stakeholder interviews, a mixed use of economic, regulatory and informative instruments is suggested to support the desired transition towards a water-smart CE in Finland and elsewhere.

Optimization of Disassembly Strategies for Electric Vehicle Batteries

Various studies show that electrification, integrated into a circular economy, is crucial to reach sustainable mobility solutions. In this context, the circular use of electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) is particularly relevant because of the resource intensity during manufacturing. After reaching the end-of-life phase, EVBs can be subjected to various circular economy strategies, all of which require the previous disassembly. Today, disassembly is carried out manually and represents a bottleneck process. At the same time, extremely high return volumes have been forecast for the next few years, and manual disassembly is associated with safety risks. That is why automated disassembly is identified as being a key enabler of highly efficient circularity. However, several challenges need to be addressed to ensure secure, economic, and ecological disassembly processes. One of these is ensuring that optimal disassembly strategies are determined, considering the uncertainties during disassembly. This paper introduces our design for an adaptive disassembly planner with an integrated disassembly strategy optimizer. Furthermore, we present our optimization method for obtaining optimal disassembly strategies as a combination of three decisions: (1) the optimal disassembly sequence, (2) the optimal disassembly depth, and (3) the optimal circular economy strategy at the component level. Finally, we apply the proposed method to derive optimal disassembly strategies for one selected battery system for two condition scenarios. The results show that the optimization of disassembly strategies must also be used as a tool in the design phase of battery systems to boost the disassembly automation and thus contribute to achieving profitable circular economy solutions for EVBs.

Current Trends in Automotive Lightweighting Strategies and Materials.

The automotive lightweighting trends, being driven by sustainability, cost, and performance, that create the enormous demand for lightweight materials and design concepts, are assessed as a part of the circular economy solutions in modern mobility and transportation. The current strategies that aim beyond the basic weight reduction and cover also the structural efficiency as well as the economic and environmental impact are explained with an essence of guidelines for materials selection with an eco-friendly approach, substitution rules, and a paradigm of the multi-material design. Particular attention is paid to the metallic alloys sector and progress in global R&D activities that cover the “lightweight steel”, conventional aluminum, and magnesium alloys, together with well-established technologies of components manufacturing and future-oriented solutions, and with both adjusting to a transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. Moreover, opportunities and challenges that the lightweighting creates are discussed with strategies of achieving its goals through structural engineering, including the metal-matrix composites, laminates, sandwich structures, and bionic-inspired archetypes. The profound role of the aerospace and car-racing industries is emphasized as the key drivers of lightweighting in mainstream automotive vehicles.

Pilot studies on circular economy solution for the coal mining sector

The coal mining sector is being particularly affected by the saline waste waters problem. One of the possible solutions is to use the effluents as the source of raw materials: demineralized water, salt, magnesium hydroxide. This paper presents the results obtained in a pilot plant of capacity of 400 L/h, which was in operation for 9 months in the “Bolesław Śmiały” coal mine in Łaziska Górne, Poland. The coal mine water was being pre-treated with ultrafiltration and decarbonization and subjected to a two-pass nanofiltration, which splits the feed into two streams: salt-rich permeate, and calcium- and magnesium-rich retentate, which can be used for recovery of magnesium hydroxide by either conventional precipitation or by CrIEM technology. The nanofiltration permeate was concentrated in a hybrid reverse osmosis-electrodialysis system, producing demineralized water and highly saline concentrate, which could be used as a feedstock for salt production by either thermal crystallization or eutectic freeze crystallization.

A Framework for Addressing Circularity Challenges in Cities with Nature-Based Solutions

A novel framework is presented that aims to guide practitioners and decision makers toward a better understanding of the role of nature-based solutions (NBS) in the enhancement of resources management in cities, and the mainstreaming of NBS in the urban fabric. Existing frameworks describing the use of NBS to address urban challenges do not specifically consider circularity challenges. Thus, the new framework provides the following: (1) a comprehensive set of Urban Circularity Challenges (UCCs); (2) a set of more than fifty NBS units and NBS interventions thoroughly assessed in terms of their potential to address UCCs; and (3) an analysis of input and output resource streams, which are both required for and produced during operation of NBS. The new framework aims to facilitate the coupling of individual NBS units and NBS interventions with NBS that enable circular economy solutions.

From Waste Pickers to Producers: An Inclusive Circular Economy Solution through Development of Cooperatives in Waste Management

The world’s global plastics waste crisis demands policy coordination and technological solutions to improve waste management systems, and organizations worldwide have created momentum around the concept of a circular economy. This paper advances a holistic, inclusive circular economy framework that aims to empower waste pickers with the following basic pillars: (1) build collaborative networks of stakeholders to enable inclusion of waste pickers; (2) establish cooperative enterprise models to integrate waste pickers into the formal economy; (3) build waste pickers’ technical skills and capacity for entrepreneurship; and (4) provide access to technologies and markets that enable waste pickers to manufacture upcycled products.

The multidimensional effects of single-use and packaging plastic strategies on German household waste management.

Single-use and packaging plastic (SUPP) strategies are intended to transform the linear make-use-dispose economy of SUPPs into a more circular, resource-efficient one. The aim of this study was to identify optimal SUPP management concepts from a circular-economy-perspective by assessing the effects of different SUPP strategies on household waste management. Data on the generation and management of SUPP-containing household waste in Germany in 2017 were compiled and a material flow model was established. Regulatory SUPP strategies were translated into scenarios (with effects on waste generation and waste composition) and implemented in the material flow model. The effects on material efficiency, waste generation and lower heating values were evaluated and trade-offs between these target dimensions were identified. In Germany in 2017, 32kg per person and year of SUPP household waste were generated, of which 28kg per person and year was packaging waste. From a material efficiency perspective, the combination of banning specific non-packaging SUPPs and optimizing source-separation leads to the maximum increase in final recycling rates of SUPPs in household waste, from 38% to 50%. However, in this scenario the amount of SUPP-containing household waste is hardly reduced as compared to the status quo. The trade-offs observed in different waste management target dimensions highlight the importance of understanding the systemic effects of SUPP strategies on waste management in order to identify optimal solutions from a circular-economy-perspective.

Industrial disassembling as a key enabler of circular economy solutions for obsolete electric vehicle battery systems

Electro-mobility is considered a key strategy to reduce GHG emissions in the transport sector and to make individual mobility more sustainable. However, the production of electric vehicles is accompanied by high environmental impacts, mainly due to the resource intensive high-voltage battery systems. Hence, a prerequisite for sustainable electro-mobility – beside the provision of renewable energy for vehicle charging – is a well-functioning and efficient circular use system of electric vehicle battery systems (EVBs). While the production of EVBs has been continuously improved in recent years with high levels of automation to reduce production costs and to increase capacities, end-of-life (EoL) treatment of EVBs is still rather simplistic with rough manual disassembling before in most cases pyro-metallurgical treatment. In this paper, we argue for the need of industrial disassembly systems to reach higher levels of circularity. In the best case, these systems are highly automated and use lifecycle information including production and use-phase data for decision support to enable optimum utilization at a module or even cell level. These pathways include both second-life concepts such as repurposing or reconditioning and high-level direct recycling of active materials. To demonstrate the advantages of an industrial disassembling in EoL battery treatment, we systematically analyze different utilization pathways and we compare state-of-the-art treatment with an advanced disassembly system. The qualitative argumentation is substantiated by quantitative stochastic simulation as well as cost and lifecycle data. We show that only with a well-functioning industrial disassembling, efficient closed-loop-supply-chains (CLSCs) for EVBs can be achieved.

Creating a Circular Economy in the Automotive Industry: The Contribution of Combining Crowdsourcing and Delphi Research

The circular economy (CE) is an essential societal topic of the 21st century. Although various scientific disciplines address it, many research gaps exist. The Delphi is a proven instrument for managerial decisions, which also gained importance in sustainability-oriented innovation research. Likewise, innovation processes using the input of crowds are emerging phenomena. Nevertheless, the Web of Science publication record includes a few articles applying crowdsourcing or the Delphi method to support CE-oriented management decisions only, and their further application has limitations. Addressing these gaps, this article presents an advanced concept integrating both methods to support the development of CE products and software responding to the worldwide need for more sustainable automotive products and CE solutions for tyres specifically. A combination of two-stage crowdsourcing and Delphi approaches was used, involving 509 participants from the EU member state Germany in total. This article provides, in particular, five contributions: First, it identified specific benefits of combining crowdsourcing and the Delphi method. Second, the attractiveness of a CE software system with product configuration tools is shown. Third, the interest in a quality label for sustainable tyres is unveiled. As the fourth contribution, the analyses show the importance of the CE software’s and labels’ consideration of social aspects in the tyre value chain and certain substances influencing appropriate recycling. Fifth, it represents consumers’ suggestions for products made of tyre recyclates and their interest in additional CE automotive products. The article finishes with recommendations for developing a tyre CE and applying the method combination in research and management.