New Materials For A Circular Economy

Waste to Wealth proves that 'green' and 'growth' need not be binary alternatives. The book examines five new business models that provide circular growth from deploying sustainable resources to the sharing economy before setting out what business leaders need to do to implement the models successfully.

A circular and environment-friendly economy could displace the linear economy as it is in use around the world. This would involve enlarged life cycles for products, and an increase in the efficiency of electric and electronic devices. The generation of new materials will be essential, as well as materials recycling or conversion after use. This book discusses new ways of production, management, recycling and conversion of new and regular materials. Keywords: Microplastics, Lignocellulose-Based Materials, Food Packaging, Biorefinery, Solar Energy, Reused Materials, Recycling of Plastics, Biopolymers, Composites, Polymeric Systems, CO2 Capture, Anticorrosive Polymeric Coatings, Metallic Structures, Scrap for New Steel, Nanomaterials, Waste from Electronic Components, Future of Cars, Raw Materials, Biomaterials, Bioeconomy, Circular Bioeconomy, Polymeric Electrolytes, Fuel Cells.

Fashion is part of a paradigm shift transforming its manufacturing models. Beauty, creativity, elegance and originality, the main values of fashion, have long been considered as unrelated or antithetical to sustainability and environmental protection. The border that used to separate them has been crossed. The paradigm shift occurred in the first decade of the new century involving negligible vibrations, which in the last few years, have quickly turned into a big wave pushing a large part of the industry, still chaotically and contradictorily, including leading brands that now consider commitment to sustainability as a distinctive feature of their identity. Materials are therefore back in the spotlight, being the basis for designers to express their creativity, which is still the main engine of fashion. Materials allow reviewing the importance of supply chains, from yarns to fabrics, from materials-enriching finishing to manufacturing of garments and accessories. Neo-Materials in Circular Economy - Fashion is an updated overview of changes occurring in one of the most relevant industries of global economy. Starting from the analysis of materials, divided into three large areas (renewable, non-renewable and recycled), the book examines use of water and chemicals and eventually provides an overview of initiatives on sustainability implemented by small and big brands. Complemented by interviews with some of the most innovative players of the industry, this book is going to become a benchmark on this issue, which is undeniably crucial for fashion.

This book provides an overview of a circular economy. This model has profound consequences for production, employment, education, money & finance but also induces a shift in public policy and taxation. Its economic advantage lies in designing out waste and favouring radical resource productivity with the prospect of rebuilding capital & resilience.

This book is a call to arms to all architects, designers and built environment professionals. To avoid a climate catastrophe and achieve a regenerative built environment, the use of new materials and any excess waste in resources need to be cut out from the very beginning of the design process. This requires far-reaching change in established industry processes. How might this begin? What are the key fundamentals you need to know? How can a more effective model be applied? This book, a much-updated second edition of the author’s previous work Building Revolutions, answers all your questions. Inspiring, but never overwhelming, the Handbook to Building a Circular Economy is your must-have companion to helping create a more sustainable future. It explains in simple and practical terms how the principles of a circular economy can be applied to the built environment, thereby reducing the resources required to construct, fit-out, maintain and refurbish buildings. Case studies include: The Forge, UK, by Landsec The Bath School of Art, UK, by Grimshaw Urban Mining and Recycling Experimental Unit, Switzerland, by Werner Sobek NASA Sustainability Base, USA, by William McDonough + Partners University of East Anglia Enterprise Centre, UK, by Architype Park 20|20, The Netherlands, by William McDonough + Partners.

The concept of a circular economy in the construction sector captures global material flow through product design, inverse logistics, innovation and collaborations. The circulation of the economy takes into consideration global population influence, which affects the economy through a variety of construction product flows in particular. The increase in consumers means increasing product and services which participate in different waste streams. The emerging sustainable development in the construction industry requires the recycling of waste materials to reduce the negative environmental impact of construction activities. Accumulation and management of construction wastes is also becoming a major environmental and economical concern in many developing countries. Huge volumes of waste generated end up piled on landfill sites or illegally dumped, posing serious health and ecological problems. In the construction industry, recycling of waste concrete, masonry, cement, gypsum, to mention but a few, has become an important aspect due to the continued increase of construction wastes and depletion of natural aggregates. Why not establish a business system that is specifically designed to do much more value addition to the construction wastes and develop products which are not only in demand locally but internationally, to encourage exports for maximum financial gain. This book aims to analyze the current business model in the construction sector and the current legislation concerning waste management. It also highlights efforts required in order to refine the recycling methods in favor of a circular economy in the constuction industry. In support of a transition to a low carbon economy, different types of materials which can be produced from the construction wastes are indicated including processes which are used to obtain the final products. The market demand including penetration of the resulting products are given extensively. Policies and regulations to govern these undertakings are highlighted also. The municipalities will learn to redirect the local construction industries on how to avoid dumping at landfill sites as the space has currently become an issue. Researchers globally will learn how to go up through the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) from basic research through prototype development and finally up to commercialization in projects related to the construction.

This book is purposefully styled as an introductory textbook on circular economy (CE) for the benefit of educators and students of universities. It provides comprehensive knowledge exemplified by practices from policy, education, R&D, innovation, design, production, waste management, business and financing around the world. The book covers sectors such as agriculture/food, packaging materials, build environment, textile, energy, and mobility to inspire the growth of circular business transformation. It aims to stimulate action among different stakeholders to drive CE transformation. It elaborates critical driving forces of CE including digital technologies; restorative innovations; business opportunities & sustainable business model; financing instruments, regulation & assessment and experiential education programs. It connects a CE transformation for reaching the SDGs2030 and highlights youth leadership and entrepreneurship at all levels in driving the sustainability transformation.

This open access book provides insight into the implementation of Life Cycle approaches along the entire business value chain, supporting environmental, social and economic sustainability related to the development of industrial technologies, products, services and policies; and the development and management of smart agricultural systems, smart mobility systems, urban infrastructures and energy for the built environment. The book is based on papers presented at the 8th International Life Cycle Management Conference that took place from September 3-6, 2017 in Luxembourg, and which was organized by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) and the University of Luxembourg in the framework of the LCM Conference Series.