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In the past decades, the German paper industry has been increasing the sustainability of paper production by continuously using more recovered paper. Today, recovered paper is an essential secondary raw material to produce new paper. Nevertheless, around 20 % of the paper produced in Germany is still not returned to the recovered paper stream and instead is mostly thermally used. To further increase the use of fibers from recovered paper as secondary raw material and thus, to reduce primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, new approaches to recycle recovered paper from mixed waste streams are needed. In the research project "Energy savings in paper production by opening up the value chains of recovered paper from lightweight packaging, residual waste and commercial waste" (EnEWA), a treatment process is developed to recover and recycle recovered paper from the mentioned waste streams. The advanced mechanical process to be newly developed consists of dry-mechanical sorting, the manufacturing of economically usable secondary raw materials (defibration), their wet-mechanical dissolution, separation and hygienization and finally their reuse in paper production. This enables the exploitation of new waste streams in material recycling and thus contributes to reduced energy consumption as well as CO2 emissions within the circular economy. Initial material characterization analyses show that on the one hand the quality of the paper discarded in mixed waste streams is sufficient to be used as secondary raw material and that on the other hand up to 50 % of the paper discarded could have been disposed of within the separate paper collection. The results are incorporated in the development of a sorting process for pre-concentrates, which serves as input material for the treatment process to recover paper fibers. In further steps, the results generated will be integrated, for instance, into the future development of the minimum standard for packaging recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing pressure on natural resources and the climate has been noted by businesses and governments worldwide, who now face the difficult task of integrating paths of environmental sustainability and economic growth. One promising approach to sustainable development, reducing the pressure on natural resources and solving waste problems is circular economy. From different ways of implementing circular economy, this study focuses on the productization of industrial side streams, which carry a great deal of underutilized potential. In this article, the productization of pulp and paper industry side stream, fiber sludge, for commercial use as a dust-binding agent is studied via a descriptive, in-depth case study. Apart from inconsistent quality, fluctuating supply, cost of storage and logistics, what makes industrial side stream utilization challenging is the lack of knowledge that stakeholders have about side streams and their utilization and the lack of new value chain development for their commercial use. Therefore, it is essential for all parties involved to have a clearer vision of what is being sold for what purposes, through productization. This study found that the productization of side streams follows the same steps as the productization of any other traditional product, and the productized side streams can be added to the company's product portfolio as by-products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance aramid papers are ideal insulating materials in the electric industry, due to their superior mechanical strength and insulation capabilities. However, when subjected to prolonged high-voltage and high-power operations, these papers are prone to electrical damage, such as breakdown or corona aging. Unfortunately, most damaged aramid papers are viewed as mere waste, discarded through landfill or other unsustainable disposal methods. It is not only contrary to circular economy principles but also poses a significant environmental threat due to the potential for pollution. Herein, a closed-loop recycling strategy is proposed that efficiently and effectively reclaims electrically damaged meta-aramid papers. Using the DMAc/LiCl deprotonation system, waste aramid papers are completely decomposed into molecular chains, exposing carbon residues resulting from electrical breakdown. These carbon residues are removed through a step-by-step purification process. A reprotonation treatment is then applied to regenerate new meta-aramid papers by reforming the intermolecular hydrogen bonds. This approach not only fully restores the original honeycomb-like structure but also ensures the crystallization and hydrogen bond content, maintaining both electrical and mechanical properties at above 90 % of their original values. Notably, our recycling method is also compatible with aramid-based composites, achieving exceptional recycling efficiency. [Display omitted] • Electrically damaged meta-aramid paper can be recycled in a closed loop. • The DMAc/LiCl system completely dissolves waste aramid into PMIA molecular chains. • Carbon residues induced by electrical breakdown can be removed by purification. • The synergistic conservation of electrical and mechanical properties exceeds 90 %. • Closed loop recycling strategy is also viable for inorganic-aramid composite paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Papermaking enterprises are currently under both environmental pressure and economic pressure for sustainable development in China. Thus, the efficiency, effectiveness, and benefits of resource utilization need to be improved. High-consumption and high-pollution companies should manufacture paper using sustainable methods. This study highlights a resource value flow analysis from the circular economy perspective, developing an extension of material flow cost accounting and modifying it by accounting for environmental damage as well as economic benefits. With reference to the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, this specific case study was conducted to verify the comprehensive utility of resource value flow analysis by establishing decision-making prioritization according to the dualistic diagnosis of "internal resource loss–external environmental damage costs." In general, applying a resource value flow analysis can both reduce resource consumption and minimize environmental damage, enhancing the sustainable development of a process industry with limited resources. Highlights • Material flows and value flows form an interactive unit in the resource value flow analysis model. • The resource value flow analysis model extends the environmental dimension of material flow cost accounting. • A dualistic diagnosis of "internal resource loss and external environmental damage costs" can achieve both economic profits and environmental benefits. • The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle was introduced to strengthen the practical application of the resource value flow analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical upcycling of plastic waste from landfills to value-added products offers both economic and environmental benefits. Reported here is a simple method to convert high-density polyethylene (HDPE) into upcycled waxes in a very high yield (up to 93%). This selectivity is achieved by reducing the degradation temperature of HDPE via the addition of an inexpensive and reusable sodium chloride. These upcycled waxes had performance comparable to those of commercial rheology modifiers. In addition, kraft paper coated with these upcycled waxes exhibited excellent water- and oil resistance. A preliminary revenue analysis showed that this innovation allows plastic-to-wax to conversion with a three-fold revenue benefit over traditional ways of producing pyrolysis waxes from plastics. Also, sodium chloride reduces the pyrolysis temperature, thus reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, supporting cleaner production, a circular economy, and generating less environmental pollution. The underlying concept reported herein can be extended to major plastics by reducing the degradation temperatures of plastics, thereby obtaining even better control over the pyrolysis products. Thus, these findings have the potential to enhance the circular economy of plastics and protect our environment from plastic waste. SYNOPSIS. Chemical upcycling of post-consumer polyethylene via a sodium chloride-catalyzed process. [Display omitted] • Demonstrated table salt-assisted pyrolysis of high-density polyethylene. • Converted polyethylene into upcycled waxes at mild temperatures and in high-yield. • Used upcycled waxes as rheology modifiers and water-proof coating material. • Performed preliminary revenue analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work describes the combination of granulated biomass fly ash (G BFA) with Fenton process to enhance the removal of adsorbable organic halides (AOX) from pulp bleaching wastewater. At optimal operating conditions, wastewater's chemical and biochemical oxygen demand (COD and BOD 5 , respectively) and colour were also quantified, and operating cost of treatment assessed. For the first time, raw pulp bleaching wastewater was used to granulate BFA, instead of water, reducing the water footprint of the treatment. Five wastewater treatment setups were studied: (i) conventional Fenton process; (ii) G BFA application; (iii) simultaneous application of G BFA and Fenton process; (iv) sequential treatment by G BFA followed by Fenton process; (v) sequential treatment by Fenton process followed by G BFA. The latter yielded the highest AOX removal (60–70%), whilst COD was also reduced (≈15%) and wastewater biodegradability (BOD 5 /COD) was enhanced from 0.075 to a maximum of 0.134. Another positive feature of the proposed solution was that G BFA were successfully recovered and reused without regeneration, yielding similar AOX removal compared with fresh G BFA. The operating cost of removing 1 g of AOX from the pulp bleaching wastewater by the optimal treatment setup (60–70% removal of AOX) was 14–26% lower than the operating cost of conducting Fenton process alone (50% removal of AOX). [Display omitted] • Biomass fly ash was unprecedently granulated with raw pulp bleaching wastewater. • Granulated biomass fly ash (G BFA) was coupled with Fenton process to degrade AOX. • Sequential treatment of Fenton followed by G BFA yielded AOX removals of 60–70%. • COD was reduced (≈15%) and wastewater biodegradability (BOD 5 /COD) was enhanced. • Sequential coupling process was 14–26% cheaper than conventional Fenton process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the Digital Product Passport (DPP) as a key tool for achieving a circular economy. An architecture of the DPP is presented built upon the principles of data spaces and W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs). By leveraging data spaces, the DPP enables secure and controlled data exchange among stakeholders, fostering transparency, traceability, and collaboration throughout the product's lifecycle. The use of decentralized identifiers ensures the uniqueness and verifiability of product-related information, facilitating seamless access and sharing of data. The DPP architecture offers a promising framework for realizing the circular economy by promoting resource efficiency, sustainable practices, and informed decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comprehensive review explores recent advancements in the manufacturing of cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-based cellulose nanopaper (CNP). The analysis delves into customizing CNPs through nanofiber manufacturing, mechanical refining, and chemical treatments. The report underscores the growing interest in CNPs derived from CNF due to their exceptional properties and eco-friendly attributes. CNP strength significantly enhanced through mechanical refining encompassing cellulose nanofibrillation were breaking down of cellulose into nanofibers takes place. Conversely, dense CNF network formed through filtration and casting method. Chemical treatments such as dispersion, functionalization, and coating methods followed by drying and consolidation introduce custom functionalities for diverse applications. These applications span packaging, electronics, energy harvesting, EMI shielding, optoelectronics, nanogenerators, transparent conducting films, water treatment, bioelectronics, and neuromorphic computing. The study conducts an in-depth investigation to assess CNP's effects on promoting sustainability and minimizing environmental waste, making a significant contribution to the circular economy. This investigation underscores the pursuit of innovation and aligns with the principles of progressing toward a more environmentally sustainable future. [Display omitted] • Explores CNF production, refining and chemical treatments for CNP customization. • Remarkable properties of CNP draw academic and industrial interest. • CNP applied in packaging, electronics, energy, and environmental science. • Investigates role of CNP in circular economy. • Emphasizes CNPs as eco-friendly, fostering innovation and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates for the first time the possibility of using carbon rich paper recovery sludge, and nitrogen rich meat processing industry waste as cultivation medium for the production of high value enzymes needed in the respective industries. The complex cellulose rich deinking sludge was able to support the growth of many industrially relevant enzyme producing microorganisms (Bacillus licheniformis, Candida cylindracea, Aspergillus oryzae, Trichoderma reesei) and of recombinant enzyme producers (Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris). Further detailed studies with Trichoderma reesei as model organism demonstrated that the organism was able to grow optimally in the presence of 40gL-1 paper sludge as carbon source and 67.5 gL-1 pasteurised blood as nitrogen source substituted in Mandels medium. Under these conditions cellulase activities up to 28.1 nkat FPU were achieved. Anyhow, to achieve these results pretreatment of both waste streams is inevitable. In summary, this study provides the practical basis for a valorisation systems of paper industry waste to produce valuable enzymes to be used on-site in paper processing or for other purposes. Image 1 • Blood and paper waste used for microorganism growth. • Growth and cellulase production achieved utilising blood waste streams. • Pretreatment of paper waste and blood waste is necessary. • Waste to Value with in house use of cellulase in paper industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collection, as the first stage of the recycling process, and pre-processing to increase waste stream purity constitute key operations for achieving high recycling rates and a closed loop in the circular economy. For wastepaper recycling in Hong Kong, it is the semi-formal-informal recycling (SFIR) sector that plays a central role in both stages. This study analyses the so far little explored SFIR stakeholder network in Hong Kong and sheds light on value chains, recovered waste paper quantities and the impact of policies on the sector. The findings show that SFIR stakeholders reclaim 55.6 t/recycling station/month of wastepaper and thereby achieve about a 5.7 times higher reclaim rate than the formal-private recycling system. Critical to this achievement is the SFIR transaction network, which enables its stakeholders to develop a value chain and thereby generate an added value of around 1900 HKD (243.9 USD/t) for wastepaper. Given limited circular structures in Hong Kong, financial subsidies are critical to sustain the SFIR's operations over the short-term. However, over the long-term legalization and integration of its stakeholders are necessary to ensure an economically and socially sustainable wastepaper recovery system in Hong Kong. [Display omitted] • Qualitative & quantitative analysis of the semi-formal-informal recycling (SFIR) sector. • The SFIR's wastepaper value chain achieves a cumulative added value of 1900 HKD/t. • The SFIR recovered 5.7 times higher capacities than the formal system in 2021. • Financial support can enhance the SFIR sector's recovery capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production systems are being restructured to close production cycles via implementing circular economy (CE) practices. The planted tree industry in Brazil has shown potential for applying CE practices due to its efficient use of resources and inclination towards environmental innovation. However, some gaps and difficulties have been observed in several industrial segments so that the logic of the circular production system is put into practice more effectively and intensely. In this context, the aim was to investigate the use and impacts of CE practices in the Brazilian planted tree industry by sector of operation and scale of enterprises based on the ReSOLVE framework. Data were collected from 34 companies that answered a questionnaire, corresponding to 47.2% of Brazilian planted tree industry companies. Data analysis involved univariate and multivariate statistical techniques, considering the grouping of companies by sector of activity (forest producer, pulp and paper, and timber processing) and scale (small, medium, and large). The results revealed that "pulp and paper" and medium- and large-scale companies had the most significant application of CE practices and reported more significant impacts. [Display omitted] • Explores a segmented analysis of the circular economy by scale and sub-sector groups. • Scores of circular practices and their impacts are presented according to the groups. • The association between circular practices and impacts by group are analyzed. • Propositions to enable the adoption of circular practices are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we investigate the market size of all materials and products presently produced from (organic) carbon and we present a method to estimate the intrinsic recycling potential of these materials/chemicals as a function of their respective applications. The method is based on the expert assessment of a number of variables that are important within the different application categories and markets of the carbon-based materials/chemicals. Applying the method, the paper presents the recycling potential of all carbon-based products. Following, an estimation of the amount of new products that can be produced each year through recycling of discarded products is presented and the amount of carbon that needs to come from other sustainable sources to fulfil our demand for new products is calculated. We distinguish nine different categories of (organic) carbon-based materials/chemicals: plastics, textile fibres, thermoset resins, rubbers, surfactants, solvents, fine chemicals, paper/board and wood products. Within these nine categories the most important materials/chemicals types were taken into account. Fossil-based and bio-based materials/chemicals were assessed separately. For each of the materials/chemicals types, the market size in terms of mass (Mt) was calculated for the main applications in which they are applied. Next, for all materials/chemicals types in these applications, the maximum recycling potential, in case mechanical or physical recycling methods are applied, was assessed, using an expert panel. Also, inevitable leakage of materials/chemicals in the different applications was assessed. Finally, the amount of feedstock coming from recycling streams that may be made available for chemical recycling or carbon capture and utilisation technologies was derived. From this, the magnitude of carbon-based materials/chemicals that need to be replaced each year by other renewable feedstock than recycled content in terms of Mton carbon was calculated. The analysis is relevant in view of implementation of a circular economy and reuse and recycling of materials, to combat depletion of raw materials. Next, it is relevant in view of phasing out fossil-feedstock to combat climate change. Our analysis indicates that the recycling potential of carbon-based materials and products through mechanical or physical methods lies around 50%, even in a system that is fully optimised for recycling. Chemical recycling and carbon capture and utilisation may provide another 25% of the renewable-carbon feedstock needed, but they generally require far more energy and other inputs to produce new materials and chemicals than the mechanical and physical recycling methods. The remaining demand for renewable-carbon feedstock thus needs to come from either biomass or CO 2 through carbon capture and utilisation technologies. Based on our findings, we argue that the composition of our present carbon-based products pool needs to be redesigned on a fundamental molecular level, towards material types that contain more oxygen. Carbon-based materials that contain more oxygen generally can be recycled more efficiently, and are also easier to produce from the alternative feedstocks biomass and CO 2 through CCU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to quantify and compare the environmental impact of a number of different deinking sludge utilization approaches. A comparative life cycle assessment of deinking sludge material and energy recovery was performed for the baseline scenario—landfill disposal, and four alternative scenarios: two cement plants, a lightweight aggregate plant, and a stone wool plant. Sludge pretreatment and transportation processes were included in the scenario analyses. The results of the life cycle assessment showed that the use of dry deinking sludge in a cement plant in Finland, 45 km from the point of supply of the deinking sludge, to substitute 46% of the petcoke and 2.7% of the limestone showed the best performance. Therein, a global warming potential reduction of 13% and an eutrophication potential reduction of 12% – the highest reduction out of all impact categories studied – were achieved. A similar reduction in global warming potential of 12% was achieved when deinking sludge was incinerated and the ash utilized in cement production in a Russian plant located 350 km from the paper mill. However, abiotic depletion potential and acidification potential slightly increased by 2.6 and 1.5%, respectively. A maximum reduction of 2.1% out of al impact categories was achieved when dry sludge was used in a lightweight aggregate plant. That is considerably less compared to the reduction achieved at the cement plants. The use of deinking sludge ash in a stone wool plant to substitute 25% of cement resulted in a maximum reduction of 25% in the ozone layer depletion potential. Thus, the utilization of deinking sludge in construction materials production while preventing its landfilling has beneficial effects on the environment, in particular decreased greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The textile industry is facing increasing criticism because of its intensive use of resources –both natural and fossil derived– and the negative environmental and societal impacts associated with the manufacturing, use and disposal of clothes. This has led to a desire to move towards a circular economy for textiles that will implement recycling concepts and technologies to protect resources, the environment and people. So far, recycling processes have been focused on the chemical and mechanical reuse of textile fibres. In contrast, bio-based processes for textile production and recycling have received little attention, beyond end-of-life composting. However, the selectivity and benign processing conditions associated with bio-based technologies hold great promise for circularising the textile life cycle and reducing the environmental impacts of textile production and processing. Developing circular and sustainable systems for textile production requires a revolutionary system approach that encompasses the choice of material and finishes being designed for recycling at the end of life, and in this context bio-based processes can help provide the means to maintain materials in a closed loop. This paper reviews established methods in mechanical and chemical recycling processes in closed-loop textile recycling of all fibre types, as well as bio-based processes that demonstrate open-loop textile recycling. Fermentation and enzymatic processes have been demonstrated for the production of all types of textiles, which in combination with enzymatic deconstruction of end of life cellulosic textiles could allow them to be recycled indefinitely. Within the context of the circular economy, bio-based processes could extend mechanical and chemical textile recycling mechanisms in the technical cycle, enabling greater circularity of textiles in the biological cycle before composting takes place. [Display omitted] • Closed-loop mechanical and technical recycling of textiles has been established. • Enzymatic processes can deconstruct all fibre types in open-loop textile recycling. • Biochemical processes can establish textiles circularity in the biological cycle. • Biotechnology can modify the concept of separate biological and technical cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formal scavenging grants material circularity, but its potential contribution to the sustainability of a Supply Chain (SC) is far from being a trivial issue. Thus, this paper aims to understand what is the impact of formal scavenging on the sustainability of an SC and quantify it. Accordingly, a case study in an Italian Pulp and Paper circular SC was developed through the lenses of the Triple Bottom Line. This SC consists of five groups of stakeholders and a formal scavenger that collects and redistributes wastepaper. The findings show that, in a one-year time window, the formal scavenger generated an economic value of over €3 million and led to saving 718 tCO 2 e and an energy equivalent to that consumed by 1000 average Italian families every year. In addition, it created new stable jobs and directly contributed to decreasing the waste tax in the geographical area in which it operates. Furthermore, formal scavenging proved to be effective in building up SC resilience in the face of unexpected changes in the prices and volumes of wastepaper. The results contribute to framing formal scavenging as a collaboration-based solution to enable the achievement of sustainability benefits in closed-loop SCs and provide actionable suggestions for SC managers and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hospitals in the Netherlands generate approximately 1.3 million kg of waste from the polypropylene (PP) wrapping paper (WP) used to wrap surgical instruments each year. The aim of this study was to develop a method to recycle WP waste into new medical devices. WP was recovered from Maasstad Hospital, Netherlands. The WP was melted into bars, granulated, and mixed with virgin material at different ratios and temperatures. Dog bones were injection-molded from volume (v.%) virgin, mixed (%R), and recycled (100%R) granulate, and a tensile testing machine was used to compare the material properties before and after ten disinfection cycles at the sterilization department. Then, 25 instrument openers were made from the 50%R material and circulated for four weeks. The data indicated no significant differences in the mechanical properties at different melting temperatures. For dog bones made from the 100%R, 50%R, and virgin granulate, the Young's moduli were 1021 (SD13), 879 (SD13), and 795 (SD14) MPa, and the strains were 8%, 12%, and 14%. Ten disinfection cycles did not significantly change the material properties. After one month, the openers did not show any deterioration or damage other than surface scratches. The results indicated that the initial WP melting temperature did not influence the mechanical properties. Although devices could be produced directly from the recycled WP granulate, increasing the recycled granulate in the mix ratio increased the strength and brittleness. It is feasible to recycle WP waste into a high-quality raw material for the injection molding of medical devices without using additives. This would allow hospitals to become more compliant with the circular economy enabling economically viable and circular processes that positively contribute to cleaner technical processes, sustainable products, and the reduction of medical waste. ⁃ Circular reprocessing of surgical waste into high quality raw material. ⁃ Enables cleaner processes for reduction of medical waste. ⁃ Increases sustainable development. ⁃ A new method to decrease the production of medical waste. ⁃ Decreases the shortage of base materials and costs. ⁃ Environmental and sustainability assessment: designs for products based on the "green" wishes of customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial alkaline battery recycling process produces an organic fraction (OF) consisting of waste paper, plastic and cardboard. Currently, this OF is used for energy recovery, given the absence of a successful alternative recycling approach, attributed to its contamination and limited economic value. This study explored the valorisation of the organic fraction derived from the recycling of alkaline batteries as a foaming agent in the production of lightweight expanded clay aggregates (LECAs). The OF, was mixed with red stoneware atomized paste (RSAP) in varying proportions (5–30 wt%) and fired at temperatures between 1000 and 1200 °C. The volumetric expansion, density, and compressive strength of the resulting aggregates were determined via mineralogical and microstructural characterization. The results indicate the organic fraction's suitability as an expansion agent, particularly at 1200 °C with 5–15 wt% inclusion, showcasing density (0.65–0.75 g/cm3) and compressive strength (1.34–1.39 MPa) comparable to commercial expanded clays. The microstructural analysis revealed the formation of rounded pores, influenced by the firing temperature and OF content. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) compared the environmental impacts of this process with traditional LECA manufacturing, highlighting the potential environmental benefits of using recycled battery waste. This study marks the first incorporation of this battery waste residue into LECA manufacturing, providing valuable insights into its environmental implications and paving the way for sustainable waste management practices. [Display omitted] • Organic fraction of alkaline industrial battery recycling enhances clay expansion. • It is a viable additive for manufacturing lightweight expanded clay aggregates. • First-time inclusion of this type of residue in lightweight aggregates manufacturing. • Life Cycle Assessment shows light variations in most impact categories. • Notable enhancements in alkaline battery recycling efficiency could be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upcycling agroindustry residues into new valuable products is a strategy for mitigating environmental impacts while increasing material circularity. In this study, two sizes of eggshell particles (D 90 = 7.1 μm (ESAJ) and D 90 = 16.3 μm (ESBU)) were obtained and their incorporation as fillers into biodegradable pectin/starch film was evaluated. The effect of the presence of eggshell particles (2–8 w/w%) on the structural and morphological aspects, water barrier, and mechanical, optical, and thermal properties of the biocomposites was evaluated and then the reinforced film was applied on the surface of kraft paper. The release of calcium in an acidic solution was inverse to the size and concentration of particles and the released íon may contribute to the crosslinking of pectin. The incorporation of only 2 % eggshell resulted in 42% lower solubility of the film. The eggshell-reinforced films proved to be more opaque and rigid. The addition of 6% ESAJ significantly improved the tensile strength (an increase of 32%), modulus of elasticity (an increase of 29.7%), and water vapor barrier (59% of improvement). DSC analysis suggests that the calcium from the eggshell interacts with the pectin polymeric structure, reducing the sites available for water molecules, which may have caused more mobility of the chains through the matrix. The reinforced pectin/starch film was very well adhered to the kraft paper in the application test by continuous casting, but the coated paper showed no improvement in oil and water resistance, which means that other coating processes need to be explored. • Eggshell was used as a reinforcing filler material in pectin/starch film. • Eggshell particles were well adhered to the matrix. • The eggshell powder had improved the water resistance of the pectin/starch film. • The addition of 6% eggshell had increased the film's tensile strength in 32%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing market share of electric vehicles leads to a growing demand for raw materials such as lithium and cobalt, where the supply situation is fraught with risk. Product-specific challenges regarding high voltage, product state/variance, and labor shortage require flexible automated non-/ semi-/ destructive disassembly. However, there is a need to implement industrial, scalable automation approaches to deal with this problem. This paper addresses the development of a flexible robotic cell for the fully automated disassembly of battery modules from battery systems. The paper presents all required tools and processes for battery diagnoses, machine learning-based object recognition, loosening and removing fasteners, opening sealings, gripping components, separating cables and plugs, and removing the battery modules. Based on this, a sorted disposal/recycling of the material can be realized. Finally, the holistic robot cell, including a safety concept, is described using the example of an actual disassembly process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial technologies have evolved towards circular-oriented manufacturing. New approaches in the management of production systems are needed to guarantee the success of such a circular approach. This paper identifies three research questions related to the complexities of decision-making within CEs and defines the concept of Green Gateways in the circular economy. A Green Gateway is a type of decision that supports to realizing the full potential of products and materials. Indeed, the potential value of products and materials must be assessed and leveraged and the concept of Green Gateway will be useful to identify common decisions and to define a common framework in the future. The integration of digital information and digital twins of products, processes, and circular value and supply chains emerges as a key factor in guiding decision-makers effectively, especially for Green Gateways where adequate information, tools and methods must be used to manage value retention options, product flows, production and pricing decisions jointly with the multiple objectives of profitability and sustainability. Additionally, this paper explores specific examples of circular economy use cases, drawing attention to their similarities and highlighting key insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urgent need to act against climate change is emphasized in many initiatives, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the European Green Deal, and the Circular Economy Action Plan. The role of the industrial sector is crucial. Companies, however, have to operate in a very complex environment driven by digitization and are supposed to be more sustainable. This paper explores how companies can implement the ecological transformation, with a focus on the role of digital technologies and data in enabling the twin transition. This paper proposes an approach to support SMEs in the twin transition through a combination of digital and sustainable business model development. The concept includes an interdisciplinary methodology that combines qualitative and quantitative approaches, focusing on the latter. The suggested method collection includes adaptations of the business model canvas, value proposition analysis, data-driven decision-making, and the integration of environmental and economic considerations using the system of environmental-economic accounting. In particular, approaches to define the quantification of economic as well as ecological value will be key levers for sustainable implementation. By leveraging these approaches, SMEs can navigate the challenges of digital transformation and sustainability and contribute to a more sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, multiple crises have shown the fragility of global supply chains. In particular, climate change sheds light on the never-ending waste of resources caused by the linear economic model. In response, circular economy emerges as a promising alternative. Companies must rethink and innovate their business models, product life cycles, and underlying mindsets for a systemic transition. Cross-sectoral collaboration in networks is necessary to redesign, reuse, recycle, and remanufacture products and close the loop of material flows. First, projects and research on the concepts of open source hardware, open innovation, and open design show that openness can be a game-changer for the circular economy and circular business models. Although there has been growing interest, there is still a lack of comprehensive research examining possible synergies of openness and circularity, as well as identifying patterns for integrating these concepts into business models. This paper explores possible ways, prerequisites, and obstacles of open source concepts enabling circular value creation in industry. We combine explorative data from a literature review and more than 10 interviews with open source and circular economy experts. Furthermore, a total of 38 case studies of circular or open or open & circular business models were identified and selected for analysis. The empirical results were triangulated with existing business model patterns from the literature. The study presents a framework to describe open and circular business models and four prototypical patterns. In an exploratory approach, we identify necessary lines of future research in order to facilitate open source movements toward a circular economy. The paper provides insights for academics and practitioners from production and supply chain management. It combines interdisciplinary perspectives to unlock the potential of open source concepts and collaboration for enabling a circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decarbonizing the building sector to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) is a complex issue that poses significant challenges to the scientific community. In this context, the current paper aims to assess the viability of employing incinerated by-products as a sustainable mineral resource to produce sustainable geopolymers. To this end, the study focuses on the formulation of geopolymer binders using fly ash with various proportions (ranging from 0 % to 50 %) of metakaolin (MK), investigating their physico-mechanical, microstructural analysis as well as their sealing capacity. The results indicate that incorporating 30 % MK not only preserves good workability but also significantly improves mechanical strength, ensuring long-term durability by increasing bulk density and concurrently reducing water absorption and harmful porosity. Moreover, the results of the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) demonstrated that the released contaminants remained within the regulatory limits established by the USEPA. The geopolymer binder developed exhibited a significant reduction of 77.23 % and 57.92 % in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 -e) emissions and energy demand compared to conventional cement. This study introduces a novel approach to promoting a circular economy within the building sector. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large quantities of post-use glass packages are produced globally, that so need to be treated as waste: this is cause of a global environmental concern. Therefore, efforts are required for optimisation and promotion of re-use and recycling practices with a waste valorisation-oriented approach in a circular economy context. In this context, the study was aimed at documenting environmental damages and improvements related to recycling glass cullet into sodium silicate in water solution on a lab-scale chemical process. Life Cycle Assessment was applied for this purpose according to the specialised International Standards. The study highlighted that the environmental hotspots of the process stay in the production of electricity and of sodium hydroxide as both required for the chemical reaction development. Those two input items contribute 81.94% and 14.33% of the total damage associated with the whole lab process, that is equal to nearly 36.5 μpt. A 64% environmental damage reduction could be obtained by sourcing the process electricity requirements by means of a photovoltaic plant. Furthermore, through a sensitivity analysis, the authors proved that the investigated sodium silicate is appreciably more environmentally sustainable than the virgin-origin counterpart, whose environmental profile was measured in nearly 43 μpt. The study can be considered as a proof that, already in the design phase on a lab-scale dimension, it is possible to identify recycling paths that may contribute to implementing sustainable circular models of the economy. [Display omitted] • The paper investigates the recycling of post-use glass containers into sodium silicate. • Life Cycle Assessment was applied to a chemical process on the laboratory scale. • The functional unit was 41g sodium silicate. • Electricity consumption and sodium hydroxide production were the environmental hotspots. • Recycled sodium silicate was environmentally proven than the virgin counterpart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of CaO for lime-based plaster and render generates 1.2 t CO 2 /t CaO, consumes 1.78 t CaCO 3 /t CaO. This research paper examines the environmental and economic performance of upcycling paper mill sludge (PMS) and carbide lime (CL) as replacements for hydrated lime (HL) in lime-based plasters production. For this, a new Cradle-to-Gate industrial-scale inventory is designed, upscaling recent lab-scale innovations, investigating PMS and CL treatment processes, followed by a Cradle-to-Grave scenario analysis. The results show that incorporating CL in the plaster yields better environmental and economic outcomes compared to PMS. The intermediate treatment for CL is cost-effective and has low carbon emissions. The upcycling of CL eliminates 100% of CO 2 emissions, while PMS reduces emissions by 11%. The production of the traditional binder HL is more expensive than upcycling PMS (+69%) and CL (+65%), with carbon taxes accounting for 35%, 44% and 15% of production costs, respectively. The effect of an equilibrated carbon price to ensure fair market competition, considering the natural carbonation of lime (carbon credit) is discussed, and the cost assessment reveals a 47% and 54% reduction for upcycled plasters using PMS and CL, respectively, compared to traditional HL. [Display omitted] • Availability, properties, and treatments of secondary lime resources. • Industrial-scale inventory for upcycling carbide lime (CL) & paper sludge (PS). • Cradle-to-Grave assessment: CL reduces CO 2 most, trailed by PS and hydrated lime. • Key factors for Cradle-to-Grave impact: lime kiln heat consumption (PS) and drying operation (CL). • Cost analysis of carbon taxes and credits across the material's life-cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The space community is moving forward with the development of in-orbit servicing and removal technologies to enable the circular economy in space and improve future space missions' scientific and commercial return and space environment exploitation. The application of nanosatellites to carry out proximity operations presents an additional opportunity to support various novel and cost-effective distributed mission architectures. The SpEye CubeSat mission, funded by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana in the framework of the Alcor Program, aims at demonstrating inspection and rendezvous guidance navigation and control capabilities of a nanosatellite in close-proximity of the satellite carrier in a low Earth orbit environment. This paper focuses on the design of the SpEye mission and on the guidance and control strategies to enable its technological demonstrations. Particular attention is placed on the safety aspects of trajectory design, considered of paramount importance for the robust autonomous operations of a low-cost CubeSat in proximity to another satellite. • CubeSat mission for proximity operations demonstration. • In-orbit experiments applicable to the In-Orbit Servicing (IOS) and Active Debris Removal (ADR) domains. • Mission design and ConOps of a nanosatellite mission released by a carrier for proximity operations purposes. • Safe inspection design considering the optimisation of information cost metric. • Close range rendezvous solved with sequential convex programming and with enhanced safety applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industry 4.0 technologies have become one of the main enablers for implementing Circular Economy e↵orts, creating smart and connected products, processes, and systems that can optimize resource usage, reduce waste, and improve efficiency, with a significant environmental impact. Blockchain is a technology that was initially centered on authentication and security applications. Currently, its utility has extended to solving multiple problems across industries. This paper explores the di↵erent applications of the Blockchain related to the circular economy. A systematic literature review method was applied to analyze the main objectives, advantages, disadvantages, opportunities, and challenges of implementing Blockchain in various industrial sectors. Results show a growing trend in applications with favorable impacts, especially in sectors like Manufacturing, Energy, and Automotive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular economy (CE) focuses on maintaining the value of goods and materials as long as possible, reducing waste and resource usage, and keeping resources within the economy when a product has reached the end of its life. Products and materials have to be utilized many times to produce additional value. In the automotive industry, CE involves processes throughout the value chain comprising multiple dimensions such as energy, materials, lifetime, and utilization. The CE performance of the automotive industry can be measured using key performance indicators (KPIs) from those dimensions. However, since multiple stakeholders are involved throughout the automotive product lifecycle and value chain, calculating KPIs requires data from heterogeneous sources. Thus, a non-uniform understanding of the KPIs among those stakeholders may arise due to a lack of explicit semantic description, including the related assessed CE scenarios, data providers, and data sources. Meanwhile, various sectors have used ontologies to facilitate a common understanding of information structure among systems and organizations. Our paper presents an ontology-based model that enables sharing a common understanding of KPIs used to assess CE performance in the automotive industry. We identify the indicators, the corresponding data requirements, and sources. In this paper, we present the ontology model describing the semantics of data required for the indicators. We also show the deployment model illustrating the implementation of the ontology model in the CE performance assessment phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, multiple crises have shown the fragility of global supply chains. In particular, climate change and exploding energy prices shed light on the never-ending waste of resources caused by the linear economic model. In response, circular economy emerges as a promising alternative. For a systemic transition, companies must rethink and innovate their business models, current product life cycles, and underlying mindsets. Cross-sectoral collaboration in networks is necessary to redesign, reuse, recycle and remanufacture products and close the loop of material flows. In the field of software, this collaboration was reached by open source software (OSS). In the 1990s, OSS appeared as an emerging phenomenon overcoming existing limitations imposed by intellectual property laws. However, the concept of openness is not limited to software. First projects and research on the concepts of open source hardware (OSH), open innovation and open design show that openness can be a game-changer for the circular economy. This paper explores possible ways, prerequisites, and obstacles of open source concepts enabling circular value creation in the industry. We combine explorative data from a systematic literature review and more than 10 interviews with experts from open source and circular economy. We identify data exchange, trust, and accessibility as key aspects and show challenges within the necessary transition process. In an exploratory approach, we identify necessary lines of future research in order to facilitate open source movements toward a circular economy. The paper provides insights for academics and practitioners from production, supply chain, and management as it combines interdisciplinary perspectives to unlock the potential of open source concepts and collaboration for enabling circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the EU Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Developments Goals, the vision of a greenhouse gas-neutral and resource-efficient economy is already firmly anchored in world politics. In this context, the automotive industry faces many challenges including the increasing scarcity of natural resources, a rising demand in terms of sustainable vehicle design, production and materials sourcing. Due to all this, end-of-life decisions regarding dismantling have become increasingly important. A high proportion of secondary materials will be required in the vehicles of the future. To response to these challenges, companies have turned their focus towards the circular economy as a central approach to close material loops. In the German research project "Catena-X" a new data ecosystem with digital twins is one enabler that is being developed. The digital twins represent a promising approach to the circular economy by ensuring transparent, product-specific and end-to-end data exchange throughout the entire product lifecycle, from the material sourcing to the eventual dismantling and recycling. As one particular and unique solution, a decision framework that facilitates the best circular strategy at the end of a vehicle's life is developed and presented in this paper. The underlying data-driven decision support framework is based on circular economy KPIs. This includes material, components and specific vehicle KPIs to best identify the most suitable circular strategy. The framework was methodologically developed by an interdisciplinary team of partners, who are stakeholders throughout the value chain and participants in the Catena-X project. An integrated approach of user-centered design, an adapted version of the V-model and the Scaled Agile Framework were used for the methodology in the development of the solution. The paper presents the concept of a digital twin for a decision support system, that includes a central decision logic that also includes the relevant KPIs and a survey for evaluating the decision logic utilised with a chosen dismantling company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and development of a digital platform is usually highly complex and involves many individual steps in preparation. Within the scope of the research project PERMA (Platform for efficient resource utilization in the furniture and furnishing industry) a digital platform is developed to promote circular economy core mechanism in the furniture and furnishing industry. The aim of these core mechanisms is to establish an overarching platform that covers processes and involved stakeholders from primary use (purchasing/renting/leasing), secondary use (processing or upcycling) until end of life (EoL) (recycling, refurbish, reuse etc.). This paper gives an overview on the identified circular economy core elements and stakeholder needed as well as barriers and drivers and a design approach to develop processes to enable circular economy features on a digital platform. Within the paper the developed design approach will be presented and the identified main processes for the PERMA platform will be described. Lastly, final considerations are presented with the identification of new research streams, including the need of the evaluation of these processes in other sectors to implement CE platforms and the potential to collect cross-sectoral platform use cases that are successfully mastering CE best practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has enabled the prevailing digital transformation (i.e. digitalization), where physical products can be readily digitized in the virtual space and seamlessly interconnected. Meanwhile, industries are ever increasingly adopting service business models (i.e. servitization), so as to offer not only physical products but also services as a solution bundle to meet individual customer needs. Such convergence of both digitalization and servitization (i.e. digital servitization) has triggered an emerging IT-driven business paradigm, smart product-service systems (Smart PSS). As a novel paradigm coined in 2014, to the authors' knowledge, only 2 conference papers have provided some literature review to date, and many issues remain uncovered or not comprehensively investigated. Aiming to fill this gap, this paper has conducted a systematic review of Smart PSS or related papers published ever since its first brought up to date (30/06/2019), and selected 97 representative items together with other 37 supplementary works to summarize the tendency towards Smart PSS, its business and technical aspects, current challenges, and future perspectives. From the survey, it is found that several hybrid concerns are the key challenges faced, and self-adaptiveness with sustainability, advanced IT infrastructure, human-centric perspectives, and circular lifecycle management are the core future perspectives to explore. It is hoped that this work can attract more open discussions and provide useful insights to both academics and industries in their exploration and implementation of Smart PSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in global material demands while having finite natural reserves has made the transition from a linear to a Circular Economy (CE) more crucial. Various approaches have been proposed for such a transition, which closed-loop system is an approach aiming to maximize resource efficiency ensuring that materials are continually reused and recycled, thereby reducing waste and conserving resources. However, there are some obstacles/gaps in the implementation of CE practices, one of them is the lack of a proper Circularity assessment unit, as called Circularity Indicators (CIs). The CIs play a crucial role by enabling to quantify the success of circularity strategies. This paper critically reviews the existing CIs and introduces a novel scoring system that evaluates them against five main circularity categories. This scoring system allows for assessing CI's alignment with core CE principles. Our findings reveal that some CIs demonstrate broad applicability and robustness, while others have more narrowed focuses. This dementated the need for a unified CI that is versatile, comprehensive and integrates various 'R' strategies with the triple bottom line model of sustainability. This scoring system can be used in policy making and business strategy decisions to embed CE in new developments such that support sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pursuit of environmental sustainability and resource conservation has underscored the growing significance of the circular economy paradigm across industries. This transformation is particularly pertinent within the automotive industry, necessitating a profound restructuring of the value chain, with a specific focus on end-of-life considerations. Significant potential for circular economy arises from the thorough examination of end-of-life vehicles and processes, involving strategies such as component reuse, material recycling and primary resource reduction. Providing process-, product-, component-, and material-specific information at the end-of-life of automotive vehicles can improve decision-making regarding circular strategies. It also demands for new digital solutions. This paper addresses an integrated approach of data flow analysis and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to enable a comprehensive monitoring of the environmental impact of these processes. First, the use case of end-of-life dismantling processes is presented - including pyrotechnics neutralization, vehicle dehydration, disassembly of reuse components as well as vehicle compaction. Secondly, the data demand respective information and material flows is depicted. As a main result, the LCA data flow model specifically tailored to the end-of-life vehicle dismantling processes is described. This model serves as a fundamental basis for analyzing the environmental impact of end-of-life processes combined with the underlying data flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To facilitate the shift from a Linear to a Circular Economy, it is essential to alter the manner in which we manufacture, use, and dispose of products. Interoperable information exchange among various stakeholders throughout the product lifecycle is crucial if we wish to encourage reuse, repair, remanufacturing, refurbishing, or recycling. The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a concept for capturing product information. This paper presents an end-to-end process for sharing product-related information along the product lifecycle explicitly designed to cater to the needs of all stakeholders, including end-of-life actors. This process is based on a DPP concept and implementation called the Digital Lifecycle Passport and a multi-stakeholder platform. Technically, it relies on the Asset Administration Shell (AAS), which enables information to be shared in a structured way. We demonstrate how this process can improve waste sorting and how it can be used for life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA results are captured in an interoperable way based on DIN SPEC 91474, which will facilitate automatic documentation for regulatory purposes in the future. Our approach is a forerunner in the sense that it uses the DPP and the AAS for end-of-life management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Circular Economy Action Plan is the main building block of the European Green Deal, Europe's new agenda for sustainable growth. Businesses need new technologies, new methods and new industrial organization either to create new businesses or to transform their products, processes and business models. They also need new talents to innovate, create businesses and new jobs, and transform society into a more sustainable one. Circular economy has grown significantly in recent years as a topic taught in engineering curricula. The purpose of this paper is to present the design, implementation and evaluation of a summer school program dedicated to the development, transformation and implementation of circular economy systems and new business models in manufacturing. The program was designed in collaboration with three university partners during a European project and relied on contributions from industrial companies, including start-ups and innovative companies. At the end, some lessons are drawn in order to show the main added value based on the evaluation of this summer school and to identify recommendations for the design and implementation of similar summer schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of simulation technologies (STs) in the industry 4.0 paradigm can accelerate the implementation of the circular economy (CE) in companies by faster modeling and optimization of value retention processes (VRPs), such as remanufacturing or refurbishment. In business practices, the efficiency of the collection of used products and their recovery for a new or extended lifecycle is influenced by a high level of uncertainty. The product-as-a-service (PaaS) model might change the boundary conditions, which will decisively influence the operational factors such as time for a disassembly, and material recovery rate. The state-of-the-art in commercial simulation software (e.g., FlexSim, Simio, Arena) is based on the object-oriented approach, which requires that users must build the model themselves from a set of objects (object libraries), which is effective for a traditional linear process but is less suitable for multiple flow of a product between PaaS contracts. Remanufacturing in PaaS for consumer markets is currently a niche practice, due to the difficulties of providing its economic viability. Lean management practices are promising in lowering the cost of remanufacturing. The aim of this paper is to develop a new method for simulation modeling using a high-level script language, similar to those used by industry experts, according to lean remanufacturing principles under PaaS conditions. This novel method is built on the user-centric principle. Thus, it enables to build the simulation models and to use them by decision-makers in business practice who are not specialists in simulation modeling and do not have programming competences. The library of reference processes for remanufacturing in PaaS is defined with the industrial partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A critical shift is required to meet the challenges reflected in the sustainable development goals. Policymakers in the EU are betting on a transition from a linear to a circular economy to make this happen. Public procurement is vital in this context, e.g., accounting for 20% of Swedish GDP, with circular public procurement being critical to the transition. Until now, the research focus in this area has been narrower, concentrating on, e.g., IT equipment or furniture. However, plastic medical products have not been addressed despite generating substantial environmental impact and offering a tremendous upside. To enable the application of circular economy strategies in this context, changes are required on two ends: the design of the products and the criteria under which the products are procured. Indicators are the central basis of decision-making in any purchasing decision and are considered powerful enablers and drivers of the transition to a circular economy. This paper reviews circular indicators as a starting point toward guidelines for the circular design and procurement of plastic products in the healthcare sector. Based on this, critical factors for developing a comprehensive indicator for the design and procurement of circular plastic medical products are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is nowadays one of the most applied methodologies for evaluating the potential environmental impacts of products and systems related to the plastic packaging sector. Nevertheless, the recent increasing interest on Circular Economy principles introduces challenges in its application, addressing towards adjustments to system boundaries and functional units. This research paper underscores the need for LCA models that are both dynamic, adaptable and capable of capturing both (i) the environmental performances of end-of-life processes and (ii) the quality of the materials obtained from them. To this aim, the main literature is taken as reference to compare chemical and mechanical recycling applied to PET. From the outcomes, the need of considering potential quality degradation resulting from increased recycling and reuse operations applied to the input material is well recognized. The study highlights the potential role of LCA to provide comprehensive information, thereby facilitating comparative assertions and offering valuable insights for informed decision-making and the development of sustainable policies within the plastic packaging industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the growing demand for medical treatment resulting from an ageing population and advancements in medical devices and technology, the waste produced by the healthcare industry is rapidly increasing. While in many sectors, the shift to a circular economy has become more prevalent, in the healthcare sector, the linear cradle-to-grave model seems to still be a common approach despite growing concerns over the environmental burdens. Many devices are designed for single-use, often due to contamination concerns, limiting their potential for reuse. This paper considers the challenges associated with establishing a circular economy for medical devices, focusing on syringes as a representative single-use product. Through a series of material decontamination experiments, the potential for recycling of syringes has been assessed. These experiments have highlighted possible design improvements that would allow for a more streamlined end-of-life management. The findings from this research highlight the significant potential for both environmental preservation and healthcare efficiency through the circular use of medical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary recycling of automobiles takes place on a very baseline material level. In order to fundamentally improve the ecologic footprint of the vehicle, a wider application of remanufacturing strategies is intended. Following different recycling approaches ranging from direct reuse or refurbishment through remanufacturing until repurpose, a well-aimed dismantling followed by manufacturing processes adapted to the post-consumer components is mandatorily required. For use on an industrial scale, environmental efficiency and economic viability must be balanced well. Within the paper, possible remanufacturing technologies and necessary prerequisites such as input data are discussed. For the design of remanufacturing operations, material properties and geometric information are a crucial starting point. Seamless integration of the specific properties is intended to encourage wider utilization of pre-used components and materials. With reference to the well-established process design for metal forming operations, adapted material cards and curvature equivalence values are proposed. The approach is illustrated by a reforming operation, where a brake disc cover is remanufactured from a used car body roof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular Economy initiatives have introduced a solution demand for the treatment of End of Life (EoL) products, switching from shredding and material recycling to the recovery of modules/components that remain functional. The process needs product recovery and diagnostic, disassembly, and requalification. These tasks are today carried out by human labour due to their complexity and uncertainties concerning the working conditions of the received product. But it implies time and costs that hardly balance the economical balance in developed countries context. Human – Cobot collaborative disassembly are promising solution to overcome the uncertainties without compromising the flexibility and the rate of disassembly operation. The Smart Disassembly Cell for Circularity (SDC2) project aims to provide a semi–automated disassembly solution for EoL electronic products. This paper portrays the requirements for the implementation of a Human-Cobot collaborative cell for electronic products. The goal of this project is to implement a shared workplace where the robot and the worker can work in parallel or share a common task with safe interaction. A literature study on available solutions was made. From there, the study and implementation of the decision system, database and service platform started. This document describes the function of the database and decision system as well as the service platform to establish global communication. MySQL and Python with the FLASK package were used to frame the database and service platform, Genetic algorithm was implemented for providing the robotic disassembly planning solution. A case study using a personal computer and a Power inverter was conducted to verify the development in each stage. The systems are under development with an aim to provide a global disassembly cell which will be able to disassemble various products rather than focusing on a specific product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To sustain prosperous and lucrative business opportunities, companies are required to constantly evolve to remain competitive. The way this strategy emerges depends on how their offerings are positioned in the market. For example, certain companies are focusing on increasing operational efficiency to achieve improved key performance indicators, while others are exploring new ways of operating. In this paper, the latter aspect is targeted in the context of initiating remanufacturing. This research aims to describe the incentives behind initiating remanufacturing. The research was conducted through multiple case studies involving eight original equipment manufacturers that are either initiating or engaging in remanufacturing. The results show that the incentives can be grouped into five categories: (1) business development, (2) access to cores, (3) environmental reasoning, (4) preparing for regulations, and (5) technological development. These categories are conceptualised based on the experiences or visions of the case companies and are related to their short- and long-term expectations of remanufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable production is particularly effective if it includes closed material loops. Considering the system boundary of urban areas and aiming to enable sustainable urban production, these loops must therefore be closed within these areas. To achieve this, it is necessary to determine and understand the material flows within cities and to evaluate whether their circulation can be reasonably implemented. Material loops can be categorized into reuse, reprocess and recycling loops: While in a reuse loop the product remains unchanged or marginal changed and is restored to functionality, in a reprocess loop the product is recovered on component level and in a recycle loop transformed into secondary raw materials for further reuse. While all loops focus on processes to maintain the material flow, there exist different approaches. A varying production depth must be utilized, which results in different utilization potentials. To develop concepts and assess their viability for the implementation in urban areas, this paper delivers a framework of the loops and their interconnection. The construct of closed material loops in urban production is approached by means of a framework that attempts to describe, adapt and develop viable closed systems in a city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 74.7 Mt (Million Metric Tonnes) of e-waste is expected to be produced in 2030, and laptop e-waste is one of the major constituents of this. The goal of this paper is to develop and optimize a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) mathematical model for a laptop manufacturer in India, based on a framework that integrates secondary reuse concept associated with traditional circular economy waste avoidance strategies. The multi-objective solution techniques of ε-constraint, LP-metric, and weighted sum methods are used to optimize the circular economy model. The proposed model aids as a policy tool to decide the optimum number of inspection/collection centers, sales/distribution centers, disassembly centers, refurbishing centers, recycling centers, and their optimum locations and allocations. This study results suggest that reuse, secondary customer centers, refurbishing, and recycling of the laptops is not only economically beneficial to the organization but also environment friendly and helps to create more jobs in the rural economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement of environmental product performance is an important driver for product development. It is also related to the optimization of product packaging solutions. This paper addresses the question related to packaging eco-design strategies. A simplified approach, based on the Life Cycle Assessment methodology and Material Flow Analysis, is proposed to quickly compare alternative design solutions in terms of environmental impacts. Quantifying impacts and identifying the most significant design parameters for these products can assist industrial companies in avoiding potential impact transfer issues and finding the best solutions for their products. Multiple environmental impact categories and indicators are included to comprehensively consider impacts on the environment, resources, and human health. The proposed approach is applied to the environmental performance evaluation of several alternative design solutions for the packaging of a professional coffee machine. Alternative designs, starting from the selection of appropriate materials to the identification of solutions suitable for the reverse supply chain, will be compared and deeply analysed in environmental terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laws to mitigate the impacts of the industries and responsible consumption trends have been pushing manufacturers to integrate sustainability in their business models. In this context, circular economy and sustainable manufacturing have become key interests for manufacturers, and thus should be included in higher education curricula for industrial engineering students. However, tools and sources for these new subjects are scarce. Such multidisciplinary topics require practical innovative teaching approaches with suitable evaluation approaches. Such a proposal is presented in this paper to define a set of pedagogical specifications for both hard and soft skills required to design sustainable and circular proposals for urban factories. First, the students are required to define the scope of impact mitigation through the interpretation of life cycle assessment (LCA) results for a case study. Then, a roleplay has been developed with the objective of improving sustainability using sustainable manufacturing practices and circular economy strategies. The design phase is supported by a package of databases and instructions, alongside tools and templates for expected deliverables including LCA and sustainable business model canvas. To enable innovation and design thinking, feedbacks have been given to students on a regular basis with the aim to improve outcomes prior to the final deliverable. Evaluation has been conducted through an oral presentation in front of academic and specialized external experts, followed by a discussion and a deliberation. This proposal has been tested in a class of 40 industrial engineering students during a semester for a course dedicated to urban factories. All groups have successfully achieved the specifications of the course, and have demonstrated additional soft skills such as teamwork, time management, and effective presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A manufacturing system can simultaneously exploit more strategies from the Circular Economy paradigm, such as reduction, reuse, repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing. These strategies involve finished products, raw materials, and components, and each adopted strategy can unpredictably impact the system performance along one or more dimensions (technical, economic, and environmental) at both the planning and the life cycle levels. This paper deepens the simultaneous measurement of the multi-dimensional and multi-level (strategic and tactical planning and life cycle design) performance of the manufacturing system in the presence of circular economy strategies. The Multi-layer Enterprise Input-Output (MEIO) formalisation method is extended to integrate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) approaches to perform scenario analyses. The proposed approach is applied to a numerical example to show the impacts of adopting new processes for circular economy strategies in a brownfield context. The considered scenarios combine different circular economic strategies applied to different levels of the Bill of Materials of a multi-product environment. The proposed approach can help practitioners and production managers evaluate adopting circular economy strategies. Moreover, the approach can support the development of methods for simultaneous multi-dimensional performance assessment of manufacturing systems at the operational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030, the circular economy is being promoted as a means of ensuring a sustainable use of resources and a reduction in the amount of waste produced. The aim is to reduce the demand for often scarce raw materials through the continuous reuse, recycling and regeneration of materials and products. This paper explores the use of carbon fibre from wind turbine blades as an additive in the production of new efficient bricks. Clay mixes with 0, 5 and 10 wt% additive were fired at three temperatures (800, 950 and 1100 °C) and the fired bricks were analysed from mineralogical and physical points of view to determine their suitability for use in the construction industry. The results show that carbon fibre improves the durability of the bricks, which became 16 % more porous as the firing temperature increased. However, the compressive strength of the bricks with 10 wt% carbon fibre was about 50 % lower than that of the control bricks made without additive. It is interesting to note that the distribution of the carbon fibres within the brick varies considerably and that they are shorter and wider in the core of the samples. These results could offer an alternative line for new product development in the brick industry. The bricks tested here are an example of a circular economy in which waste from one industrial process (wind turbine blades) is reused as an input in another (brick manufacture). The environmental benefits achieved are twofold: reduced demand for clay and recycling of decommissioned turbine blades, which are currently amassed in wind turbine graveyards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the circular economy (CE) performance of products has become an essential consideration in product design processes. While a growing body of literature is exploring the use of CE indicators to guide design processes, they typically assume broad design changes (e.g., material changes, end-of-life treatment) that may not accurately capture trade-offs in CE indicators, technical performance, and design feasibility. This paper aims to address the above gaps with the goal of incorporating CE assessment into simulation-based design. To this end, this paper defines a novel framework for using simulation-based design to analyze the effects of parametric changes in product design attributes on CE performance. First, the proposed framework describes the lifecycle information needed for computing resource-based, product-level CE indicators at the design stage. Depending on the set of selected CE indicators, corresponding simulation models are used to compute the effects of changing design parameters, and setting design/performance constraints, on the product's CE performance. Thus, the proposed framework enables the selection and optimization of product design attributes for achieving a specific level of CE performance, given specific technical performance requirements and other design constraints. The application of this framework is demonstrated using a case study conducted on a flywheel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]