Circular economy and process engineering: DECHEMA presents comprehensive status paper

The aim of the circular economy is to close product and material cycles. The new status paper "Circular Economy – The Perspective of Chemical Process Engineering and Biotechnology", which was presented at the ACHEMA in Frankfurt, shows how much process engineering is needed for this, where research needs exist and what parallels exist between different material cycles.

The term "circular economy" has become established over the last decade as a comprehensive economic model that aims to contribute to sustainable economic activity through measures throughout the life cycle of raw materials, materials and products. Key points include the longer use of products, for example through reuse or reprocessing, repair, recyclability, specific recycling processes at the product and molecular level, and the systemic requirements from labelling to the design of flexible plants.

The status paper that has now been published considers all these aspects of the circular economy from the point of view of process engineering. The aim is to identify technical options for the circular economy and to evaluate them from a technical and scientific point of view. In doing so, the paper approaches the circular economy from the perspective of the technical challenges, independently of the individual raw material or product cycle, in order to present research needs in a comprehensive manner: For example, solution/precipitation processes can be used to separate and purify both metallic material mixtures and organic polymers. In both cases, a large amount of water is required and highly saline wastewater is produced – challenges that must be addressed independently of the individual material cycle.

The paper examines the basic process engineering operations and identifies overarching needs for action as well as specific gaps in research and development. It becomes clear that there is a need for research in a wide range of areas in order to implement a circular economy – even in the case of process engineering steps that have been in use for a long time and are supposedly mature.

But even beyond the individual separation process, process engineering and biotechnology can provide new solutions, for example in the form of flexible modular plant concepts or modern analytical methods. In overarching chapters, questions such as the evaluation of closed-loop recycling or accompanying social processes are also addressed.

The status paper is based on an extensive discussion process that has been organised over the past few years both in the DECHEMA and DECHEMA/VDI committees and at cross-disciplinary events, and in which numerous experts from a wide range of disciplines have been involved. In this way, DECHEMA is also contributing to the necessary social dialogue on the basis of what is technically feasible.

The paper is available to download free of charge at dechema.de/Statuspapier_Circular_Economy