Reaching Circular Economy through Circular Chemistry: The Basis for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Circular chemistry (CC) is an approach for establishing chemical processes to become truly circular and sustainable. It adopts the principles of circular economy (CE), employing life cycle approaches and systems thinking, which help to understand and address the sustainability issues of chemical processes and products. Within this whole context, it is possible to identify some problems of the current lifestyle, such as plastic waste disposal, CO2 emission, e-waste, among others, which need to be addressed accordingly. The reuse provided, well-structured within the context of circular chemistry, can bring benefits in all spheres: social, environmental and economic. Thus, the purpose of this revision is to present CE and CC as the pillars for a sustainable development, bringing discussions about: CE and CC systems; sustainable chemistry; and chemistry 4.0, which embeds digitization, sustainability, and circular economy in industrial chemical processes. Through the knowledge of chemistry, both CC and CE can contribute with innovative methods and processes which maximize benefits, eliminating, or, at least, reducing adverse impacts, thus contributing to construct a mutually beneficial relationship between science and society, its surroundings, and the environment. Therefore, implementing this new model is an opportunity that challenges the human imagination in building a better world.