TY - JOUR
T1 - Editorial
T2 - Greening the way: Emerging green technologies in process intensification
AU - Psakis, Georgios
AU - Griffin, Sholeem
AU - Dimopoulou, Maria
AU - Angelis-Dimakis, Athanasios
AU - Lorenzo, Jose Manuel
PY - 2024/9/19
Y1 - 2024/9/19
N2 - In 2022, 229.5 million metric tons of municipal solid waste (MSW; inclusive of electronic waste (e-waste), food waste, and healthcare waste) were generated in the European Union, amounting to 513 kg per person (European Commission, 2024). With the accumulation of MSW contributing to pollution, resource depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions (methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide), further exacerbating climate change, effective waste management becomes essential for safeguarding environmental sustainability, public health and global resource security. The MSW management challenge has set in motion European plans (Circular Economy Action Plan (European Commission, 2020) and Green Deal (European Commission, 2021)) and global strategies (Sustainable Development Goal 12; Responsible Consumption and Production (United Nations Development Programme, 2021)), aiming at waste reduction, efficient/systematic recycling and resource recovery through green-valorisation (eco-friendly technologies with use of green-chemistry). Execution of these plans requires the adoption of innovative practices by multiple-stakeholders, planting seeds for the development of sustainable circular economies. Thus, application of Innovative tools and methods, and integration of time-, energy- and cost-effective technologies in process intensification, are now more critical than ever for attaining sustainability goals.
AB - In 2022, 229.5 million metric tons of municipal solid waste (MSW; inclusive of electronic waste (e-waste), food waste, and healthcare waste) were generated in the European Union, amounting to 513 kg per person (European Commission, 2024). With the accumulation of MSW contributing to pollution, resource depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions (methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide), further exacerbating climate change, effective waste management becomes essential for safeguarding environmental sustainability, public health and global resource security. The MSW management challenge has set in motion European plans (Circular Economy Action Plan (European Commission, 2020) and Green Deal (European Commission, 2021)) and global strategies (Sustainable Development Goal 12; Responsible Consumption and Production (United Nations Development Programme, 2021)), aiming at waste reduction, efficient/systematic recycling and resource recovery through green-valorisation (eco-friendly technologies with use of green-chemistry). Execution of these plans requires the adoption of innovative practices by multiple-stakeholders, planting seeds for the development of sustainable circular economies. Thus, application of Innovative tools and methods, and integration of time-, energy- and cost-effective technologies in process intensification, are now more critical than ever for attaining sustainability goals.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85205813660&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fchem.2024.1487667
DO - 10.3389/fchem.2024.1487667
M3 - Editorial
C2 - 39364441
AN - SCOPUS:85205813660
SN - 2296-2646
VL - 12
SP - 1
EP - 3
JO - Frontiers in Chemistry
JF - Frontiers in Chemistry
M1 - 1487667
ER -