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Sustainable Processes in the Circular Economy

From Virgin to Recycled Raw Materials

  • 1st Edition - September 22, 2025
  • Latest edition
  • Editor: Alexandre Chagnes
  • Language: English

Sustainable Processes in the Circular Economy: From Virgin to Recycled Raw Materials addresses the different challenges in sustainable management of resources, the sustai… Read more

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Description

Sustainable Processes in the Circular Economy: From Virgin to Recycled Raw Materials addresses the different challenges in sustainable management of resources, the sustainable development of processes to extract raw materials, recycle spent materials, and more generally, the circular economy, including social aspects in mining, recycling, the geopolitics of primary and secondary materials, and different business models. The book focuses on the place of chemical processes in the circular economy, and on the notion that circularity reflects the desire to develop a global approach that cares about the environment.

In addition, it explores eco-design approaches and tools so that the value chain can reduce the environmental and societal impact of human activity while still creating value. Additional comments discuss and illustrate the link between the economic model and the environmental and societal model.

Key features

  • Gives a holistic view of the circular economy and the supply and management of raw materials
  • Provides detailed information about processes to recycle materials
  • Includes information about the sustainability of the circular economy

Readership

MSc and PhD students and early career researchers in chemical engineering, engineering, materials science and economy

Table of contents

1: Mineral Resource Economy


2: Towards a more circular economy

2.1. The Spherical Economy

2.2. The Anthropospheric Stock

2.3. The Circular Economy Paradigm

2.4. The Four Challenges of a Circular Economy

2.5. Indicators of a Circular Economy

2.6. Circular Economy and Regional Development


3: Resource substitution: impact of material from circular economy on cement and concrete manufacture

3.1. Waste in cement raw meal

3.2. Waste derived fuel

3.3. Grinding of clinker and additions

3.4. Alternative aggregates in concrete


4: Circular economy applied to construction and demolition wastes

4.1. Fundamentals

4.2. Removing barriers to increase circularity in the management of Construction and Demolitions Wastes: a case study with Xardel demolition


5: Physical separation processes applied to the treatment of primary and secondary ores

5.1. Primary and secondary resource materials, their characterization and properties

5.2. From the properties of materials to the main principles of separations

5.3. Physical and physico-chemical separation processes

5.4. Application and implementation of processes at different scales

5.5. Definition of a physical and physico-chemical treatment scheme


6: Smart sorting

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Sensing

6.3. Describing each sensor used in sensor-based sorting, the physical principles and use cases.

6.5. Data processing

6.4. Material separation

6.5. Use cases


7: Hydrometallurgy

7.1. Leaching

7.2. Ion exchange resin

7.3. Solvent extraction

7.4. Precipitation

7.5. Mass-balance in metallurgical processes


8: Pyrometallurgy

8.1. Fundamental to pyrometallurgy

8.2. The electric steelmaking: an industrial process for recycling scrap metal


9: Polymer and plastic recycling

9.1. Introduction

9.2. State-of-the-Art on plastic recycling

9.2.1. Recycling sectors

9.2.1.1. Municipal wastes

9.2.2.2. Industrial wastes

9.2.2. Challenges in plastic recycling

9.3. Circular economy in plastic recycling

9.3.1. Ecodesign

9.3.2. Strategies for efficient uses

9.3.3. Sustainable recycling


10: End-of-live strategy

10.1. Towards integrating the circular economy into manufacturing systems

10.2. Sustainable processes and economic and business viability


11: Life Cycle Assessment

11.1. Introduction to the methodology

11.2. Case studies related to building materials Conclusion

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: September 25, 2025
  • Language: English

About the editor

AC

Alexandre Chagnes

Professor Alexandre Chagnes has an extensive background in electrochemistry and hydrometallurgy, having worked in France and Canada before becoming an Associate Professor at Chimie Paristech from 2005 to 2016. Since 2016, he has been a Full Professor at Université de Lorraine, where he has held several leadership roles, including Director of the national network on extractive metallurgy and Director of the Research Program on Circular Economy. He founded the start-up WEEEMET, focusing on innovative metal recycling processes. His research primarily targets recycling lithium-ion batteries and e-waste, with significant contributions through publications and talks.

Affiliations and expertise
Université de Lorraine, CNRS, GeoRessources, Nancy, France

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