Focused Session 6: Innovative Material Processing for Diverse Resource Circulation Loops
The circular economy, coupled with carbon neutrality and nature positivity, is increasingly expected by society. It is a business policy oriented toward growth and regional development, even in the face of environmental and resource constraints. Emerging innovations and high-tech products to achieve decarbonization are reliant on access to an increasing demand for raw materials which are considered critical for both economic importance and supply risk. Most critical raw materials are irreplaceable in batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, and energy-efficient lighting, therefore their circular use is becoming key for fighting climate change while satisfying society’s needs.
In response to this urgent need, it is necessary to conceive a multiple resource circulation loop from resource-saving strategies such as long life, maintenance, and sharing, to resource circulation strategies such as reuse, refurbish, and recycle. Circulating resources require energy for recovery and separation, and these cycles are not complementary to carbon neutrality unless they are carried out within the limits of renewable energy. In other words, energy-saving and cost-effective separation processes play a key role in achieving both the reduction of environmental burdens, such as GHG emissions and resource demand, while making the recovery and re-use economically feasible.
In this regard, research efforts are dedicated to the further development of innovative disassembly strategies and high-precision physical/chemical separation technologies, enabling the selective and energy-efficient recovery of valuable materials/components from complex products.
Furthermore, the resource circulation loop that is closer to the consumer, such as longevity and reuse, makes the greatest contribution to both energy and resource conservation, therefore, the materials and components of the next-generation products are required to have a long service life, to be repairable and easily disassembled for regeneration.
With the perspective of maximising resource efficiency and creating economic value from sustainable and circular practices, another promising approach is represented by the valorisation and stabilization of wastes to develop alternative raw materials for functional and structural applications.
This symposium solicits abstracts related to novel material processing and disassembly/separation technologies that can contribute to efficient resource circulation loops and waste valorisation.
Proposed Session Topics
- Recovery of critical/valuable materials from exhausted complex products
- Circular economy perspectives for inorganic waste/wastewater valorisation/stabilization
- Valorization and reuse of construction and demolition wastes
- Structural control for easy decomposition of resins for diverse resource circulation
- Novel products and materials oriented toward easy disassembly and circulation design
- Advanced powder processing both for carbon net zero and circular economy
- Advanced material processing for longevity and repairability
- Data utilization/modelling/simulation for material circulation strategies
Symposium Organizers
- Chiharu Tokoro, Waseda University, Japan
- Sonia Lucia Fiorilli, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
- Manigandan Kannan, University of Akron, USA
- Henry Colorado, Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia
- Enrico Bernardo, Università di Padova, Italy
- Hidehiro Kamiya, Waseda University, Japan
- Motoyuki Iijima, Yokohama National University, Japan
- Norifumi Isu, Sinshu University, Japan
- Manabu Fukushima, AIST, Japan
- Yuichi Sumimoto, Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation, Japan
- Ziqi Sun, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Point of Contact
- Chiharu Tokoro: tokoro@waseda.jp
- Sonia Lucia Fiorilli: sonia.fiorilli@polito.it
- Manigandan Kannan: mk77@uakron.edu
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