Challenges of the Circular Economy: A Material, Metallurgical, and Product Design Perspective

Circular economy’s (CE) noble aims maximize resource efficiency (RE) by among others extending product life cycles and using wastes as resources. Modern society’s vast and increasing amounts of waste and consumer goods, their complexity and functional material combinations is challenging the viability of the CE in spite of various alternative business models promising otherwise. The metallurgical processing of CE enabling technologies requires in the end a sophisticated and agile metallurgical infrastructure. The challenges of reaching a CE will among others be highlighted in terms thermodynamics, transfer processes, technology platforms, digitalization of the processes of the CE stakeholders, design for recycling (DfR) based on a product (mineral)-centric approach, challenging material centric considerations. Integrating product centric considerations into the water, energy, transport, heavy industry, and other smart grid systems will maximize the RE of future smart sustainable cities, providing the fundamental detail for realizing and innovating the United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goals.