Towards circular economy: integration of bio-waste into chemical supply chain

Current chemical industry is heavily reliant on fossil resources as feedstock, resulting in a linear economical model, namely extract-make-use-dispose. In contrast, circular economy, targeting a more sustainable use of materials, aims to construct a loop in which waste is repurposed as feedstock. Circular economy in chemical industry may be achieved by integrating bio-waste into the chemical supply chain. However, bio-waste is different in many ways compared with fossil fuels, such as sparse distribution, geographical diversity, season-dependent supply, variability and complex composition. This short review highlights recent technological advances in valorization of bio-waste including new processing methods and promissing products. Analysis into the specific features of bio-waste suggests that bio-waste could be a promising feedstock for hub and fine chemicals, but not the commodity chemicals. A logic model of bio-waste based circular economy is proposed. Application of data mining and automated chemical routes are envisaged.