Chemical Processes Exergy Assessment in the Circular Economy

Abstract

The linear economy of taking, use and dispose of is not sustainable, and the UE is promoting the circular economy to reduce the number of resources taken from the environment and give them maximal use before being disposed of. Unfortunately, there are not many circular processes examples applied to the textile industry in the literature. The present study aims to propose a circular economy process and perform the mass balances and exergy balances. The exergy balances are a valuable tool to assess the resources consumed and lost from the assessed process. Several case studies are presented and have proven to be a viable option for the implementation of the circular economy process. However, further studies are required to minimise their environmental impact