Presentation delivered to the 'Green and Sustainable Chemistry' conference in Berlin on the 6th April 2016 by James Sherwood.

1. Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference
Berlin 6th April 2016
Recirculation: a new concept
to drive innovation in green
product design
James Sherwood
james.sherwood@york.ac.uk
Lorenzo Herrero-Davila, Thomas Farmer & James Clark

2. Open-bio is developing test methods and
recommendations for European standards describing
bio-based content, biodegradation, recycling strategies,
as well as labelling and procurement tools, and
evaluating social acceptance.
www.biobasedeconomy.eu/research/open-bio
• Our goal is to assist the growth of
the European bio-based product
market.
• Started in November 2014 as a 3
year FP7 project.

3. www.greenchemistry.net
EN 16575:2014 Bio-Based Products
Vocabulary
Biomass:
Material of biological origin excluding
material embedded in geological formations
or fossilized
Renewable material:
Composed of biomass and can be
continually replenished

4. www.greenchemistry.net
Bio-based product:
Product wholly or partly derived from
biomass
EN 16575:2014 Bio-Based Products
Vocabulary
Bio-based content:
Fraction of a product that is derived from
biomass (carbon or total mass basis)

5. www.greenchemistry.net
‘Renewable’ materials and bio-based products
(as defined in EN 16575:2014) are not
necessarily renewed

6. www.greenchemistry.net
Recirculated:
Returned to use within a certain timeframe by an
anthropogenic process and/or a natural process.
Open-Bio D3.4 Definitions for renewable
elements and renewable molecules
Renewable:
Comes from
renewable
resources and is
returned to use
within a certain
timeframe by a
natural process.
Returned to
use within a
certain
timeframe by
an
anthropogenic
process.
Recyclable:Reusable:
Returned to use
within a certain
timeframe without
modification to the
parent article or
loss of
performance.
Report available online at http://www.biobasedeconomy.eu/research/open-
bio/publications

7. www.greenchemistry.net
Bio-based Recirculated Sustainable
Complex with
many relevant
criteria
Hugely
challenging to
implement
Describes
biomass
utilisation
Environmental
impact is not
considered
Incorporates full
life cycle coverage
Easily validated
and understood
Increasing
complexity
How does ‘recirculation’ fit within bio-based
product standardisation?

8. www.greenchemistry.net
Fossil reserves
Not recirculated
Bio-based carbon
Fossil carbon
C
C
Sustainability criteria (FprEN 16751)
Bio-based content
(CEN/TS 16640)
Biomass sustainability
(e.g. PEFC ST 1003) &
waste feedstocks
(e.g. ISCC PLUS 260-05)
End-of-life options:
•Mechanical recycling
•Chemical recycling
•Biodegradation
Vertical
standards
(e.g. CEN/TS
16766)
and
ecolabels
C
C
renew loop
recycle loop
reuse loop

9. Design principles of the following categories have been
adapted from 30+ standards:
General manufacturing and feedstock considerations
Design and development:
Incorporating environmental aspects into product design
Components
Raw material selection and bio-based content:
Feedstock choice and declaration
Bio-based content
Feedstock sustainability
Considerations for the manufacturing processes:
Processes
Waste
Packaging
Product use phase and communication requirements
Use:
Ecodesign
Fit for purpose
Reuse:
Optimal lifespan (including repair)
Disassembly
Remanufacture
Reconditioning
End-of-life requirements
Mechanical (physical) recycling criteria
Feedstock (chemical) recycling criteria
Organic (biological) recycling
Energy recovery by incineration
Reporting of recirculation characteristics
Claims
Self-assessment
Communication
EN 13427
EN 13428
EN 13429
EN 13430
EN 13431
EN 13432
EN 13437
ISO 14001
EN ISO 14006
ISO 14020
ISO 14021
ISO/TR 14062
EN ISO 14855-1
EN 14995
EN 15343
EN 15347
CEN/TS 16398
ISO 16620-2
CEN/TS 16640
FprEN 16751
EN 16760
CEN/TS 16766
EN 16785-1
prEN 16785-2
EN 16807
EN 16848
prEN 16935
FprCEN/TR 16957
NTA 8080-1
NTA 8080-2
BS 8887-1
BS 8887-2
BS 8887-220
BS 8887-240
BS 8903
Design of the product shall allow for easy disassembly in
accordance with relevant recirculation principles.
Avoid any combination of materials that will hinder
mechanical recycling (e.g. metal inserts in plastic parts,
adhesion of parts with different end-of-life pathways).
Specific compostability standards shall be used
for relevant product types where available (e.g.
EN 13432 for packaging and EN 14995 for
plastics).
Use of renewable materials shall be maximised, especially
ubiquitous and abundant materials, locally sourced if
possible.
Open-Bio D3.5 Recirculation test method

10. Product design is crucial: Switchable adhesives for carpet tiles: a major
breakthrough in sustainable flooring, Green Chem., 2010, 12, 798.
Carpet tiles are designed to
be replaced on an individual
basis.
A renewable adhesive
(esterified starch)
allows the carpet tile
to be separated with
an alkali wash.
The adhesive is
naturally flame
retardant.
Adhesive prevents separation,
meaning 65 million kg of
carpet tile waste in Europe
each year.

11. 18/04/201611
PLA is
biodegradable,
but also easy
to chemically
deconstruct.
Chemical
recycling can
complement
organic and
physical
recycling.

12. The circular
economy will
prompt
chemical
designers to
value
materials not
transient
products
Recirculation
principles
could be
effective in
maximising
resource
efficiency and
longevity
CONCLUSION
I would like
to thank the
Open-Bio
consortium
for their input
and hard
work on the
project
James.Sherwood@york.ac.uk