Circular bio-economy – review of scientific journal publications with focus on wastewater treatment
A circular bioeconomy is one in which waste streams from the processing of renewable bio-resources are looped back into the technosphere – open-loop or closed-loop recycling or conversion from matter to energy. This systematic review brings together a small set of 46 publications from the period 2016 – 2021, sourced from 28 journals and originating in 22 countries (decided solely on the basis of the first author’s affiliation) into a concise and structured account of published research pertaining to water and wastewater in a circular bioeconomy. The publications deal with either bio-products from other sectors which find use in wastewater treatment, or bio-products valorised from municipal and agro-industrial wastewater streams. Some publications (15 in all) which do not focus on water or wastewater per se have been included, in order to provide a good introduction, and take-home messages for the readers. The simple methodology has been clearly outlined, and the discussion has been organized in sub-sections and subsub- sections to facilitate improved readability. The take-make-use-dispose paradigm of a linear economy has to be replaced by the grow-make-use-restore alternative.