How Does Catalysis Align with the Hierarchy of Waste Management?
The EWFD promotes a hierarchy of waste management practices, prioritizing prevention, re-use, recycling, recovery, and disposal. Catalysis aligns with this hierarchy in several ways:
Prevention: By making industrial processes more efficient, catalysis helps reduce the volume and toxicity of waste produced. Re-use: Catalytic processes can purify waste streams, allowing materials to be re-used in their original form or in new applications. Recycling: Catalysis enables the conversion of waste materials into valuable products, such as turning waste plastics into fuel or new plastic materials. Recovery: Catalytic technologies can capture and convert waste gases into useful chemicals, contributing to energy recovery and emission reduction. Disposal: Even in final disposal stages, catalysis helps minimize environmental impact by treating waste to reduce its hazardous properties.
