RSC Sustainability is very pleased to announce that our new themed collection, Defossilising Chemical Industries, is now open for submissions.
Chemical industries touch almost every aspect of society. They produce everything from fuels and polymers to everyday consumer products such as cosmetics and household cleaning products. Currently, many of these vital products are made using feedstocks derived from fossil sources which, in addition to being finite, also release large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change.
For chemical industries to be sustainable in the long term in accordance with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (particularly Goals 12 and 13, Responsible Consumption and Production and Climate Action, respectively), they must avoid using raw materials from fossil sources and find alternative feedstocks.
With the leadership of Guest Editors Agi Brandt-Talbot (Imperial College London, UK) and Alexander O’Malley (University of Bath, UK), RSC Sustainability’s themed collection on Defossilising Chemical Industries aims to be a venue for the latest research that could make this a reality.
Topics for this collection include, but are not limited to:
- Biomass as a feedstock
- CO2 as a feedstock
- Plastic waste as a feedstock
- Methanol as a feedstock
- Use of renewable electricity in chemical industries
- Renewable oxidising and reducing agents
- Carbon capture
The collection welcomes contributions from industry and policy perspectives, as well as academic perspectives and can publish both review articles and primary research. Studies concerning Life Cycle Assessments and Techno-Economic Analyses are also welcome.
There are several approaches that have been proposed as stepping-stone or bridging technologies that, while not a permanent solution, do enable progress towards defossilisation. Indeed, the proponents of these argue that without such technologies it will be impossible to achieve defossilisation. On the other hand, opponents of these argue that they ultimately lead to the extension of the use of unsustainable technologies and hence are counterproductive. As we have stated in previous editorials, RSC Sustainability does not seek to be the gatekeeper for what is or is not sustainable chemistry, but rather provides a forum to facilitate such debates. However, we do expect contributors recognise these controversies within their manuscript and sustainability spotlight statement and to provide evidence to support the claims that that their technologies contribute to sustainability and the UN SDGs.
If you have work that fits the scope of this collection, feel free to submit now through our submissions portal. This collection has a submission deadline of Friday 31st January 2025.
If you have any questions regarding this collection or the journal, please contact the editorial office at rscsus-rsc@rsc.org, where our team will be happy to help.