Circular Economy in Energizing Smart Cities

Introduction

The tenets of “circular economy” point to “circularity” feature in any ecosystem to reduce (or eliminate) waste and continuous use of resources. Many countries are now working towards using circular economy principles, processes and business models. There are several examples that have been presented by various authors over the years on the benefits of adopting the concepts of circular economy. Precious commodities such as water, energy etc., are taken up for efficient resource conservation. Manufacturing sectors like automobiles, batteries, construction and metal fabrication etc., have been also taken up to improve process efficiency. One of the good examples is producing energy from the waste. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management is a widely discussed topic, related to energy, society, and environment, and thus has a lot of hygiene and economic implications (Singh, K, Kelly S and KS Sastry, Musti, 2009). Thanks to the advances in technology; over the years, Waste-to-Energy (W2E) technologies have evolved to become more affordable and efficient. Besides the energy production, waste can be utilized to manufacture different products that can be used for long time. Hence, MSW is considered as a resource. Similarly, battery recycling is an excellent example for circular economy business model. Bloomberg estimates that globally Lithium-Ion battery sales for electrical vehicles and other storage purposes will reach 5 million tons by 2025 (Pagliaro, M, and Meneguzzo, F, (2019). Managing and disposing such large volumes of harmful waste is always a challenge. Technologies for recycle used batteries and other electronic equipment that have reached their end-of-life do exist and are continuously improving. Construction technologies specifically for roads and buildings are also changing and using waste and other materials along with conventional construction materials. Plastic blending with concrete for building construction and with tar for paving the roads are proven efficient, long lasting and environmental friendly; as the plastic, itself is not easily biodegradable and harmful to the environment. Lean manufacturing principles are actively being used to reduce the use of materials and resources such as water and energy. It is estimated that commercial opportunities in the implementation of circular economy may reach USD 4.5 trillion by the year 2030. This may also lead to 40% of S&P500 companies to go out of businesses in about 10 years’ time, according to SAP (Coloumbus, 2016).

Electrical power is an essential commodity everywhere and expensive. Typically, the fossil fuels such as coal and gas are used in large quantities in energy production. The process of coal based energy production using fossil fuels is not only results in high volumes of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and fly ash; and thus polluting the environment. Oil and gas are relatively cleaner forms of fuels, however are very expensive; and most countries have to import them from international markets. Renewable energy sources are now becoming the norm across the globe due to increased awareness of both economic and environmental impacts of using fossil fuels. Use of renewable energies, though is increasing; there are several challenges exist as on date. In any case, energy production is cost intensive, with or without the use of fossil fuels. The question is how well the energy sector can imbibe the core tenets of circular economy to reduce overall expenses and energy use. For applying circular economy principles, many parameters in the contemporary energy systems need to be monitored and measured. Some of such opportunities and challenges include - continuous monitoring of energy usage patterns of the customers, controlling (reducing) the energy usage during peak load conditions (just as the principle of postponing the usage), encouraging use of alternate forms of energies (such as solar water heaters, just as the principle of substitution) and many more.