Sustainable Technologies and Approaches for Reducing Environmental Impacts of Industrial Activities

Dear Colleagues,

In 2015, the Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations Member States, defined 17 goals to be achieved by 2030. These interconnected goals depict the challenges posed by the third millennium, and their achievement will assure prosperity and peace through sustainable actions.

In general, all human actions have environmental impacts, and especially industrial activities, with the characteristics depending on the industrial sector. To this purpose, Sustainable Development Goal 12—Responsible Consumption and Production—is specifically focused on a new approach to production that respects the environment, unlike that of the 20th century, which caused natural disasters across the world, and considers the social aspects related to industrial transformation.

Industry is responsible for natural resource consumption (water, fossil fuels, raw materials, and land) and emissions (polluted air, flue gas, wastewater, liquid and solid waste, noise, and heat).

Huge improvements have been made in reducing environmental impacts; however, growing productivity has often obscured targets with respect to the environment.

Nowadays, techniques and technologies are available at an industrial scale and are considered “the best ones” for the environment; however, it is essential to continue with the study and development of new approaches, in parallel with the birth of new products, or to improve existing methods in terms of environmental efficiency.

The development of new techniques and technologies is a result of the effort of many actors working in different phases, namely at laboratory, pilot, or applicative scales. Considering the multitude of industrial sectors, there is still a significant amount of work to be done.

This Special Issue aims to collect contributions from these different phases, with the following as its main topics:

• Industrial wastewater treatment;
• Recovery of mass and heat in industrial processes;
• Waste recycling;
• Treatment of industrial gas emissions;
• Sustainable production;
• Life cycle analysis;
• Consumer information;
• Environmental policy.

Prof. Fulvia Chiampo
Dr. Bruna Matturro
Guest Editors

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