Call for papers - Chemical recycling and waste management

Guest Editor

ElSayed Gamal Zaki Swelam, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Egypt

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 30 June 2025

BMC Chemistry is calling for submissions to our Collection on Chemical recycling and waste management. This Collection invites researchers to contribute to the field of chemical recycling and waste management, focusing on innovative technologies and sustainable practices. We encourage submissions that explore environmental impacts, resource recovery methods, and the role of chemical recycling in advancing a circular economy. Through this Collection, we aim to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing, addressing the challenges of waste management and promoting sustainability in chemical processes.

New Content Item This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production and SDG 13: Climate Action.

Submit to Collection

Meet the Guest Editors

Back to top

ElSayed Gamal Zaki Swelam, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Egypt

Dr ElSayed Gamal Zaki Swelam is an Associate Professor at the Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI). He supervises thesis projects on biopolymers and nanomaterials for environmental applications, focusing on water retention and wastewater recycling in agriculture. Prof Zaki is widely recognized for his contributions to four key areas: CO₂ capture and storage in eco-friendly polymer-concrete composites; green hydrogel water retention; environmentally friendly polymer concrete, including polymer treatment, processing, and investigating carbon footprint with climate change; polymer waste mix filler on polymer concrete composites. Additionally, he has developed new polyvinyl alcohol/gellan gum-based bioplastics with guava and chickpea extracts for food packaging. His work also extends to investigating the effectiveness of various plastic waste management strategies to promote a circular economy. With nearly a decade of his 14-year research career at EPRI, Dr Zaki has authored over 62 publications and 13 books, with an H-index of 21. Dr Zaki coordinates many research projects on low-carbon-footprint wastewater treatment in collaboration with national and international partners and focuses on valorizing industrial solid waste into green, sustainable products. As a climate change expert at the Egyptian Climate Change Institute, he has contributed to many papers and projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of materials used in wastewater treatment.

About the Collection

BMC Chemistry is calling for submissions to our Collection on Chemical recycling and waste management.

This Collection aims to showcase groundbreaking research, innovative technologies, and sustainable practices in the realm of chemical recycling and waste management, addressing the urgent global challenges of plastic pollution and resource depletion.

Chemical recycling represents a crucial advance in environmental science and engineering, enabling the conversion of waste materials back into their original monomers or other valuable chemicals. This process not only facilitates resource recovery but also minimizes the environmental footprint of waste. The Collection will delve into cutting-edge technologies such as pyrolysis, solvolysis, and gasification, with a focus on their integration into sustainable waste management within a circular economy framework.

By advancing our understanding of chemical recycling and waste management, this Collection seeks to contribute to the development of innovative solutions for waste disposal and resource recovery. Recent advancements in recycling technologies have shown great promise in transforming end-of-life plastics into high-quality feedstocks. Furthermore, lifecycle assessments have highlighted the environmental benefits of chemical recycling over traditional mechanical recycling methods, emphasizing the need for robust regulatory frameworks and public awareness to promote sustainable practices.

This Collection aims to gather pioneering research on topics such as:

Advances in pyrolysis and gasification technologies.
Lifecycle assessment of chemical recycling methods.
Integration of chemical recycling in urban waste management.
Environmental impact of polymer recycling technologies/depolymerization.
Resource recovery from hazardous waste.

Aligned with the goals of SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), this Collection supports research that contributes to a more sustainable and circular polymer economy, ultimately paving the way for a cleaner and more sustainable future.

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

Back to top

This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select Chemical recycling and waste management from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.