Aromatic hydrocarbons play a pivotal role in various industrial applications, serving as essential building blocks to produce polymers, resins, and specialty chemicals. Traditionally, their synthesis has been reliant on fossil fuels, raising concerns about environmental sustainability and resource depletion. However, recent advancements in the field have paved the way for a paradigm shift, with a focus on biomass-derived synthesis gas as a renewable and environmentally friendly feedstock. This review explores innovative shortcuts in the synthesis of aromatic hydrocarbons, a key area of research that holds promise for a more sustainable and efficient future. As we delve into the intricacies of biomass-derived synthesis gas conversion, we will examine breakthroughs in catalyst development, process optimization, and integrated approaches. By scrutinizing these advancements, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art, highlighting both challenges and opportunities for further exploration. The urgency of addressing environmental concerns and the growing demand for renewable alternatives underscore the importance of reevaluating the methodologies. The unique characteristics of biomass-derived synthesis gas coupled with co-gasification processes present an intriguing avenue for redefining the landscape of aromatic hydrocarbon synthesis. Through this exploration, we seek to unravel the complexities of these innovative shortcuts, offering insights that may contribute to a more sustainable and greener future for the chemical industry.

ACS Sustainable Resour. Manage. 2024, 1, 11, 2338–2349. https://pubs.acs.org/toc/asrmcd/1/11. This cover image from the article "Navigating the Legislative Interventions, Challenges, and Opportunities in Revolutionizing Textile Upcycling/Recycling Processes for a Circular Economy" encapsulates the core elements of sustainable fashion, emphasizing the need for eco-conscious choices in the textile industry. From the cultivation of organic cotton and respect for animal rights to the use of natural dyes, each component highlights a crucial aspect of ethical fashion. The focus on recycling, reusing, and reducing waste is central to the circular economy, supported by innovations like recycled fabric and redesigning clothes. Together, these practices promote resource conservation and environmental responsibility, fostering a more sustainable and humane fashion industry.

Embracing a circular economy in the textile industry represents a crucial step toward sustainability, where fashion and textile sectors contribute significantly to CO2 emissions. However, transitioning from a linear "take-make-waste" model to circularity, poses multifaceted challenges, that highlight the staggering volume of annual textile waste surpassing industry predictions, thus emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive strategies. Despite advancements in recycling technologies, challenges persist in collecting and sorting textile waste, where fragmentation in waste management and recycling processes hinders effective management of post-consumer waste. Addressing these challenges demands elevated efforts in collection, sorting, and pre-processing, alongside regulatory interventions to drive enhanced waste collection and circular business models. Efforts are underway to promote sustainable textile recycling, with initiatives like the EU's Sustainable and Circular Textiles Strategy aiming to reduce reliance on virgin resources. However, achieving a circular textile market in the near future requires collaborative action and innovative solutions. Though challenges in scaling and technological limitations still remain, recent breakthroughs in textile-recycling technologies offer promise, signaling a shift toward scalable and sustainable alternatives to virgin fibers, where bio-based chemical processes, and thermochemical recycling processes present transformative opportunities. Where, bold scaling targets, collaborative efforts, and short-term funding support narrated in this perspective article are imperative to accelerate the transition to a circular textile economy, thus delving into the pivotal role of textile recycling, tracing the evolution of recycling technologies, and addressing critical challenges hindering widespread adoption.

Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) allows the conversion of syngas to high-density liquid fuels, playing a key role in the petrochemical and global energy sectors over the last century. However, the current Global Challenges impose the need to recycle CO2 and foster green fuels, opening new opportunities to adapt traditional processes like FTS to become a key player in future bioenergy scenarios. This review discusses the implementation of CO2-rich streams and in tandem catalysis to produce sustainable fuels via the next generation of FTS. Departing from a brief revision of the past, present, and future of FTS, we analyse a disruptive approach coupling FTS to upstream and downstream processes to illustrate the advantages of process intensification in the context of biofuel production via FTS. We showcase a smart tandem catalyst design strategy addressing the challenges to gather mechanistic insights in sequential transformations of reagents in complex reaction schemes, the precise control of structure-activity parameters, catalysts aging-deactivation, optimization of reaction parameters, as well as reaction engineering aspects such as catalytic bed arrangements and non-conventional reactor configurations to enhance the overall performance. Our review analysis includes technoeconomic elements on synthetic aviation fuels as a case of study for FTS applications in the biofuel context discussing the challenges in market penetration and potential profitability of synthetic biofuels. This comprehensive overview provides a fresh angle of FTS and its enormous potential when combined with CO2 upgrading and tandem catalysis to become a front-runner technology in the transition towards a low-carbon future.