Future perspectives on non-destructive material characterization methods towards sustainability and circular economy

This chapter discussed the future perspectives on non-destructive material characterizations with the view of sustainability and circular economy. The main contents covered were: material heterogeneities and complexity, and coupling multiple methods. Complexity and heterogeneity are the descriptions of our modern life and products while sustainability and circular economy are the key concepts to maintain them for our current and future society. This chapter first detailed the correlation between the complexity/heterogeneity and life cycle of a product, and then indicated some potential future contributions of non-destructive material characterization to both forward logistics to create new products/materials and reverse logistics to recycling/circulate end-of-life products.