GREEN CHEMISTRY

1. Valdus Vong GREEN CHEMISTRY

2. Green Chemistry ‘Green Chemistry’ is essentially a way of thinking rather than a new branch of chemistry and is about utilising a set of principles that seek to reduce the environmental impact of chemical processes and products. It involves pulling together tools, techniques and technologies that can help chemists and chemical engineers in research, development and production to develop more eco-friendly and efficient products and processes, which may also have significant financial benefits. ‘Green Chemistry’ aims to improve the way that chemicals are both produced and used in chemical processes in order to reduce any impact on man and the environment. It is not just about industrial production. The principles involved apply equally to the use of chemicals in for example laboratories and education. The promotion of ‘Green Chemistry’ is one of the most important ways in which chemistry and chemists can contribute to sustainable development.

3. 4th Principle: Renewable raw materials Use starting materials that are derived from renewable resources such as plant material rather than those such as from fossil fuels that will eventually run out. Fossil fuels have been our supply for petroleum and natural gas, but its consumption will eventually reach its limit. Thus, renewable raw materials have become a more efficient alternative that we could use. This way, we can save the use of materials that are limited, and also prevent any greenhouse that the use of those materials produce.

4. What are renewable raw materials? Basically, they are a wide-range and diverse group of raw materials that are divided into; oil, carbohydrate, and fibre crops. What they commonly hold together, is that they renew themselves, annually or over-time perspectives. Provided they are cultivated and harvested in a responsible manner, they are a more sustainable and efficient option for raw materials than fossil raw materials. Renewable raw materials come from the agricultural and forestry sectors, and are applied/used in the manufacturing industries. More industries are supporting the use of renewable raw materials because it solves environmental problems in the products made and are generally more biodegradable and/or less toxic.

5. The solution renewable raw materials account for The problem of global warming has evolved as an effect of atmospheric accumulation of gases, capable of retaining within the atmosphere, incoming solar energy and thus acting like the glass walls of a greenhouse. The most important of these gases is carbon dioxide (CO2). This accumulation of CO2 occurs due to the consumption of fossil biomass deposits, in the form of coal, gas and crude oil, which leads to a transfer of carbon from these deposits to the atmosphere. With the introduction of renewable raw materials in products, we can reduce the negative global effects that are caused by the carbon emissions.

6. Ethanol The enzymatic extraction of cellulose from wood by-products produces the sugar glucose, which is then fermented to form ethanol. This ethanol can then be used as a “biological” fuel for vehicles. Under different reaction conditions, the fermentation of glucose produces glycerol. Glycerol is also a highly promising starting material for the synthesis of fuels and other organic compounds. The edible portions of corn and other grains easily ferment into ethanol because of the abundance of starch.Thestarch is turned into sugar, which is then fermented into ethanol, but cellulosic vegetation consists of a hard, fibrous cellulose and lignin which must first be converted into starches before they can be fermented. Breakthrough processing has succeeded in utilizing every bit of a plant such as corn, including leaves and stalks.

7. Bayer Scientific Research Climate protection is a top priority around the world. Oil shortages are likewise making the search for alternatives to fossil raw materials even more urgent. Scientists at Bayer Material Science are responding to these challenges.

8. Ideal use of renewable raw material at Bayer The idea of scientists at Bayer is to use renewable raw materials as the biological basis for high-quality polymers. For example, they want to use vegetable oils or vegetable waste from the paper industry or biodiesel production to manufacture car seats and “green shoe soles”. Insulating materials for refrigerators or floor coverings could soon also be produced in this way.

9. Green Chemistry Group The Green Chemistry Group, led by Professor James Clark, is based in the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York. This group has a long established reputation for working closely with industry and research through close collaboration with chemical engineering and other disciplines. Members of the group are also involved in promoting the general concepts of clean technology towards an improved public understanding of science. The group works at the frontiers of modern chemical research in the areas of clean synthesis, catalysis, novel materials and application of renewable resources and seeks to: - Develop new cleaner chemical processes to replace environmentally unacceptable methods. - Apply innovative catalyst technology to established industrial processes. - Reduce waste through increased reagent and solvent efficiency. - Develop environmentally acceptable routes to important organic products. - Design new environmentally friendly materials including those based on renewable resources.

10. References http://safety.chemistry.unimelb.edu.au/pdf/Green%20chemistry.pdf http://www.research.bayer.com/edition-20/renewable_raw_materials.aspx http://www.physorg.com/news68122608.html http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/environment/reports_studies/reports/rrm-finalreport-dj-july2000.pdf http://www.york.ac.uk/res/gcg/GCG/index.htm