Green Chemistry Alternatives

Additionally, the environmental issue of utilizing waste cellulosic material and waste biomass products should be considered as an alternative green chemistry application to the production of many value added products. The combinatorial utilization of carbohydrate scaffolds based on chiral building block functionalization will also constitute attractive and relatively cheap starting materials. This rich selection of potential approaches, combined with further developments of new procedures and modem reagents, creates an enormous opportunity for the field to be at the frontier for many years to come. 

Chemical reduction is the most frequently applied method for the preparation of silver nanoparticles as stable, colloidal dispersions in water or organic solvents. However, a number of alternative green chemistry synthesis routes have been reported. Inspired by mussel adhesive proteins, a novel functional polyurethane based on hydrolyzable tannins that contain a number of catechol groups was... 

Industrial electrochemical reduction processes exist for the conversion of 3-hydroxybenzoic acid to 3-hydroxybenzyl alcohol and 4-nitroben-zoic acid to 4-aminobenzoic acid. How may these processes be carried out Compare these processes in terms of the Principles of Green Chemistry with alternative non-electrochemical methods. 

Eliminating chemicals of concern can lead a company to become more proactive by creating demand for greener alternatives and by positively defining chemicals. While it may appear at first to be restrictive in terms of disallowing chemicals, in practice it tends to drive innovation and lead to the development of new chemicals and products - part of what makes green chemistry so attractive to people of widely divergent views. 

Similarly, the various EU directives that mandate substance bans have initiated wide scale research and development of alternative materials. Lead is a case in point. Lead has been widely used in the electronic industry in solders. Lead-free solders have existed for many years but it was the mandate in the Restriction of use of certain Flazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) to have products free of lead by July 2006 that spurred industry research, planning and adoption of the substitutes. Annex I lists examples of Green Chemistry case studies where research was stimulated in response to legislation targeting hazardous materials. 

Costs of alternatives may initiaiiy be higherthan continued use of a chemical of very high concern, but increased demand for the alternative will drive costs down, particularly as competition increases among producers to supply the new market demand. Chemical producers will in turn find an expanded market for Green Chemistry products. 

The information was compiled from paper and on-line research and from direct phone conversations and meetings with industry representatives. The more comprehensive overview of case studies of company substitutions for brominated flame retardants demonstrates both the complexity and feasibility of implementing safer alternatives. Other case studies show how leading retailers are moving to phase-out hazardous materials and how some chemical industries are researching and implementing Green Chemistry alternatives. 

The chemical industry is often the strongest link in the supply chain since they provide the chemical formulations to their buyers and are in control of research into alternatives. The recent emergence of Green Chemistry and its 12 criteria has spurred innovation into safer chemicals. A few examples illustrate the progress taking place and suggest a wider potential for innovation should more market demand for safer chemicals occur. 

Tools for early design assessment to predict environmental properties, investigate green chemistry alternatives, and design molecules with lower environmental impacts. 

Electronic Tools Green Chemistry Alternative Selection Protocol NEMI Analytical Method Database Green Chemistry Institute Kathryn Parent... 

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