Benign catalysis, environmentally, green

For example, the 7th Green and Sustainable Chemistry Awards given in 2008 were dedicated to the development of (i) an environmentally benign THE polymerization process utilizing solid acid catalysis (various researchers of Mitsubishi Chemical),... 

Keywoids. Environmentally benign synthesis, Catalysis, Green solvents. Supercritical fluids. Carbon dioxide. 

One of the areas garnering attention in catalysis research has been the development of green or environmentally benign catalytic systems. For olefin metathesis, the trend has been to develop catalytic systems that can be efficiently recycled. Success in this area has multiple implications for OM processes. First, a recyclable catalyst will give overall more turnovers per catalyst molecule, and thereby be more economical. Second, a catalyst that can be efficiently recycled (low loss of activity over repeated uses) leaches less Ruthenium into the product and thus less expensive processing costs. To this end immobilization of the olefin metathesis catalysts on a variety of solid supports and utilization of nonorganic solvent systems have been explored. 

Wolfgang Holderich and D. Heinz (Technische Hochschule Aachen) illustrate a problem - the application of heterogeneous catalysts to the environmentally benign synthesis of fine chemicals, such as fragrances. This is one example of how catalysts can be developed to synthesize products efficiently and cleanly. This type of green catalysis is one of the challenges we face, especially with large volume commodity chemicals. 

Heterogeneous catalysis, in particular, addresses the goals of green chemistry by providing the ease of separation of product and catalyst, thereby eliminating the need for separation through distillation or extraction. In addition, environmentally benign catalysts such as clays and zeolites, may replace more hazardous catalysts currently in use. 

Environmentally benign chemical synthesis and processes (green catalysis, green solvents and reagents, atom-economy synthetic methods etc.)... 

Green chemistry has been developed to meet the increasing demand for environmentally benign chemical processes. The use of room temperature ionic hquids (ILs) as either solvents or catalysts has attracted much attention in recent years [1]. ILs consist entirely of ions and have no measurable vapor pressure that makes them attractive as alternative solvents for homogeneous catalysis. Their polar nature allows the stabilization of ionic transition metal complexes and metal nanoparticles (NPs) [2],... 

Despite the great deal of research that has been conducted on enzymatic catalysis in recent years, the potential of this area of catalysis for use in environmentally benign synthesis has just begun to be realized. Due to both the innocuous nature of enzyme catalysts to human health and the environment and their potential for displacing more hazardous catalysts, the use of enzyme catalysts is in concert with the goals of Green Chemistry. 

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