Environment energy crisis

The natural silicate minerals have been paid more attention to deal with the environment pollution and energy crisis. As a mass of natural the layer silicate clay mineral, attapulgite (ATP) and vermiculite (VMT) have a wide variety of industrial applications such as absorbent, catalyst carrier, densifying agent, adhesive, and food additive. In this chapter, we summarized the synthesis and photocatalytic performance of nano-silicates-based photocatalysts, which provided a general approach for the improvement and design of visible-light-driven photocatalysis. 

Integration between the processes that led to the location of the chemical industry (and energy) in relatively few macro sites, whose impact on society and the environment is one of the causes contributing to the present crisis. 

The 1970s had opened with the first oil crisis. This geopolitical event made political leaders seek alternative energy sources. The chemical profession followed the money. Since grants were awarded for work on alternative energy sources and environmental issues, chemists started work in such areas. They became environmentally conscious (Baird 1995) and started cleaning-up their operation, whether in industrial plants or in academic laboratories. Everybody became safety-conscious, and pollution of the environment became drastically curtailed (Ember 1991, Rodrick 1992, McGinn 2000). 

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