Green chemistry continued

In the 20 years since the Brunddand report, great developments have taken place in industries toward sustainable practices. As a case in point, the problem of acid rain, an issue of concern in 1987, has improved to a large extent, thanks to catalytic pollution abatement both in stationary and automotive emissions. Catalysis for Green Chemistry and Engineering will continue to have a cracial role in improving the environmental performance of industry [25-27]. Nowadays, catalytic procedures are often implemented according to the green chemistry... 

Both approaches are useful and they are also complementary because it is important to know where a chemical that may be best in its class falls out with respect to hazard. For example, a surfactant that is best in its class will be rapidly biodegradable, but most surfactants have some aquatic toxicity because they are surface active. However, surfactants as a class are typically close to the green end of the hazard spectrum because they tend to have low hazard ratings for most other endpoints. It is also possible to have chemicals that are best in their class but that are still problematic. For example, some dioxin congeners are less toxic than others but one would not presume that a dioxin congener that is best in its class is green . Concurrent use of the best in class approach with the absence of hazard approach is also important because it drives continual advancement within a class toward the ideal green chemistry. Once innovation occurs and a chemical or product is developed that meets the same or better performance criteria with lower hazard, what was once considered best in class shifts. 

The GRI provides a useful framework for sustainability reporting and continues to evolve. While the GRI currently focuses on a broad set of sustainability metrics, it could be adapted to include green chemistry metrics. 

In this chapter we describe strategies, tools and metrics that are currently and publicly available for advancing green chemical inventories in products and processes. The science of green chemistry will continue to advance as will the frameworks, strategies, tools and metrics that support understanding, implementation and reporting. 

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. 

Phan, N T S. and Brown, D.H. and Styring, P. (2004). A faeile method for catalyst immobilisation on silica nickel catalysed Kumada reactions in mini-continuous flow and batch reactors. Green Chemistry, 6, 526-532. 

In addition to the resources listed above, ACS continues to develop new resources such as new textbooks infused with green chemistiy business school case studies being conducted to emphasize the connection between green chemistry and economics and other user driven tools. Parent concluded that students are our greatest resource in green chemistry education and developing them should be our key goal. ... 

As time passes and our awareness of our global environment increases, the world s populace becomes acutely cognizant of the detrimental effects resulting from human endeavors. Incorporated into its assessment of the success of its chemical activities, an environmental barometer will demonstrate the commitment of chemistry to the environment. Green chemistry has as its aim to conduct its chemical activities in such a way as to minimize the generation of waste and to continually increase the beneficial environmental effects relative to previous practices. 

A commitment to continuous improvement that parallels advances in green chemistry is a central element of all DfE partnerships. The DfE Program continually monitors advances in green chemistry to inform its chemical assessments and product-labeling decisions. 

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