Green chemistry Environmental Protection

The terms green chemistry and environmentally benign synthesis have been coined to refer to procedures explicitly designed to minimize the for mation of byproducts that present disposal problems Both the National Science Foundation and the Envi ronmental Protection Agency have allocated a por tion of their grant budgets to encourage efforts m this vein... 

In the United States, several federal programmes and focused regulations that incorporate elements of green chemistry have been put into place to reduce risks. The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 has clearly stated that pollution prevention at the source is the highest and most desired level of environmental protection. ... 

Amination of aromatic nitro compounds is a very important process in both industry and laboratory. A simple synthesis of 4-aminodiphenyl amine (4-ADPA) has been achieved by utilizing a nucleophilic aromatic substitution. 4-ADPA is a key intermediate in the rubber chemical family of antioxidants. By means of a nucleophibc attack of the anilide anion on a nitrobenzene, a o-complex is formed first, which is then converted into 4-nitrosodiphenylamine and 4-nitrodiphenylamine by intra- and intermolecular oxidation. Catalytic hydrogenation finally affords 4-ADPA. Azobenzene, which is formed as a by-product, can be hydrogenated to aniline and thus recycled into the process. Switching this new atom-economy route allows for a dramatic reduction of chemical waste (Scheme 9.9).73 The United States Environmental Protection Agency gave the Green Chemistry Award for this process in 1998.74... 

The term green chemistry, describes an area of research and chemical practice that arises from scientific discoveries about pollution and ecological interdependence. Green chemistry is not necessarily environmental chemistry, although it may involve some of this. It is chemistry for the environment. The term, which was coined at the Environmental Protection Agency by Paul Anastas, advances the belief that environmentally benign chemical processes are possible and desirable. This supposition has been demonstrated to be trae in a number of significant cases. 

The need for a beacon like green chemistry is more important as the amount of information explodes. Web technology gives wide, rapid, and anonymous access to data. This expansion is raising concerns about data quality and interpretation, confidentiality, competition, and security. If scientists want to participate and be empowered in the environmental protection arena, they should be using the most up-to-date data. As scientists, they must critically evaluate the data. 

U.S. Environmental Protection USEPA Green Chemistry Pro- http //www.epa.gov/... 

Li, C.-J. (1998a) In Proceedings of the 2nd Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, pp. 213-214. 

U S Environmental Protection Agency (2005) Pollution Prevention (P2) Framework Manual, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Anastas, P. and Warner, J. (1998) Green Chemistry Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, New York. 

The authors wish to thank Enterprise Ireland (El), the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Ireland for funding green chemistry research in Nicholas Gathergood s group. 

In 1992, Porteous [17] developed some simple rules of thumb to highlight the economic benefits of environmental protection which are consistent with the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry (see Figure 2.1) ... 

United States Environmental Protection Agency (2008) The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award Recipients, 1996-2008, June 2008. 

In 1998, Paul Anastas of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with John Warner summarized the goals of green chemistry as 12 principles (Table 13.3).23 These 12 principles continue to be widely cited. 

Growing public concern over protecting our environment is obliging all chemists to modify their chemical activities in such a way that they will be conducted in an environmentally friendly manner. This can be realized within the framework of the principles of green chemistry. 

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