Green chemistry

A Method for Assessing Greener Alternatives Between Chemical Products Following the 12 Principle of Green Chemistry, Kreuder, A.D., T. House-Knight, J. Whitford, E. Ponnusamy, P. Miller, N. Jesse, R. Rodenborn, S. Sayag, M. Gebel, I. Aped, I. Sharfstein, E. Manaster, I. Ergaz, A. Harris, and L.N. Grice, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 2017, 5 (4), pp 2927–2935, Publication Date (Web): March 13, 2017 (Research Article), DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b02399.

In Chapter 21 we discuss many of the goals of green chemistry which is fast becoming a mature subject, but understanding best practices is not always straightforward. This paper provides companies that are interested in improving chemicals and processes, while reducing environmental impacts, a means to assess how best to be ‘green’. Following the 12 principles of green chemistry the authors outline a framework for identifying a greener chemical or process.

 

Battery energy technology

Future of Electrochemical Energy Storage, Yang-Kook Sun (Senior Editor, ACS Energy Letters), Department of Energy Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea, ACS Energy Lett., 2017, 2 (3), pp 716–716, Publication Date (Web): March 10, 2017 DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.7b00158.

Improved battery energy technology will be one of the most important advancements required as we move forward to reduce the use of carbon based fuels.  This editorial provide a brief overview of the state of the lithium ion battery and its replacement by the next generation of sodium ion batteries (SIBs).

 

Renewable energy

How green is my future?, Tollefson J., Nature 473 (2011) 134 (Published by Nature, May 2011)

The introductory section of Chapter 21, underlines the importance of energy in determining the Earth’s future. This brief but well-illustrated article is based on the important idea that energy consumption provides an integrative view of many environmental issues. It examines the potential for renewable resources to replace fossil fuels in many applications around the world. The three major renewables are biofuels, direct solar energy and wind energy, together making up about 13% of global energy consumption if conventional biomass combustion is included in the calculation. There is potential for this fraction to increase considerably, with the greatest potential for growth being in Asia.

 

Green chemistry

Chemistry: It's not easy being green, Sanderson K., Nature 469 (2011) 18-20 (Published by Nature, January 2011)

Using environmentally sound principles in carrying out syntheses and other industrially important chemical processes has become a major goal in many organizations. This article indicates some of the difficulties but also the importance of undertaking the creative challenges involved in doing what is now called green chemistry. It also reviews some success stories, and importantly presents a set of widely-accepted principles of green chemistry.