All about Green Chemistry

Introduction

It was during the period leading up to the 1990s that several existing ideas and research efforts (such as those in the fields of atom economy and catalysis) came together to form green chemistry, which emerged in the context of increasing attention to the problems of chemical pollution and resource depletion.

While environmental chemistry is concerned with the effects of polluting chemicals on the environment, green chemistry is concerned with the environmental impact of chemistry, which includes reducing the consumption of nonrenewable resources and developing technological approaches to pollution prevention.

It is possible to pursue the overarching aims of green chemistry in a wide variety of circumstances, including the design of more resource-efficient and inherently safer chemicals, materials, products, and processes, among other things.

Strategy of Green chemistry:

There are five green chemistry strategies to consider.

• Increase the dynamism of the market by continuing to develop a complete and ongoing understanding of green chemistry enablers, market drivers, and constraints. 
• Encourage wise policies by developing and lobbying for state and federal policies that improve the supply of and demand for green chemistry solutions.
• Facilitating the flow of knowledge about green chemistry solutions among suppliers and product manufacturers, as well as assembling partnerships to address priority concerns, are all ways to encourage collaboration. Collaborations should include the following elements:
• Inform the marketplace by sharing information on green chemistry business potential, economic and health benefits, as well as funding and funding opportunities.
• Green chemistry progress should be measured at the firm, industry, and national level.

Green Chemistry: Its Fundamental Principles

Anastas and Warner presented 12 principles for green chemistry, which are frequently followed in practice.

In today’s world, these 12 principles of green chemistry are widely regarded as essential in order to contribute to sustainable development.

 The principles include directions on how to put into practise new chemical compounds, new synthesis, and new processes, as depicted in the following illustrations:

• First, the prevention is preferable to the treatment premise.

It is preferable to avoid waste creation from occurring in the first place rather than treating and cleaning up waste later on.

• Secondly, there is the atom economy notion.

A method for planning synthetic production pathways that maximises the incorporation of all of the chemicals employed in the synthesis into the intended product must be devised and implemented.

• Less precarious chemical synthesis

When it is possible, such synthetic approaches must be pursued since they employ and manufacture substances that are either non-toxic or just mildly toxic to the environment and human health.

• The creating safer chemicals principle is an important one.

Chemicals should be produced in such a way that they retain their desired functionality while at the same time having their toxicity reduced to a significant degree.

• Fifth, adhere to the notion of safer solvents and safer auxiliaries.

Whenever feasible, it is preferable to avoid the use of auxiliary substances such as solvents, separation agents, and other similar compounds; nevertheless, if this is not possible, harmless auxiliaries should be employed.

• Sixth, the notion of design for energy efficiency.

In order to minimise the environmental and economic impact of energy demands for chemical processes, it is necessary to first examine them in terms of and then optimise the amount of energy required.

• Renewable feedstocks is a principle that should be followed.

When it is technologically and economically viable, synthetic processes should make use of renewable raw materials and feedstocks rather than limited raw materials and feedstocks.

• Derivative reduction is a principle that can be applied in many situations.

When multiple derivatization steps are performed at the same time, such as protection and deprotection or the use of blocking groups or the temporary modification of physical/chemical processes, it necessitates the use of extra reagents and the formation of additional waste. In order to limit or reduce their use to a bare minimum, they should be avoided whenever possible.

• The catalysis principle is the ninth principle.

In general, catalytic reagents outperform stoichiometric reagents in terms of intrinsic superiority; these catalysts should be as selective as feasible in their actions.

• The degradation principle is the tenth principle.

Chemical products must be constructed in such a way that, at the end of their useful lives, they do not persist in the environment but instead decompose into harmless degradation products that are safe to consume.

• The real-time analysis for pollution prevention idea is number eleven on the list.

It is necessary to develop advanced analytical methods that will allow for real-time, in-line process monitoring and control far before hazardous compounds are created in the environment.

• The notion of accident prevention through the use of fundamentally safer chemistry.

Compounds and the compound’s formula used in a chemical process should be selected in a way that minimises the danger of chemical accidents, which might include the release of chemicals, the detonation of explosives, or the creation of a fire.

Illustrations of Green chemistry

The following examples will demonstrate its utility:

The first is dry cleaning of clothes, which was done using tetrachloroethylene as a solvent in the olden days. 

This chemical is carcinogenic and pollutes groundwater as well as surface water. 

This is accomplished nowadays by the use of liquid carbon dioxide in conjunction with an appropriate detergent. 

It produced liquid carbon dioxide as a byproduct and, as a result, polluted the environment less.

Bleaching paper was formerly accomplished using chlorine gas; however, hydrogen peroxide has since supplanted chlorine gas as a bleaching agent.

 It is necessary to utilise hydrogen peroxide in conjunction with an appropriate catalyst to enhance the bleaching activity of the peroxide.

Green chemistry is creating a healthy environment for human society, and as responsible citizens, we should all follow this example of environmental protection. 

In a pollution-free future, the living conditions will improve, and the average life expectancy on our planet will increase.

Conclusion

At both the laboratory and industrial stages, green chemistry is concerned with the engineering concept of pollution control and zero waste generation. 

It encourages the employment of cost-effective and environmentally friendly approaches that not only increase production but also reduce the cost of waste disposal at the end of a chemical process.

Ecological chemistry is becoming increasingly recognised as a potent technique that academics must employ in order to assess the environmental impact of nanotechnology.

To ensure long-term economic viability of nanomaterials, it is necessary to address the environmental and human health consequences of both the products themselves and the manufacturing procedures used to create them as they are produced.

There is a growing trend in the application of nanomaterial technologies; yet, the potential for nanotoxicity has been overlooked.

Because of this, people must give more thought to the legal, ethical, safety, and regulatory considerations that are related with nanomaterials in their research.