Thursday 24 March 2011

The twelve principles of green chemistry

I think that a blog of Supercritical Fluids, Green Chemistry and Sustainable Development must include these 12 principles that are in fact our guideline.

Published in:
Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice, P. T. Anastas and J. C. Warner, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998.

1 Waste prevention Prevent waste from the start rather than treating or cleaning it up afterwards.
2 Atom economy Design synthetic methods to maximize the incorporation of intermediate materials into the final product.
3 Safer syntheses Design synthetic methods to minimize the use and generation of toxic substances.
4 Safer products Design chemical products to carry out their function while minimizing their toxicity.
5 Safer auxiliaries Minimize the use of solvents and other auxiliary substances, and make them as innocuous as possible.
6 Energy efficiency Minimize the energy used in chemical processes, and if possible, carry them out at ambient temperature and pressure.
7 Renewable feedstocks Use biomass and other renewable raw materials whenever practicable.
8 Derivative reduction Minimize the potentially wasteful use of blocking groups and other temporary modifications of intermediates.
9 Catalysis Prefer catalytic reagents — as selective as possible — over stoichiometric reagents.
10 Degradability Design chemical products for eventual disposal, so that they break down into innocuous compounds that do not persist in the environment.
11 Pollution prevention Develop methods for real-time monitoring and control of chemical processes that might form hazardous substances.
12 Accident prevention Choose processes and practices that minimize the potential for chemical accidents, including releases, explosions and fires.

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