Green Chemistry Principles - Process Intensification for Green Chemistry - page 32

2

Green Chemistry Principles

James Clark, Duncan Macquarrie, Mark Gronnow and Vitaly Budarin

Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, University of York, York, UK

2.1 Introduction

'Green chemistry' was coined as a term in the early 1990s by staff at the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and subsequently by Anastas and Warner [1] as an attempt to
bring together the work being undertaken worldwide on clean chemical technologies.
However, attempts to think 'green' were already underway prior to this, due to the increase
in stringent environmental protection laws and social pressures. A definition of 'green
chemistry' is difficult to provide, as numerous, albeit similar, ones exist. It is defined by
Warner and Anastas as 'the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or
eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances' [1], whereas the EPA defines it
thus: 'Green chemistry, also known as sustainable chemistry, is the design of chemical
products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous
substances. Green chemistry applies across the life cycle of a chemical product, including
its design, manufacture, and use' [2]. Embracing life cycle considerations is in keeping
with the current way of thinking in research and commerce.
Green chemistry focuses on the design of chemical products and processes that are
environmentally benign. In other words, if green chemistry is used in a process, its inputs
and outputs should become safer, its energy consumption should be reduced and its costs
should be reduced as yields increase, separations become simpler and less waste is
generated. Yes - green chemistry can be cheaper! However, in many cases industrial