Green chemistry is just over 25 years old. Over this period, the drive to create safer chemicals and more sustainable industrial processes has become increasingly accepted, and profitable. Estimates suggest the , from renewable feedstocks to green polymers, may reach nearly $100 billion by 2020.
Until now, green chemistry 鈥� which aims to minimize the use and generation of hazardous substances 鈥� has been picking up steam mainly in the developed world. But this growing field, along with much of the research behind it, is just starting to spread beyond North America and Western Europe. Can the movement gain traction in other, less affluent, regions?
Experts from Yale and 看片视频 universities, supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), are trying to help make this happen. Over the past several months, the researchers have run workshops for academic and industry participants in a half-dozen countries around the globe, from Brazil and Colombia to Serbia and South Africa 鈥� providing a toolbox of environmentally friendly techniques to people who, in turn, could train others.
- Helping Serbian mining clean up: microorganisms that offset pollution and increase production
- Colombian coffee 鈥渄etox鈥�: creating new sources of employment and income for rural families
- Electrically charged tea cups:听translating knowledge from academia to business
鈥淭ranslating knowledge from academia to business can seed ideas and produce concrete solutions,鈥� says 看片视频 chemistry professor Audrey Moores, who led the workshop in Pretoria. 鈥淔or example, people from the mining industry in South Africa were very interested when I talked about techniques for the treatment of ores that involve using mechanical force to achieve chemical transformations. They had never heard of this possibility before, because the research is only emerging now within the scientific community.鈥�
For participants, the attraction of learning about more sustainable technologies lay not only in reducing environmental harm, but also in the potential long-term financial benefits of going green 鈥撎齮hough in some cases there were no immediate or simple solutions to specific problems.
鈥淥ne of the biggest environmental issues in South Africa is that we generate the bulk of our energy from burning coal,鈥� said Rhoanda Jansen van Rensburg, a consultant from Pretoria. 鈥淎ffordable gas finds that can replace coal may reduce these carbon emissions, but may also reduce the coal mining work force.鈥�
All agreed that starting the conversation between green chemistry researchers and industry was a first step in the right direction.
Seeding new ideas
In Serbia, one of the major environmental issues is pollution caused by the mining industry. During the workshop in Belgrade, run by 看片视频 professor Tomislav Fri拧膷i膰, participants brainstormed about using microorganisms to clean up the landscape and to enhance the separation and exploitation of mineral resources such as copper, lead or zinc.
鈥淎fter much discussion, we came to have a clearer grasp of the technological and economic opportunities that existed in the region, and how best to capitalize on them,鈥� Fri拧膷i膰 says.
In the space of a week, the trainers from 看片视频 delivered two-thirds of a semester鈥檚 course in green chemistry to the participants. For trainers and participants alike, it was an intense, exhilarating and sometimes challenging experience 鈥� involving frank exchanges of opinion.
鈥淲hen you bring industry and academia and consultants together, it takes some time for a cross-pollination of ideas,鈥� says Karolina Mellor, program manager at Yale鈥檚 Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering. She created the framework and materials for the workshops and co-facilitated each one. 鈥淲orkshops like these are not just about delivering content. They give opportunities for like-minded people to come together to build a community around green chemistry.鈥�
Because developing countries often aren鈥檛 saddled with old-tech infrastructure (such as widespread telephone lines), introducing innovative techniques can also spark rapid industrial changes 鈥渂ecause they are able to build from scratch,鈥� notes 看片视频 chemistry professor Chao-Jun Li, who led the workshop in Colombia. 鈥淭hink of cell phone adoption in countries in Africa or in India.鈥�
Over the next year, there are plans to build a compendium of information about the full range of current green chemistry techniques and technologies so that workshop participants will have tools to refer to as they move forward.
