At a time when the booming chemical industry is making waves across the world, Informex 2010, a leading event for the chemical fraternity, seems to make waves within it acting as a catalyst and channel for growth of this exciting and innovation driven market. It’s only a couple of days away for the long awaited gathering of the chemical and allied sector players from across the globe in San Francisco, CA to discuss new happenings in the entire spectrum of chemical business value chain, exhibit innovative products to familiarise them to the international chemical fraternity and chart out the future strategic partnering and alliance course to leverage the outsourcing opportunities and give a push to their growth prospects.
Informex 2010 will be held from 16th to 19th February in Moscone South Convention Centre, San Francisco, CA. It will feature the second annual Green Exchange, a pavilion focusing mainly on environment friendly innovation related to chemical processes. The Green Exchange will kick-off on Thursday morning at 7:30 AM with a Green Chemistry Breakfast Briefing, which will be organized with the ACS Green Chemistry and sponsored by Newreka. Executives and research scientists will offer Green solutions to manufacturing programs established within the chemical, pharmaceutical, and alternative fuel industries.
For detailed information of Events:
http://www.informex.com/events
To view the floor plan visit:
http://www.informex.com/2010floorplan
Finally, the historic Industrial Green Chemistry Workshop – 2009 concluded with a huge success. At a time, when the entire world is keenly watching on the Copenhagen summit, expecting a greener and brighter future, IGCW was truly India’s contribution towards a sustainable future.
Today when the chemical world is facing the challenge of addressing the E-factor (kgs waste generated / kg production), innovative and sustainable concepts of Green Chemistry and Green Engineering should be the new paradigms to address these emerging challenges. Thus, it is imperative that various stakeholders of the Chemical Industry came together to make this event a huge success.The event witnessed the presence of the who’s who of the chemical industry, viz, Prof. Paul Anastas, Dr. John Warner, Dr. Rajendra Varma, so on and so forth…
The workshop which was based on the 9 Eye approach, took the audience right from understanding the concept of Green chemistry from the horse’s mouth, viz, Prof. Paul Anastas to citing examples of companies, such as Tata Chemicals, who has built India’s the most efficient Urea Plant in Babrala. Also, various intricate technical details about chemical compositions also where talked about in the event, such as, Dr. Murli Shastry’s lecture on the biological synthesis of nano-oxides, Dr.Myers lecture on obstructed bladder syndrome, etc. The event also was an opportunity for the participants to ask and understand anything and everything about Industrial Green Chemistry from the experts. It was also a prestigious platform where the contributors towards sustainability received their due recognition in the form of awards and exhibition. Companies, such as, Catapharma, PI Industries Ltd. , etc. were awarded for their benign initiatives. Even students initiatives were awarded.
However, truly a global event, I hope that this event become an inspiration for everyone to adopt benign ways and protect our planet from the ghastly disaster of global warming. If you have missed to be a part of this event, then you can check out the web telecast here at http://www.industrialgreenchem.com/index.html
Also, this is just a beginning, so if you have missed the opportunity to be at IGCW this time, then prepare yourself to be with us in the year 2011. Let us together share our sustainable contribution with the world!
The much-awaited Industrial Green Chemistry is finally here. The first day, i.e., 4th December, 2009, marked the beginning of the unprecedented workshop. Here the who’s who of the chemical and pharmaceutical industry are present to share, interact, partner, and take back value of the event. What else, the likes of Prof. Paul Anastas, the Father of Green Chemistry and Dr. John Warner, who together co-founded the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry have already begun sharing their experiences and knowledge on industrial green chemistry with the participants of the event.
The workshop begun at 8 am IST with a welcome speech by Mr. Nitesh Mehta, the convener of Industrial Green Chemistry Workshop, 2009, which was followed by the inauguration ceremony by Dr.Ramaswamy, who also delivered speech on Industrial Green Chemistry. Dr. John Warner, who is also the chief guest at IGCW, gave a keynote speech laying an introduction to IGCW 2009. Further, the co-founders of Green chemistry were felicitated by Dr. Ramaswamy.Then finally the much-awaited speeches by the key people of the industry begun. So, to catch up more on the event stay tune with us:
India’s environmental regulations have become stronger in the 25 years since Bhopal, but enforcing them remains a challenge.In the Niyamgiri Hills in the state of Orissa, on the east coast of India, activists have been waging a years-long legal battle to stall the development of a bauxite mine and aluminum refinery on protected forestland. The project has been opposed by members of local tribal communities, Indian environmental organizations, and an international human rights group. According to opponents, who have filed complaints with India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), Sterlite Industries (India), Ltd., a subsidiary of U.K. mining firm Vedanta Resources, made misleading statements in its environmental impact assessment, including separating the mining and refining projects, which were meant to operate in tandem. The opponents also argue that the mining operation will affect land that forms an important wildlife corridor and is home to indigenous tribes that are protected by Indian law.
Attempts to reach Sterlite by phone and email were unsuccessful, but the company has previously stated that the projects are separate and that indigenous tribes were consulted.
To the activists, the fact that this argument is still going on is a victory of sorts. Although the refinery has been built, the mining has not yet begun because of these legal challenges. In a country still known for having failed to remediate the site of one of the worst environmental disasters in modern history, environmental regulation has come a long way. Twenty-five years ago, on December 3, 1984, at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, a tank of methyl isocyanate leaked 40 tons of toxic gas into the nearby community. Estimates of the death toll vary, but at least 3000 people were killed instantly and thousands more died later from health problems caused by the leak. At the time, India did have legislation to regulate air and water pollution, but it did not have comprehensive environmental protections in place. Reports from numerous outside groups, including Amnesty International, have noted that the Bhopal plant did not employ safety precautions on a par with those at similar Union Carbide plants in the U.S. These reports have also faulted decisions that led up to the gas leak, including how the methyl isocyanate was stored, as well as the company’s failure to provide the community and surrounding hospitals with toxicity information immediately after the leak. In 1989, the Indian Supreme Court approved a compensation fund of approximately $470,000 that has so far granted compensation to about 500,000 people, but critics argue that many who were left disabled by the leak have been turned away. To this day, the site has not been fully remediated. A statement on the website of Dow Chemical, which acquired Union Carbide, says that “although Dow never owned nor operated the plant, wesalong with the rest of industryshave learned from this tragic event, and we have tried to do all we can to assure that similar incidents never happen again.” Even though the former Union Carbide site has yet to be fully remediated, environmental awareness and activism have grown in India, as in other countries, during the intervening years. A paper in the India Infrastructure Report 2002 noted that India had about 20 times more environmentally oriented non-governmental organizations at that point than in 1985. And the disaster precipitated important environmental legislation. In 1986, the country’s Environment Protection Act, which empowers the central government to control pollution and protect the environment, was passed; the country’s Air Act was amended in 1987 and its Water Act in 1988. In 1994, another law required those who want building permits to obtain environmental impact assessments. In 1997, public hearings became part of the environmental assessment process.
In the early 1990s, the Supreme Court interpreted Article 21 of India’s constitution, which guarantees the right to life, as including the right to pollution-free air and water. At the same time, however, the country’s economy is surging. Between 2003 and 2008, India’s GDP grew at an average rate of 8.8% per year, according to the State of Environment Report India 2009 from the MOEF. In India, as in so many other places worldwide, development and environmental protection are often at odds. “Our Environment Protection Act is one of the best in the world,” says Moulika Arabhi, the program coordinator of the Centre for Environmental Law at WWF-India’s office in New Delhi. However, she notes that the law, as well as the country’s water and air acts are decades old and that “the environment has undergone drastic degradation, and the causes for such degradation have changed…. What is required is to identify loopholes, create clauses to make it watertight, and repeal those rules which are not effective.” To better understand how effectively India’s laws help balance Environmental conservation with development, Kanchi Kohli and Manju Menon, researchers with the Delhi-based environmental organization Kalpavriksh, analyzed data on environmental impact assessments clearances. The researchers were concerned that they had observed instances of companies not fully complying with requirements after receiving clearances. Using India’s Right to Information Act, they counted the total number of clearances granted between 1986 and August 2008 and collected detailed data on clearances granted in 2003. In 2003, 223 building clearances were granted. When clearances are granted, developers are required to submit followup monitoring reports every six months. In addition, officials from the six regional offices of the MOEF may conduct site visits to monitor projects. In a report released earlier this year, Kohli and Menon found that with two to four scientists in each of those six offices and 4016 total clearances granted between 1986 and 2006, the ministry simply doesn’t have enough staff to enforce its rules. “Out of 223 projects [cleared in 2003], only 150 projects have reported [on] compliance at least once in the years between 2003 and 2007. In the Southern region alone, 30 out of 75 cleared projects have never submitted a compliance report,” they note. And they found some interesting reporting habits, such as one company that submitted five identical compliance reports. Similarly, ministry offices reported being able to visit only a fraction of the development projects in their region each year. The challenges are only likely to increase in coming years. In 2006, the environmental impact assessment process was streamlined, and by August 2008, 2016newprojects had been cleared for constructions slightly more than half the total that was cleared in the previous 20 years. “The basic bias of the government of India is to push through all development projects,” says Armin Rosencranz, a former Stanford University professor and coauthor, along with Shyam Divan, of Environmental Law and Policy in India. (The book’s second edition was published in 2001.) India’s courts provide one avenue through which citizens can challenge development projects. In recent decades, environmental lawsuits have increased at all levels, all the way up to the country’s Supreme Court, notes Rosencranz. This led to the creation in 1997 of a body designed specifically to hear challenges to the environmental clearances granted by the MOEF. Because such appeals relate to projects ranging from power plants to airports to mining, the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) was structured to include members with technical expertise who could help the tribunal with complicated scientific questions.
In a commentary Rosencranz wrote last summer while serving as a visiting fellow at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (known as ATREE) in Bangalore, he argued that most of the technical appointments had gone to people who did not possess the needed skill sets. Rather, he wrote, “it seems obvious that the posts of technical member(s) of theNEAAhave become retirement jobs for superannuated officers from the MOEF and the state government. This is not only unseemly and corrupt; it also deprives the NEAA of expert members who could render careful and knowledgeable decisions on crucial ecological issues.” The result, he argued, is that the NEAA dismisses the majority of petitions that come before it. In 2007, local activist Prafulla Smanthra challenged the environmental clearance for the Vedanta aluminum smelting plant in Orissa, and the petition was dismissed. Such dismissals are common; the next step is for cases to be filed in the traditional courts. Although India’s courts take on environmental cases, such challenges are not always easy. In the U.S., attorneys often take such cases on contingencys that is, they are paid out of any money they obtain for their clients. That system does not exist in India, so petitioners must either pay out of pocket or rely on a small group of nonprofit attorneys who have come to specialize in environmental issues. “Litigation in India is incredibly slow and costly, unless there’s a constitutional claim,” says Rosencranz. “Cases can take 10 to 20 years.”
A proposal that was tabled in Parliament in August and is expected to be considered this fall would create a fast-track court called the National Green Tribunal that would replace the NEAA and hear all environmental cases. Whether it will be an improvement over the existing system is unclear. “The concern here is the existing National Environment Appellate Authority has been criticized for its record of dismissing all but one petition in the last 12 years. So, one has to wait and watch,” says WWF-India’s Arabhi. Back in Orissa, the battles continue. The refinery is operational, although the company is importing raw materials from outside the state. Andeven that operation is facing challenges: on July 13, Orissa’s state pollution control board issued notices to the aluminum refinery charging that particulate matter in the refinery’s emissions exceeded the upper limit of 100 milligrams per cubic meter and that the company was discharging untreated wastewater with high levels of fluoride; this was reported in India’s leading environmental magazine, down-to-earth. A company representative told the magazine that Vedanta would comply with the pollution board’s direction. The mining project has taken longer to get off the ground. The company has stated that it plans to begin mining in 2010. A preliminary environmental clearance, which environmentalists are challenging, was issued in spring 2009. In September, the U.K. government issued a critique of Vedanta, arguing that the company had ignored the rights of tribal communities in the Niyamgiri Hills, and both local and international protests continue. “The success is that since 2004, the company has still not been able to begin mining, which itself is an important indicator,” says Kohli.
Published by American Chemical Society
We all are aware about how much harm we are doing to the nature. So, if we don’t do something to compensate our mistake now, then never will we get a chance. And who else, Industrial Green Chemistry Workshop (IGCW) 2009 is giving you this golden opportunity to understand your gaffe and take the right step at the earliest.
IGCW is the very first platform that will bring the who’s who of the chemical industry from around the globe to discuss, talk, enlighten, and help others to implement benign technologies to enhance the economical and environmental competitiveness of the chemical industry through sustainable ways. It means novel products, new chemistries, innovative engineering, and therefore manifold opportunities and better profitability.
IGCW is based on the 9-Eye (I) Approach, i.e., Ignition, Inspiration, Initiation, Identification, Invention, Innovation, Industrialization, Implementation, and Impact. Each eye expands the vision of participants engaging them into emerging views of Industrial Green Chemistry (IGC) paradigms. The first two days of the workshop would concentrate on sowing the seed of industrial green chemistry in the minds of the participants. On the third day, i.e., 6th December, 2009, eminent people from the associated field will talk on how to implement it. The vision of this workshop is to see industries consider green chemistry and green engineering as a true mantra for corporate innovation, thereby transcending from the 20th century GREY industrial age to the 21st century GREEN industrial age.
Stressing on the 8th eye, i.e., Industrialization, renowned people, viz., Dr. RK Sharma, Dr. Alok Adhelya, Mr. Nitesh Mehta, and Dr. Kira Matus will give lectures on how to transform “pollution control” to “pollution prevention” as a profit-centre approach. Dr. R.K. Sharma and Dr. Alok Adhelya, together will give a speech on Applications of microbe-plant-chemistry Approach to address Bio-Energy and Bio-Remediation needs. Mr. Nitesh Mehta will speak on a very interesting and untouched topic, Enviropreneurship – A model to accelerate implementation of green chemistry. Dr. Kira Matus will speak on Understanding Innovation for sustainable future: A comparison study of Green Chemistry in US, India, and China.
Chemical industry is definitely going to tread a new path, after attending IGCW. So if you haven’t registered with us, hurry up … only few days are left for the D-day!
Being aware of something but still not practically implementing it, for the betterment of the society is what most of us do. So here’s the chance to actually understand and implement the concept of Industrial Green Chemistry for the production and delivery of chemical products in a sustainable way.
Industrial Green Chemistry Workshop (IGCW 2009) is a workshop where the participants can understand, realize, and explore the ways to implement green technologies to enhance the economical and environmental competitiveness of the chemical industry. The three-day workshop, based on the 9-Eye (I) Approach, will gradually take the participants through different aspects of industrial green chemistry.
All the three days will focus on their respective themes. The final day of the workshop will encompass specific requirements of industries for implementing IGC, and thus elucidate ecological and economical impact concerning the process, production, project, operation managers, vice-presidents, etc. The theme for the last day would be Implementation, Industrialisation, and Impact. Consequent to the keynote address by Dr. Amy Cannon on Green Chemistry: From classroom to manufacturing, Dr. Joe Armstrong, Dr. Shailendra Singh, and Dr. Gottumukkala V Subbaraju will elaborate on ways to implement IGC to achieve triple bottom line of Planet, People, and Profit.
Dr. Joseph Armstrong will speak on Green Chemistry through Innovation at Merck. He will highlight on the development of an environmentally benign alternative manufacturing route to sitagliptin, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in JANUVIA®. He will speak about how Merck and Codexis have collaborated to discover and develop a transaminase capable of catalyzing the production of chiral amine from a complex ketone precursor in high yield and nearly perfect enantioselectivity. Dr. Shailendra Singh will speak on how the conventional method for niacin production is less efficient and highly pollutant and forms a big threat to environment and overall community. Consequently, he will elaborate on innovative and sustainable ways of producing niacin viz., niacin production via catalysis, where chemical conversion consisting a number of individual reaction steps, are brought about in one reaction step by applying multi-functional catalyst, making the process much more cleaner, greener (eco-friendly), and carbon efficient. Further, Dr. G. V. Subbaraju will elaborate on green technology for the esterification of carboxylic acids presenting details from many successful examples. Wow! Isn’t it really an all-encompassing session!
I am definitely going to be a part of this workshop. What about you?
Years after years scientists around the world have been inventing some or the other technologies for the enhancement of the society. Hardly did they worry about the negative effects of the technologies or the chemicals that they created. But now when the water has crossed the head level, not only the scientists but even the laymen have realized the consequences of playing with the nature. Thus, initiatives and innovations are taken towards a sustainable future.
At Industrial Green Chemistry Workshop 2009, various renowned scholars and industry people will come together not only to spread a word about benign ways of delivering products and services but also to show illustrations and success stories of big companies who have achieved success inspite of adopting benign technologies. For this, on the second day of the workshop, speakers, such as, Prof. G D Yadav, Dr. Anil Kumar, and Dr. Rajendra Varma will give lectures wherein they will explain about innovations using various catalysis.
Prof. G. D Yadav will speak on innovations in catalysis as a tool for greener chemical products. Dr. Rajendra Varma, who was acknowledged as the “Visionary of the Year” at the “Green Technology for the Environment” conference for promotion and support of green and sustainable technologies, will speak on organics and nonmaterial and their greener applications.
As a result, IGCW would be the right platform for entrepreneurs and people related to the chemical industry to explore and innovate ways to go benign in their production houses. So are you there with us?
Identifying the problem and taking the right step at the right time is very important in every decision-making situations of life. Industrial Green Chemistry Workshop (IGCW) is such an initiative wherein a group of entrepreneurs and industry people have identified the need of the hour and have taken their first step towards a sustainable future.
IGCW 2009 aims to take green chemistry from the cauldrons of the laboratory to the corridors of industry. The workshop aims to encourage pharmaceutical and chemical industries to deliver products and services in benign ways, untainted by toxic routes and environmental damage. This three-day workshop is meticulously designed on the basis of a 9-Eye (I) Approach. Each ‘eye’ expands the vision of participants for engaging them into emerging views of Industrial Green Chemistry paradigms.
The first day of the workshop will concentrate on igniting, inspiring, and encouraging people to take initiation in the field of green chemistry. The theme for the second day, i.e., 5th December, 2009, is Identification, Invention, and Innovation. The target for this day will be the technical directors, process managers, production mangers, R&D managers, etc. On this day, renowned speakers, viz, Dr. Kenneth Geiser, Dr. Pete Meyers, and Dr. S Ahmad will give lectures on different aspects of sustainable technologies which will help identify the key challenges in the field of industrial green chemistry. They will help the participants to view the various paradigms in the upcoming domain of Industrial Green Chemistry, providing significant input for identifying its application. Industrial case studies, paper presentations by institutes, scientists, and researchers will be integrated as relevant to the theme. So after initiation, they will be able to identify what’s the urgent need for an hour and to innovate them.
So are you ready to be with us to identify the key problems standing as an obstacle for a sustainable future?
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” How rightly said by Mahatma Gandhi. If you wish to change the way the world is working, you have to take your first small step as a foundation to your vision. And this is called as Initiation. Yes, Industrial Green Chemistry Workshop is exactly doing the same thing. It’s a vision of a bunch of entrepreneurs, scholars, and other experts who has an urge to create a sustainable future for all of us. For this, they are putting forward their first step on 4th December, 2009.
We are either unaware or deliberately ignore the fact that chemical industry with more than 80,000 chemicals in commerce, impacts every aspect of human life in a non-negotiable manner. But how long can this fact be ignored? Someday or the other we all have to realize this and take the necessary step. IGCW aims to do that. As a first initiative, IGCW aims to take green chemistry from the cauldrons of the laboratory to the corridors of industry. It will involve from concepts to execution. This event will focus on green chemistry and engineering in chemistry intensive areas such as in fine chemicals which will include dyes and pharma, agrochemicals, colorants, personal care chemicals, etc. It will look at revisiting chemistries and see how at source changes are being incorporated for greening the processes. Topics that will be covered include catalysis, alternative reaction media, novel process engineering, process intensification, micro-reactions, etc. Other issues like regulatory mechanisms, R&D requirements, venture capital, and financial funding will also be highlighted.
The event is designed so meticulously that each day will expand and enlighten the vision of participants about industrial green chemistry. The first day of the event will just be an induction to the entire three day workshop. It will slowly ignite the participants further inspiring them and then pricking them to take initiatives to attain a sustainable future. The whos of the who would be the key drivers of the event. They will talk on various aspects of green chemistry citing examples of leading companies who have adopted benign technologies and also through their experiences.
Dr. Bob Peoples speech on the Importance of Green Chemistry for a Sustainable World, Dr. Mihir Chaudhari’s speech on Industry – Academia Partnership: Successful case study of Ranitidine Hydrochloride, and Dr. Brakaspathy speech on Initiatives to promote Green Chemistry will be the main three key speeches that will drive the participants to take up the initiative to attain a successful and sustainable future. And further more there would be more of such brainstorming sessions on the next two days which will enlighten the participants about benign technologies and other aspects of industrial green chemistry.
But don’t consider this as an end to the cause of a sustainable future…it is just a beginning! So are you ready to take initiative for a sustainable future for your children?
Courtesy – 350.org
Global Warming should be credited for spreading its popularity like a wild fire among all groups of populace. The word is nearly there in everyone’s tip of the tongue. Since long, all of us have been doing all our bits to harm this mother earth, and all of a sudden when our Karma is reverberating, we just can’t stand it. We blame it on Nature, God and God knows what all! Now it’s high time but we still tend not to pay heed to the importance of doing something about it. Global meetings, widespread messages are not just enough to help save this earth. We, as an individual, should take up the responsibility to make this place a better place to live.
Talking about global warming; it has already had a devastating effect on our planet. Rising tides, forest fires, drought, glacial melt and a variety of other natural disasters directly linked to climate change can be seen on scales never before documented. The clock is ticking for strong, binding and immediate international legislation to preserve the sanctity of our Earth and protect those who call it home. In the count-down to the U.N. Climate Negotiations in Copenhagen this December, it is crucial that we send a clear message to decision makers. President Obama and other world leaders have a responsibility to take decisive action before time runs out.
That’s where the International Day of Climate Action comes in. An initiative by 350.org, it’s an awakening call wherein citizens, scientists, and world leaders in 181 countries will take to nearby streets, mountains, parks, and reefs today to demand strong action on climate change. In over 140 countries, 350.org and a coalition of partner groups will join together with people all over the world. Over1700 actions will take place letting decision makers in Copenhagen know that the people demand real change! It is up to YOU to you to be the change we wish to see. 5,242 rallies and creative demonstrations will take place, all of them centered on the number 350, to draw attention to 350 parts per million (ppm), which an overwhelming number of scientists now insist is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
In major cities, people will form giant 3s or 5s or 0s, in a “planet-scale game of Scrabble. Smaller scale actions include climbers with banners high on the slopes of Mt. Everest and teams of divers with signs on the Great Barrier Reef or the coral off the coast of Oman in the Persian Gulf. Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian campaigners are coordinating a joint action along the shores of the Dead Sea. There will be more than 1,800 actions across the U.S., as well as 300 in China, 200 in Africa, and more than 150 in India. 350 ppm originally came from a NASA research team headed by American climate scientist James Hansen, which surveyed both real-time climate observations and emerging paleo-climatic data in January of 2008. Their peer-reviewed article concluded that above 350ppm co2 the earth’s atmosphere couldn’t support “a planet similar to the one on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted.”
The Day of Action is a part of an effort to build the world’s biggest mandate for bold climate action. Before the Global meets on Climate Change takes place, let us awaken ourselves to this gruesome truth!
