The relevance of E-factor should be recognized at the design stage itself for any product so that it comes in harmony with the green concept. E-factor helps develop new processes and chemical products without harming the environment. It stresses on design of safer, biodegradable and less hazardous useful chemical products utilizing atom economic and energy efficient processes.

High Volume Products generate huge quantities of waste like H-Acid, DASDA, Paracetamol, Phenylephrine, Pigment CPC, Violet23 and Pendimethylene, which are extremely deadly harmful to the mankind. The key is prevention, not control. It is important to ensure proper scale-up through appropriate mixing, reactor design and engineering to have uniformity over large-volume operation. This is where green engineering plays a critical role in prevention by recycle at source at industrial scale. Green Chemistry is taking an independent form as an amalgam of other chemical disciplines, especially organic, inorganic and biological chemistry.

The enormity of the amount of waste produced and how it can be reduced before the production stage itself via the concept of E-factor was in a fact reduced their woes on waste generation during manufacturing. The concept of E-Factor challenged the fine chemical and pharmaceutical industry to make a paradigm shift from a concept of process efficiency to one that is motivated by elimination of waste and maximisation of raw materials utilization.

In fact, the pharmaceutical industry in particular has made substantial progress in the past few years and has adopted the concept of E-Factor as its measuring staff. The impact of E-Factor is not restricted to the fine chemicals industry, it has wider and more complicated uses in the other sectors also and has played as a major role as a measure of the efficiency of the chemical industry. Hopefully the concept of E-factor will continue to do so as the chemical industry progresses towards being a sustainable enterprise.

Green chemistry efficiently utilises (preferably renewable) raw materials (includes the source of energy), eliminates waste and avoids the use of toxic and/or hazardous reagents and solvents in the manufacture and application of chemical products. Green chemistry eliminates waste at source, i.e., it is primary pollution prevention rather than waste remediation. Green Chemistry is the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products. It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it has been created. So says the first principle of Green chemistry; the E-factor.

E factor is the actual amount of waste produced in the process, defined as everything but the desired product. It takes the chemical yield into account and includes reagents, solvent losses, all process aids and, in principle, even fuel (although this is often difficult to quantify). Higher E-factor means more waste and, consequently, greater negative environmental impact. The ideal E factor is zero. It can be easily calculated from knowledge of the number of tons of raw materials purchased and the number of tons of product sold, for a particular product or a production site or even a whole company. But surprisingly many of the companies are not aware of this concept which was developed in the early 80s.

Now, it’s time for the chemical fraternity to come forward and vote for E-factor!

So how can one determine if one method of making a product is better than the other? There are a number of ways to determine this and one such metric is called the E-factor or the Environmental Impact Factor. E-Factor is the measure of the waste generated while making a particular product. Lower the E-factor, lesser the waste produced. E-factor is a measure of the quantity of waste produced in making a product, compared to the amount of useful material obtained (the product). The E-factor calculation is defined by the ratio of the mass of waste per unit of product:

E-Factor = Total Waste (kg) / Product (kg)

The concept of E-factor has been there for more than fifteen years, which played a major role in focusing the attention of the chemical industry word-wide, on the problem of waste generation in chemicals manufacture. Dated back in 1980s the concept still provides the impetus for developing cleaner and more sustainable processes.

The principles of Green Chemistry direct us to reduce waste rather than dealing with it after creating waste. As we all know, it is always better when zero waste is produced. All the materials that were used initially for the manufacturing of a product should be used in the final product or they should be recycled. In this case the E-factor is zero – “The Goal is Zero”.

Informex 2010 will be held from 16^th to 19^th 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

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 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:

http://www.industrialgreenchem.com/live.html

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

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., 6^th 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 20^th century GREY industrial age to the 21st century GREEN industrial age.

Stressing on the 8^th 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!

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?