At our organisation, we’re always trying to find ways of interesting the youth towards the topic of Green Chemistry. Only if the youth of a nation understand our mission, will it be successful. But, a little complicated that the subject is, getting youngsters enthused proves a tad tough So we got talking to some college students one of these days about our ideologies. These were third year BSc students from a Mumbai college. Admittedly, the session got a little too technical for them and I could see some of the students stifling yawns. One even got to the extent of commenting out loud, “What a waste!”

“Yes”, I said and startled all. They expected a chastisement of sorts but I’d found my turning point there. “It is a waste. If you take no message back, the session will have gone waste. All the precious resources – your time, my effort – everything wasted. It will have polluted our moods in the process and your HOD’s disappointment would be the byproduct. The other alternative is for us to make this session fruitful and negate waste, get a zero e-factor!”

My point had hit home. The whole of the last hour’s presentations fell into perspective. Then questions flew thick and fast from students.

“What exactly is e-waste?” one asked.
I flipped back a few slides and explained. “E-factor is the amount of waste generated per kilogram of final product or the measure of environmental impact of the waste in your production processes.”
“But how is it of any concern to us?” another shot back.
“It concerns you in every living moment you spend on this planet. Every thing you use in the course of your modern life has repercussions on the environment, which has an immediate bearing on your life. The more you pollute, the more polluted things nature will give you. For every bit of plastic waste you generate, you’ll get one toxic fruit, vegetable or meat in the bargain. Now if that doesn’t alarm you, I don’t know what else will.”

“But what is the solution?” questioned one of the back benchers.
“Green chemistry! Just so we don’t have to deal with wastes and break out heads over trying to treat and recycle it, we should stop generating waste.”

“Is that possible?” the back-bencher asked, now riveted.
“Yes. That’s exactly what green chemistry is all about. We formulate solutions in a way that there are little or no by-products. And if there are by-products, we ensure, they are completely bio-degradable. Simply put, we remove the root of the problem!”

I could hear murmurs of approval from the class. I could see realisation in their eyes. And I knew, the session had not gone ‘waste’. Green Chemistry was working here too!

Have you ever faced such an ‘environmental moment of truth’? Tell me about it!

We all know that the many wonderful products we use in our daily life cause a lot of waste to be generated and accumulated due to age-old manufacturing practices. It is sad that this waste is piling up and we do not have adequate resources to recycle it. And when we try to do it, we only end up with another pile of waste.

It is at this point that the idea of green chemistry comes handy. When chemical products are designed keeping in mind the principles of green chemistry and E-factor, the enormous amount of waste produced by the industry can be kept under control.‘Recycle at Source’ should be the motto.

To elaborate this point, Dr. Komal Maheshwari from Newreka will be making a presentation at the upcoming conference. She will speak on “Recycle at Source” at the 14th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference, which will be held at the The Capital Hilton, Washington, DC from June 21 to 23. The presentation will emphasize how Green Chemistry and Engineering-based solutions can be applied to recycling processes. Synthesis and catalysis with green chemicals reduce waste in the system which is otherwise disposed off after primary/secondary treatment as effluent and is the biggest source of water pollution. Dr. Komal Maheswari is the Green R&D Manager at Newreka, where she, in her own words, does fundamental research that can change the way traditional chemists think about chemistry.

The Indian Chemical industry, contributing around 6.7 per cent of the Indian GDP, is a vital part of the agricultural and industrial development in India and has major links with several other sub industries such as automotives, consumer durables, food processing, engineering etc. According to a KPMG study, “At $60 billion in 2010, the contribution of the chemical industry to India’s GDP would grow from the current level of 6.7 per cent to 7.1 per cent, while its contribution to the global industry would increase from 1.9 per cent to 2.3 per cent.”

But as with other scientific advancement, the chemical industry faces certain setbacks. Very often you hear of public outcries against the various problems caused by toxic wastes or obnoxious odours that are a result of drug or other chemical products’ manufacturing. The one way of countering such ill effects is the application of green chemistry and its allied principles. And if that is achieved, the future of chemical industry is secured.

With adequate efforts and the development of supporting structures, the Indian chemical industry is envisaged to grow and position India on the global map as a supplier of specialty and knowledge chemicals. It it also set to be a hot destination for investment in these sectors, thereby strengthening the Indian economy. Highly developed technology, in-depth research capabilities, backward and forward linkages and the development of domestic capacity to decrease the dependence on imports are some of the crucial factors that need to be taken into consideration. Nowadays, safety, health and environment protection issues have become the major-talking points in almost all industries and the Indian chemical industry is no exception. Indian chemical manufacturers have to address these issues on a war-footing. We shall be checking out the level of E-factor of the Indian Chemical manufacturers the next time and only then can we can say if the country’s oldest industry is going the environmental-friendly way or not…

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.

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”.

The stages by which E-Factor can be reduced are as follows:
- The Diazotization – Hydrolysis
- Nitration
- Chlorination
- Reduction

Seeing this case study you can realise that  principles of green chemistry direct us to reduce waste rather than dealing with it afterwards. The best scenario is one in which no waste is produced. If all materials that go into the system are used in the final product or they are recycled, then the E-factor produced will be less. So the best way to improve the E-factor is to recycle some of the materials that go in to the process. Go and measure E-Factor of your plant, or if you already measuring it, let us know how E-Factor is playing a key role in your industry.

Seeing this case study you can realize that it’s the right time to start exploring “Green Chemistry” based processes. It will ensure that the next generation drugs are manufactured through Green Processes. Hence most of the pharmaceutical majors can deploy green-chemistry strategies to improve the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients.  So, please help us to know how Green Chemistry is playing a role in your pharma industry.

IGCW-2009 is principally designed on the basis of a 9-Eye (I) Approach; each ‘eye’ of IGCW-2009 will expand the vision of participants for engaging them into emerging views of Industrial Green Chemistry paradigms. It will also create tangible and intangible benefits for all stakeholders. The three day workshop will concentrate on Green Chemist Professors, Scientists, Academicians, Researchers, Media Personnel, CEO’s, Directors, Entrepreneur’s etc.

All the three days will focus on their respective themes i.e. Day one theme is Ignition, Inspiration and Initiation means, the presentations on the first day will primarily target the corporate decision makers and senior executives from Industries fine chemical manufacturing companies including drugs and pharma, agrochemicals, dyes & pigments, fine & specialty chemicals. The objective of this theme is to recognize the significance of Industrial Green Chemistry amongst the decision makers. The content of the presentations will enable the audience to see its ecological and economical potential towards sustainability. The key speakers will be Prof. Paul Anastas, Prof. John Warner, & Prof. Bob Peoples. Specific case study presentations will be followed by awards felicitation with the objective of recognizing significant work in the field of Green Chemistry. So the main aim of the first day is to ignite what’s the role of Green Chemistry in the minds of the people so that they get inspired and set off to work for the betterment of our environment.

The Theme for the day two is Identification, Invention and Innovation. Here, the presentations will target the technical directors, process managers, production mangers, R&D managers, etc. The objective of this theme is to identify the key challenges, and 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.

Industrialization, Implementation and Impact is the theme for the third day. This is a very significant day. The presentations on the third day will be for senior executives as well as technical directors to share and put forth their queries for implementing green chemistry projects in their respective industry. The objective of this theme is to encompass specific requirements of industries for implementing Industrial Green Chemistry and thus implicating its overall impact. Apart from the Technical presentations, experts from Governmental bodies such as Pollution Control Board, Environmental Protection Agencies, Department of Science and Technology, etc., will provide an insight into the existing funding schemes and incentives for Industries to adopt Green Chemistry methodologies. There will be opportunity for companies to interact with key speakers on specific issues regarding implementation. Since all the changes to be made are in the hands of industrialists, so industrialists will play a key role in implementing the techniques to create a sustainable environment for all.

IGCW-2009 provides an apt platform for companies, organisations, corporate, institutes and similar bodies to communicate their Green, Clean, and Sustainable initiatives and commitments through exploring the possibilities. Through IGCW-2009 your “Green” services can stand out and get focused attention in the chemical industry globally.