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GREEN CHEMISTRY AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH AT THE USEPA, NRMRL
Citation:
SahleDemessie*, E. GREEN CHEMISTRY AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH AT THE USEPA, NRMRL. Presented at Engineering Council International, Green Engineering, Defining the Principles Conference, Sandestin, FL, 05/18-22/2003.
Description:
The costs of handling, treating and disposing of wastes generated annually in the U.S. has reach to 2.2% of gross domestic product and continued to rise. The chemical manufacturing industry generates more than 1.5 billion tons of hazardous waste and 9 billion tons of non-hazardous waste annually. Organic chemicals constitute the largest source of the toxic releases. Although, many of these releases can be minimized by inproving the conventional house keeping methods and pollution prevention techniques, adopting green production methods is necessary to achieve sustainability.
Green chemistry and engineering is being embraced as a method of choice for the scientific and economical way to achieve pollution prevention and environmental protection. The Green Chemistry and Engineering Research Group at NRMRL, Cincinnati has been involved in various research activities including
Solvent free alternatives to accelerate organic cynthesis using microwaves, ultra-sound and supported reagents.
Synthesis of organic compounds using nano-structured semi-conductor photocatalysis and other advanced oxidation technologies.
Activation of hydrogen peroxide, the use of carbon nanotubes for environmental applications and for metal supported catalysis.
Reduction or elimination of the use of organic solvents in chemical processes using supercritical CO2 and CO2 expanded liquids.
The development of sustainability matrix to guide decision making.