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By: BEN OKRI.
Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Lagos, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.
Green chemistry focuses on the development of chemical products and processes that minimize or eliminate hazardous substances, promoting sustainability throughout the chemical life cycle. Unlike environmental chemistry, which studies pollutants, green chemistry proactively designs safer alternatives to prevent environmental damage. This field spans multiple disciplines, including organic, inorganic, analytical, and physical chemistry, with applications across pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and materials science. The principles of green chemistry, first formulated by Paul Anastas and John Warner, outline twelve key guidelines that drive innovation toward sustainability. These principles emphasize waste prevention, atom economy, less hazardous chemical syntheses, designing safer chemicals, safer solvents and auxiliaries, energy efficiency, renewable feedstocks, reducing derivatives, catalysis, design for degradation, real-time analysis for pollution prevention, and inherently safer chemistry for accident prevention. By adhering to these principles, scientists and industries can develop processes that reduce toxicity, improve efficiency, and lower environmental impacts. One of the most significant areas of green chemistry is the use of renewable feedstocks. Traditional chemical manufacturing often relies on petrochemical resources, which are non-renewable and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Green chemistry seeks to replace these with bio-based alternatives, such as plant-derived chemicals, algae-based fuels, and biodegradable polymers. This shift not only reduces reliance on fossil fuels but also mitigates environmental pollution and enhances resource sustainability. Catalysis plays a crucial role in green chemistry by improving reaction efficiency and selectivity while reducing the need for hazardous reagents. Heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts, including metal-organic frameworks, enzyme-based systems, and nanoparticle catalysts, enable more efficient chemical transformations with fewer byproducts. For example, green catalytic processes are now employed in pharmaceutical manufacturing to streamline drug synthesis, minimizing waste and harmful emissions.
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