In my opinion, green chemistry will be the big topic in
chemical manufacturing. I already had a
brief discussion on regarding the 12 principles of green chemistry and notice
there are definitely the pro and there are con.
Yes, going green is such a buzz word now and conceptually is
very good that to use sustainable and renewable resources for reactants and
catalysts. The concept of reducing
chemical waste has been a hot topic globally for years. To have a chemical product with reaction at
ambient temperature and pressure will reduce energy consumption. Of course, a safer chemical product in
general will prevent accidents like poisons to toxic reactions to the general
public will be less and therefore, less works for the ambulance chaser!
On the other hand,
the initial cost or investment to setup or re-engineered for a greener
manufacturer might not be even feasible for some small or mid-size plants. It is likely that they have to shutdown
production line and rebuild and retrain the crews. This alone might send say a plant of 50 people
out of job for a while or simply no resources for the capital investment!
Another concern is that just because it is green, there is
no long term data to prove that they are safe on the long run without potential
side effect. Granted existing chemicals
have been in the industry for many decades with its known good and bad
qualities. We simply do not know some of the long-term
green chemical.
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