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George Washington University students in the MS Program in Environmental and Green Chemistry present assessments on TSCA’s 20 low risk chemicals

George Washington University students in the MS Program in Environmental and Green Chemistry present assessments on TSCA’s 20 low risk chemicals

 On May 8th, undergraduate chemistry majors, doctoral chemistry students and master’s students taking Chemical Toxicology and Safer Chemical Design at The George Washington University, presented their final projects. They assessed hazards of 20 low-priority chemicals under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and recommended whether to support or challenge the low-risk claim to key stakeholders in the DC area: United States Environmental Protection Agency, American Chemistry Council, Natural Resources Defense Council and the ACS Green Chemistry Institute.

GWU’s new program in Environmental and Green Chemistry offers a unique curriculum, focusing on safer chemical and process design. It aims to train the next generation of chemists to make chemicals society needs but mitigate the potentially adverse effects on human and environmental health through better design.

The students’ projects offered a critical survey of all the publicly available information about the 20 chemicals in question, including identifying critical data gaps such as those for chronic health endpoints like cancer and developmental toxicity, safety considerations related to manufacturing, and potential metabolites. In cases with important data gaps or for experimental studies with low reliability, the students showcased their technical training with predictive toxicology tools and read-across approaches to make informed decisions. Understanding that chemicals cannot be assessed in isolation, the students’ decision also considered safety related to manufacturing processes and potential metabolites.

The presentations offered tremendous value to the community since the US EPA must have a defined minimum level of evidence to determine that a chemical is without risk of harm under the amended TSCA policy. Crucially, the assessments showed that a comprehensive assessment cannot be reliably conducted by non-experts nor by chemists or toxicologists alone; one must have solid training in both disciplines to tackle this challenge. In the subsequent Q&A session, the students gained a deeper and more realistic understanding of how chemical hazard information is used by lawmakers and regulatory agencies to make decisions that impact public health and environmental protection.

This project helped lift the veil for the students on the process of turning science into policy. By understanding this extremely complicated process, it will help them in their future work to conduct research and provide expert opinions that will be most useful for policy decisions, hopefully with the goal of advancing safer and more sustainable chemistry.

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ISGC, the International Symposium on Green Chemistry, La Rochelle, May 13th-17th 2019

ISGC, the International Symposium on Green Chemistry, will be held in La Rochelle – France, May 13th-17th 2019. There will be 11 topics, plenary lectures, 260 oral communications and 40 industrial communications, 1000+ participants (academic institutions and private industry).

The main objective of ISGC-2019 is to gather the most eminent scientists involved in the field of green chemistry to debate on the future challenges of Chemistry keeping in mind the problems of access to a sustainable energy, the management of resources (carbon, water, metals, minerals), Human development, global warming, impact on the environment, competitiveness of our Industry. New in 2019, ISGC will also aim at improving public perception and awareness on sustainable chemistry through the organization of general conferences. Raising awareness and progressively educating our society on the issues surrounding sustainable development has become a priority to accelerate the emergence of eco-designed chemicals, technologies or services on the market.

Join our Green Chemistry Editorial Board to celebrate 20 years of the journal at the Green Chemistry 20th anniversary symposium

For more information please see www.isgc-symposium.com

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The 15th edition of the International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries (RRB-15)

The 15th edition of the International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries (RRB-15) will take place in Toulouse, France from Monday, 3 June until Wednesday, 5 June 2019.  Green Chemistry is pleased to be providing three poster prize certificates with a £100 book voucher for each winner.

The three day international conference will consist of plenary lectures, oral presentations, poster sessions and an exhibition.  The conference program will cover the following topics: Bioactive compounds from biomass – Biobased materials – Biomass fractionation – Biocatalysis for bioresource transformation – Bioenergy – Bioproducts from woody biomass – Biorefineries – Biosurfactants – Chemical platform molecules – Cyanobacterial and algal technology – Downstream processing – Environmental protection using microorganisms – Metabolic engineering of cell factories – Nutrient recycling – Pretreatment and transformation of lignocellulosics – Single cell oil production – Sustainability – Thermochemical transformations of biomass – Valorization of biomass waste streams.

Early bird registration until 30 April 2019!

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Outstanding Reviewers for Green Chemistry in 2018

We would like to highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for Green Chemistry in 2018, as selected by the editorial team, for their significant contribution to the journal. The reviewers have been chosen based on the number, timeliness and quality of the reports completed over the last 12 months.

We would like to say a big thank you to those individuals listed here as well as to all of the reviewers that have supported the journal. Each Outstanding Reviewer will receive a certificate to give recognition for their significant contribution.

Professor David Bergbreiter, Texas A&M University, ORCID: 0000-0002-1657-0003

Dr Peter Deuss, University of Groningen, ORCID: 0000-0002-2254-2500

Professor Nicholas Gathergood, Tallinn University of Technology, ORCID: 0000-0002-9398-9799

Professor Arjan Kleij, ICIQ, ORCID: 0000-0002-7402-4764

Professor Iván Lavandera, University of Oviedo, ORCID: 0000-0003-4857-4428

Professor Yong Rok Lee, Yeungnam University, ORCID: 0000-0002-4048-8341

Dr Hanwu Lei, Washington State University

Dr Yong Sun, Xiamen University, ORCID: 0000-0002-8372-376X

Professor Yuetao Zhang, Jilin University, ORCID: 0000-0002-6406-1959

Dr Yanchuan Zhao, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, ORCID: 0000-0002-2903-4218

We would also like to thank the Green Chemistry board and the green chemistry and sustainability community for their continued support of the journal, as authors, reviewers and readers.

 

If you would like to become a reviewer for our journal, just email us with details of your research interests and an up-to-date CV or résumé.  You can find more details in our author and reviewer resource centre

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Haryana Vigyan Ratna (Science Jewel) Awarded to Rajender Varma

Green Chemistry is delighted to learn that Editorial Board member, Rajender Varma was awarded the Haryana Vigyan Ratna (Science Jewel) on 28th February 2019.

Haryana State Council For Science & Technology introduced the Haryana Vigyan Ratna Award for eminent scientists of Haryana. These awards have been instituted to honor eminent scientists of Haryana who have made an outstanding contribution in the field of science & technology.

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23rd Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference & 9th International Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry (GC&E)

The 23rd Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference & 9th International Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry (GC&E), hosted by the ACS Green Chemistry Institute, will be held in Reston, VA, USA on June 11-13, 2019.

With three days of programming, the Conference offers more than 40 technical sessions in seven concurrent tracks and multiple opportunities to network with hundreds of attendees from around the world. This year’s conference will focus on, “Closing the Loop” in the chemical life cycle.

Early Bird Registration is open through April 30, 2019.

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The 8th International Congress on Ionic Liquids – COIL 8

The 8th International Congress on Ionic Liquids (COIL-8) will be held in Beijing, China on May 13-17, 2019. The main theme of this congress is Ionic Liquids for Green World.

COIL-8 aims at providing an open, frontier and efficient platform for outstanding scientists, engineers, and industrialists to discuss the ionic liquid fundamental science, green process innovation and industrial application. Topics include but are not limited to: Properties, Thermodynamics and Simulation, Green Chemical Synthesis & Catalysis, Green Separation & Recycling, Functional Materials, Renewable Energy & Energy Storage, Biomass Processing & Bio-technology, Environmental and Biodegradation, Industrial Applications, and other related topics.

The call for paper is in progress, and the submission deadline is February 20, 2019. More information can be found on the website: http://coil-8.csp.escience.cn

Register before March 15 for discounted registration.

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Obituary: Professor Wilhelm Keim

Prof. em. Dr. Dr. h.c. Wilhelm Keim, (1934 – 2018)

Wilhelm Keim was born on 1 December 1934 in Oberhausen, Germany. He studied chemistry in Münster and Saarbrücken before he moved to the Max-Planck-Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim/Ruhr headed by Karl Ziegler, to work on his dissertation under the guidance of Günther Wilke. He obtained the PhD in 1963 for his work on π-allyl complexes of Ni, Pd and Pt. After two years as a postdoc with Thomas J. Katz at Columbia University, New York, he joined the Shell Oil Componay in the USA, where he rapidly rose through the ranks and became department head and research manager at a young age. During this time he and his team developed the Ni-catalysed oligomerisation of ethene, essential part of what we know as the Shell Higher Olefin Process, SHOP. With an annual capacity of more than 1 million tons of α-olefins, this process is one of the important large scale applications of homogeneous transition metal catalysis. The resulting alkenes are important intermediates for the production of surfactants and as co-monomers for low density polyethylene and other polyolefins.

In 1973 Wilhelm Keim moved back to Germany, accepting the offer of the Chair of Industrial Chemistry at RWTH Aachen as successor of Friedrich Asinger. He continued to carry out fundamental studies on alkene oligomerisation but also worked on a wide range of transition metal catalysed reactions employing homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. He became a leading figure in the catalysis landscape, sought after expert, and advisor to many companies over the years. Notably he was also member of the supervisory board of Degussa AG for several years.

Wilhelm was always an ambassador for fundamental research as well as for application oriented research and he managed to find a balance between both, fostering the collaboration and dialog between industry and university. He had a fine sense for new developments and the potential of new research areas and was among the pioneers exploring new types of solvents like ionic liquids and fluorinated solvents. Also his work on CO2 as a feedstock broke new ground. He was an inspiring teacher and mentor for more than 150 PhD students, always personally concerned about their career in industry and academia. Many of us continued to consult him for advice, from leading positions in industry and from academia alike. All of them form a well-connected network as the so-called “Keimlinge” (English translation: seedlings).

With his professional drive, his charismatic personality and wit, he also served the scientific community through organisations like GDCh, DECHEMA and DGMK for many years on the board or as chairman or president. He also was a founding member of the Petrochemical Division of DGMK. His many years of service and scientific achievements were recognised with the Carl-Engler-Medal in 1999 and he became an honorary member of DECHEMA. He was member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Academia Europaea and Dr. h.c. of the University of Lille, France. He was also honorary professor at the Dalian University of Technology and University of Hangzhou, China, as well as adjunct professor at King Fahd University of Dharhan, Saudi Arabia.

In 2001 Wilhelm Keim retired and became emeritus professor. He supported his successor, Walter Leitner, in such an exemplary manner that Walter always refers to him as “the best imaginable predecessor”. For many years he continued to advise companies and scientific organisations and kept contact to a huge community of colleagues and friends.

Wilhelm Keim died on 30 September 2018 at the age of 83. He leaves a hole in our hearts and will be dearly missed as an outstanding scientist, wonderful mentor and dear friend by so many colleagues in the community.

Arno Behr, Stefan Mecking, Dieter Vogt

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27th EuCheMS Conference on Molten Salts and Ionic Liquids

The 27th EuCheMS Conference on Molten Salts and Ionic Liquids conference took place from 7 October until 12 October, 2018. Two Green Chemistry poster prizes were awarded to the following winners:

Olesia Danyliv (Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden)

Structure-Property Correlation in Nafion/Protic Ionic Liquid Membranes

Bettina Heller (Lehrstuhl für Physikalische Chemie II, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany)

 Surface Composition of Ionic Liquid Mixtures with Functionalized and Non-Functionalized Imidazolium Cations

On behalf of Green Chemistrywe would like to congratulate both winners on their outstanding achievements!

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Novel Enzymes 2018

The 6th Novel Enzymes Conference, focusing on the most exciting advances in applied enzymology. Emphasis will be given to discovery of new enzymes, engineering approaches (including novel assays), and newly developed enzyme applications.

Topics include:

  • Enzyme discovery
  • Enzyme mechanisms
  • Enzyme engineering
  • Enzyme applications

The conference will be held in Darmstadt, Germany, from 9 to 12 October 2018.

Register now!

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