Green Chemistry Blog

Here are the latest hot papers in Green Chemistry, as recommended by the referees:

A continuous process for glyoxal valorisation using tailored Lewis-acid zeolite catalysts
Pierre Y. Dapsens, Cecilia Mondelli, Bright T. Kusema, René Verel and Javier Pérez-Ramírez  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42353K, Paper

Solvents for sustainable chemical processes
Pamela Pollet, Evan A. Davey, Esteban E. Ureña-Benavides, Charles A. Eckert and Charles L. Liotta  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42302F, Critical Review

Branched polyethylene mimicry by metathesis copolymerization of fatty acid-based α,ω-dienes
Thomas Lebarbé, Mehdi Neqal, Etienne Grau, Carine Alfos and Henri Cramail  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42280A, Communication

All the papers listed above are free to access for the next 4 weeks!

A biotechnological process to transform lignin into an adhesive opens the door on an eco-friendly strategy for recycling carpets, new research shows.

Traditional carpets consist of yarns stuck to a backing fabric by an adhesive – usually synthetic latex. As part of the production process, the latex is cured at high temperatures, but this creates a non-recyclable material as the latex is almost impossible to remove at the end of a carpet’s life. As a result, almost all carpets are disposed of by burning in an incinerator.

With a view to finding a more environmentally friendly solution to carpet disposal, Tzanko Tzanov and his team at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain, decided to replace the synthetic latex with an organic lignin-based adhesive to produce a renewable woollen floor covering.

Lignin is an aromatic polymer that reinforces cellulose fibres in plants and is readily available as a waste product of paper and biofuel production. 

It can be easily converted into an adhesive using laccase, an enzyme found in plants and fungi. ‘Lignin is transformed by an oxidative enzymatic process that activates the phenolic structures, which can then react chemically with the wool fibres and bind them to the backing,’ explains Tzanov. The process is carried out at much lower temperatures than in latex production – around 50°C rather than 150°C – making it much more environmentally friendly.

The carpets can degrade and be recycled as a soil fertiliser

The laccase enzymes that convert lignin into an adhesive are also involved in its biodegradation, meaning that the carpets can be recycled at the end of their usable life. Instead of being incinerated, the carpets are shredded and returned to nature, where they degrade and can be used as a soil fertiliser.

Diego Moldes Moreira, an expert in natural products and bioprocesses at the University of Vigo in Spain is impressed by the innovative and sustainable solution. ‘We could expect to find the proposed biotech carpets in stores in the short–medium term,’ he says. In fact, Tzanov’s team are already working with Dutch companies, James and Best Wool Carpets, on an industrial scale-up.

You can also read this article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in Green Chemistry – it’s free to access until 27th March:
An enzymatic approach to develop a lignin-based adhesive for wool floor coverings
Elisabetta Aracri, Carlos Díaz Blanco and Tzanko Tzanov  
Green Chem., 2014, Accepted Manuscript, DOI: 10.1039/C4GC00063C, Paper

The 10 most downloaded Green Chemistry articles in 2013 were as follows:

Deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass with ionic liquids
Agnieszka Brandt, John Gräsvik, Jason P. Hallett and Tom Welton  
Green Chem., 2013,15, 550-583
DOI: 10.1039/C2GC36364J, Critical Review

Catalytic conversion of biomass to biofuels
David Martin Alonso, Jesse Q. Bond and James A. Dumesic  
Green Chem., 2010,12, 1493-1513
DOI: 10.1039/C004654J, Critical Review

Characterization and comparison of hydrophilic and hydrophobic room temperature ionic liquids incorporating the imidazolium cation
Jonathan G. Huddleston, Ann E. Visser, W. Matthew Reichert, Heather D. Willauer, Grant A. Broker and Robin D. Rogers  
Green Chem., 2001,3, 156-164
DOI: 10.1039/B103275P, Paper

Photocatalysis on supported gold and silver nanoparticles under ultraviolet and visible light irradiation
Sarina Sarina, Eric R. Waclawik and Huaiyong Zhu  
Green Chem., 2013,15, 1814-1833
DOI: 10.1039/C3GC40450A, Tutorial Review

Selective oxidation of alcohols and aldehydes over supported metal nanoparticles
Sara E. Davis, Matthew S. Ide and Robert J. Davis  
Green Chem., 2013,15, 17-45
DOI: 10.1039/C2GC36441G, Critical Review

Hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose by solid acid catalysts
Yao-Bing Huang and Yao Fu  
Green Chem., 2013,15, 1095-1111
DOI: 10.1039/C3GC40136G, Tutorial Review

Multicomponent reactions in unconventional solvents: state of the art
Yanlong Gu  
Green Chem., 2012,14, 2091-2128
DOI: 10.1039/C2GC35635J, Critical Review

Green synthesis of metal nanoparticles using plants
Siavash Iravani  
Green Chem., 2011,13, 2638-2650
DOI: 10.1039/C1GC15386B, Critical Review

Technology development for the production of biobased products from biorefinery carbohydrates—the US Department of Energy’s “Top 10” revisited
Joseph J. Bozell and Gene R. Petersen  
Green Chem., 2010,12, 539-554
DOI: 10.1039/B922014C, Critical Review

Gamma-valerolactone, a sustainable platform molecule derived from lignocellulosic biomass
David Martin Alonso, Stephanie G. Wettstein and James A. Dumesic  
Green Chem., 2013,15, 584-595
DOI: 10.1039/C3GC37065H, Critical Review
From themed collection Green Chemistry and the Environment

Take a look at the articles, and if you have any comments, please leave them below.

Interested in submitting your own work to Green Chemistry? You can submit online today, or email us with your ideas and suggestions.

Here are the latest HOT papers published in Green Chemistry, as recommended by the referees:

One-pot two-step mechanochemical synthesis: ligand and complex preparation without isolating intermediates
Michael Ferguson, Nicola Giri, Xu Huang, David Apperley and Stuart L. James  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42141D

Studies on the oxidative N-demethylation of atropine, thebaine and oxycodone using a FeIII-TAML catalyst
Duy D. Do Pham, Geoffrey F. Kelso, Yuanzhong Yang and Milton T. W. Hearn  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC41972J

Lignin extraction from biomass with protic ionic liquids
Ezinne C. Achinivu, Reagan M. Howard, Guoqing Li, Hanna Gracz and Wesley A. Henderson  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42306A

In an attempt to provide green solvent selection guide for olefin metathesis
Tomasz Krzysztof Olszewski, Krzysztof Skowerski, Andrzej Tracz and Jacek Bialecki  
Green Chem., 2013, Accepted Manuscript, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC41943F

All the papers listed above are free to access for the next 4 weeks!

Here are the latest HOT papers published in Green Chemistry, as recommended by the referees:

The potential of methylsiloxanes as solvents for synthetic chemistry applications
Mohd Azri Ab Rani, Nadine Borduas, Victoria Colquhoun, Robert Hanley, Henry Johnson, Solène Larger, Paul D. Lickiss, Veronica Llopis-Mestre, Selina Luu, Martin Mogstad, Philipp Oczipka, James R. Sherwood, Tom Welton and Jun-Yi Xing  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42036A

A mechanochemical strategy for oxidative addition: remarkable yields and stereoselectivity in the halogenation of organometallic Re(I) complexes
José G. Hernández, Neil A. J. Macdonald, Cristina Mottillo, Ian S. Butler and Tomislav Friščić 
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42104J

A PDMS membrane with high pervaporation performance for the separation of furfural and its potential in industrial application
Fan Qin, Shufeng Li, Peiyong Qin, M. Nazmul Karim and Tianwei Tan  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC41867G

All the papers listed above are free to access for the next 4 weeks!

Issue 1 of Green Chemistry is now available to read online.

This year we celebrate our milestone of 15 years of publication, and in issue 1 you can read an Editorial from all of Green Chemistry’s Chairs of the Editorial board and Scientific Editors marking the occasion.

We have also put together a special web collection, with contributions from authors who have had highly cited articles from each of the past 15 years : 15 Years of Green Chemistry

The front cover this month (pictured left) features work by Brian Davison and co-workers. In their work they investigate the mechanism of biomass breakdown. Understanding this process should lead to more efficient use of biomass.

Read the full article:
Common processes drive the thermochemical pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass
Paul Langan, Loukas Petridis, Hugh M. O’Neill, Sai Venkatesh Pingali, Marcus Foston, Yoshiharu Nishiyama, Roland Schulz, Benjamin Lindner, B. Leif Hanson, Shane Harton, William T. Heller, Volker Urban, Barbara R. Evans, S. Gnanakaran, Arthur J. Ragauskas, Jeremy C. Smith and Brian H. Davison  
Green Chem., 2014, 16, 63-68, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC41962B

The inside front cover this month (pictured right) features work by Kevin Moeller and co-workers from Missouri, USA. In their work they set up a simple solar-electrochemical reaction to recycle Os(VIII)-, TEMPO-, Ce(IV)-, Pd(II)-, Ru(VIII)-, and Mn(V)-oxidants.

Read the full article:
Sunlight, electrochemistry, and sustainable oxidation reactions
Bichlien H. Nguyen, Alison Redden and Kevin D. Moeller  
Green Chem., 2014, 16, 69-72, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC41650J

Both of these articles are free to access for 6 weeks!

Keep up-to-date with the latest content in Green Chemistry by registering for our free table of contents alerts.

Projectile hydrogen molecules are central to a new green method for precisely breaking one of the most abundant and industrially important bonds you can find.

The hydrogen differentiates its colliding partners by their atomic mass

C–H bonds are very stable and as such their cleavage normally requires either a temperature above 300°C or treatment with something like irradiation – both of which can cause organic molecules to lose their functionality. Now a method developed by Leo Lau of Western University in Canada and colleagues can break C–H bonds without damaging the rest of the molecule.

Lau explains that although H₂ is unreactive at room temperature, by raising its kinetic energy to more than 10eV it is possible to drive C–H cleavage when the H₂ hits the H atom of a C–H bond. The H₂ works as a light-mass projectile and differentiates its colliding partners by their atomic mass and ‘like the scalpel of a skilful surgeon’ only excises a hydrogen atom. The dissociation occurs nearly 100% of the time and all of the other bonds remain intact.

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in Green Chemistry:
Cleaving C–H bonds with hyperthermal H2: facile chemistry to cross-link organic molecules under low chemical- and energy-loads
Tomas Trebicky, Patrick Crewdson, Maxim Paliy, Igor Bello, Heng-Yong Nie, Zhi Zheng, Xiaoli Fan, Jun Yang, Elizabeth R. Gillies, Changyu Tang, Hao Liu, K. W. Wong and W. M. Lau  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC41460D