Green Chemistry Blog

Professor Joan Brennecke elected to the National Academy of Engineering

16 Oct 2012

Green Chemistry Advisory Board member Joan Brennecke, the Keating-Crawford Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, USA, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This honour has been awarded “for innovation in the use of ionic liquids and supercritical fluids for environmentally benign chemical processing.”

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is one of the highest professional distinctions that can be awarded to an engineer. An Academy membership honours those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education.

Green Chemistry would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Professor Brennecke on this achievement.

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From Waste to Wealth Using Green Chemistry

11 Oct 2012

By Mary Badcock, Deputy Editor.

On Thursday the 27th September, Professor James Clark from the University of York, UK, gave a public lecture at The Chemistry Centre in London on “From Waste to Wealth using Green Chemistry“.

The world today faces the fundamental issues of increasing waste but decreasing resources as it tries to cope with the ever increasing consumption of a growing population. Many of the raw resources and elements needed for the manufacture of important products used everyday are now running out. For example, in our search for ‘carbon-free’ products we have then created additional problems by significantly depleting the world’s resource of other elements, such as germanium. We generate so much waste, but what do we do with it? How can we deal with our waste more efficiently?

The only way these problems can be met and dealt with is through a fundamentally different approach to the way we consume resources. Professor Clark’s lecture shows how by considering our waste as an opportunity rather than a problem, we can fully move towards a truly sustainable resource consumption model and give our children some hope for the future.

The event, sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, was strongly attended by an audience of 100 people from a broad range of different backgrounds. The event generated lots of questions and some lively debates which continued long after the lecture had ended.

Missed the lecture? You can watch Professor Clark’s lecture in full on The Reaction website!

Professor Clark is the founding Editor of Green Chemistry and is also one of the Editors of the RSC Green Chemistry Book Series – find out more here.

You may also be interested in a few of Professor Clark’s recent Green Chemistry articles – free to access until the 9th November 2012:

Preparation and characterisation of bioplastics made from cottonseed protein, H.-B. Yue, Y.-D. Cui, P. S. Shuttleworth and James H. Clark, Green Chem., 2012, 14, 2009-2016

Thermosetting resin based on epoxidised linseed oil and bio-derived crosslinker, Nontipa Supanchaiyamat, Peter S. Shuttleworth, Andrew J. Hunt, James H. Clark and Avtar S. Matharu, Green Chem., 2012, 14, 1759-1765

A quantitative comparison between conventional and bio-derived solvents from citrus waste in esterification and amidation kinetic studies, James H. Clark, Duncan J. Macquarrie and James Sherwood, Green Chem., 2012, 14, 90-93

Switchable adhesives for carpet tiles: a major breakthrough in sustainable flooring, Peter S. Shuttleworth, James H. Clark, Robert Mantle and Nigel Stansfield, Green Chem., 2010, 12, 798-803

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Biocatalysis: an article collection

08 Oct 2012

By Mary Badcock, Deputy Editor.

A collection of high impact articles focusing on biocatalysis, from the RSC’s Catalysis Science & Technology, Green Chemistry, RSC Advances, Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry (OBC) and ChemComm

Beers, wines and cheeses are enjoyed around the world today and have been for millennia. In fact the practices of brewing and cheese-making pre-date recorded history so it is difficult to accurately determine when we first started using naturally occurring enzymes and microorganisms to create valuable (and in this case, tastier!) products.

Biocatalysts are of course used in far more diverse applications than the creation of food-stuffs, including in many organic syntheses and in the generation of fine chemicals. Due to their natural design, they can offer superior selectivity for particular products and have a far lower environmental impact than many traditional catalysts. Our knowledge and understanding of biocatalysts has increased dramatically in the last few decades, which has allowed us to develop biologically modified and biomimetic catalysts for a range of applications.

To keep you up to date with the latest advances in this rapidly expanding field we have collected together these high impact articles and made them free to access until the 31^st October!

Click here for the full list of free articles

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Low melting mixtures in organic synthesis – an alternative to ionic liquids?

05 Oct 2012

By Mary Badcock, Deputy Editor.

One of the major topics within the green and sustainable chemistry field is replacing hazardous and/or harmful solvents with more environmentally friendly alternatives. One group of solvents that have been investigated for this purpose over recent years are ionic liquids. However, it is now felt that not all ionic liquids can be classified as ‘green’ and that their environmental impact is strongly dependent on the cation and anion used to make them. Natural compounds can be used to produce deep eutectic solvents, sugar melts or ionic liquids, generating a reaction media which combines the advantages of non-toxic and biodegradable starting materiuals with the physicochemical properties of ionic liquids.

In this Critical Review, Burkhard König and Carolin Ruß from the University of Regensburg, Germany look at the impact these low melting mixtures have had on organic synthesis and their various applications. The authors show that experimental and theoretical determinaton of the molecular structure of these solvents is needed in order to understand how this shapes their physcial properties. Given the huge number of naturally occuring anions and cations, there remains an enormous range combinations to investigate with the potential to produce low-environmental impact solvents with tailor-made properties.

Read the full article for free until the 5th November 2012!

Low melting mixtures in organic synthesis – an alternative to ionic liquids? Carolin Ruß and Burkhard König, Green Chem., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2GC36005E

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Sustainability in Chemical Synthesis Conference

28 Sep 2012

By Anna Simpson, Executive Editor.

Anna Simpson, Deputy Editor of Green Chemistry (pictured below, centre) attended the Sustainability in Chemical Synthesis Conference, held at the Chemistry Department of TU Kaiserslautern from the 16^th -18^th September.

From left to right: Lukas Gooßen, Anna Simpson and Oliver Kreye

This meeting was organised by the Sustainable Chemistry Section of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (German Chemical Society, GDCh). The series was started in 2007 to bring scientists from the community of sustainable chemistry together for exchanging ideas and new scientific insights.

The 2012 scientific programme put an emphasis on state-of-the-art organic synthesis by covering, in particular, methods of carbon-carbon, carbon-hetroatom, and carbon-hydrogen bond formation. Topics on chemicals from biomass were similarly covered as was the invention of new catalytic processes for achieving valuable new chemical transformations.

The Green Chemistry poster prize was won by Oliver Kreye from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (far right in picture above) and it was presented by Professor Lukas Gooßen, co-organiser of the conference (far left in picture above).

The full title of the winning poster was The first catalytic Lossen rearrangement: Sustainable access to Carbamates and Amines, authored by: Oliver Kreye, Sarah Wald and Michael Meier. You may be interested in ‘meeting our author’ Michael Meier, click here.

Congratulations to Oliver on winning this prize.

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Issue 10 of Green Chemistry now online!

26 Sep 2012

By Mary Badcock, Deputy Editor.

The latest issue of Green Chemistry is now available to read online.

The front cover of issue 10 highlights work by Ulrich Schwaneberg and colleagues from RWTH Aachen University, nova-Institut GmbH and the University of Hamburg, Germany. The aim of this study was to generate re-engineered cellulases which can match application demands in biorefineries and avoid expensive downstream processing. The team developed a fluorescence-based high throughput screening method for directed evolution of cellulases, in an effort to improve the activity and resistance of a cellulase in aqueous solutions of deep eutectic solvents and concentrated seawater. This work opens up new opportunities for the development of cellulases as catalysts for the depolymerisation of cellulose under mild conditions.

Reengineering CelA2 cellulase for hydrolysis in aqueous solutions of deep eutectic solvents and concentrated seawater, Christian Lehmann, Fabrizio Sibilla, Zaira Maugeri, Wolfgang R. Streit, Pablo Domínguez de María, Ronny Martinez and Ulrich Schwaneberg, Green Chem., 2012, 3, 2719-2726

The inside front cover of this issue features work by Eugene Chen and co-workers from Colorado State University who present an efficient process for upgrading 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 5,5′-di(hydroxymethyl)furoin (DHMF), a promising intermediate for kerosene/jet fuel. The reaction was performed in an ionic liquid [EMIM]OAc and catalysed by N-heterocyclic carbenes. The process could be completed in 1 hour at an ambient atmosphere and 60-80°C, which are industrially favourable conditions.

Organocatalytic upgrading of the key biorefining building block by a catalytic ionic liquid and N-heterocyclic carbenes, Dajiang (D. J.) Liu, Yuetao Zhang and Eugene Y.-X. Chen, Green Chem., 2012, 3, 2738-2746

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

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Article collection: Renewable energy

21 Sep 2012

By Mary Badcock, Deputy Editor.

One of the greatest challenges facing society and science is developing alternative, renewable energy sources to traditional (and non-renewable) petroleum products. Below is a selection of Green Chemistry articles giving you a snapshot of the high quality work we publish in this area.

You can enjoy free access to these articles for a limited time only, so why not take a look? Stay up-to-date with the latest content in Green Chemistry by registering for our free table of contents alerts.

Etherification and reductive etherification of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural: 5-(alkoxymethyl)furfurals and 2,5-bis(alkoxymethyl)furans as potential bio-diesel candidates, Madhesan Balakrishnan, Eric R. Sacia and Alexis T. Bell, Green Chem., 2012, 14, 1626-1634

The fate of bio-carbon in FCC co-processing products, Gabriella Fogassy, Nicolas Thegarid, Yves Schuurman and Claude Mirodatos, Green Chem., 2012, 14, 1367-1371

Liquid hydrocarbon fuels from cellulosic feedstocks via thermal deoxygenation of levulinic acid and formic acid salt mixtures, Paige A. Case, Adriaan R. P. van Heiningen and M. Clayton Wheeler, Green Chem., 2012, 14, 85-89

A technical evaluation of biodiesel from vegetable oils vs. algae. Will algae-derived biodiesel perform?, Gerhard Knothe, Green Chem., 2011, 13, 3048-3065

Production of liquid hydrocarbon fuels by catalytic conversion of biomass-derived levulinic acid, Drew J. Braden, Carlos A. Henao, Jacob Heltzel, Christos C. Maravelias and James A. Dumesic, Green Chem., 2011, 13, 1755-1765

Algae as a source of renewable chemicals: opportunities and challenges, Patrick M. Foley, Evan S. Beach and Julie B. Zimmerman, Green Chem., 2011, 13, 1399-1405

An efficient activity ionic liquid-enzyme system for biodiesel production, Teresa De Diego, Arturo Manjón, Pedro Lozano, Michel Vaultier and José L. Iborra, Green Chem., 2011, 13, 444-451

Production of jet and diesel fuel range alkanes from waste hemicellulose-derived aqueous solutions, Rong Xing, Ayyagari V. Subrahmanyam, Hakan Olcay, Wei Qi, G. Peter van Walsum, Hemant Pendse and George W. Huber, Green Chem., 2010, 12, 1933-1946

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

Mechanocatalysis for biomass-derived chemicals and fuels, Sandra M. Hick, Carolin Griebel, David T. Restrepo, Joshua H. Truitt, Eric J. Buker, Caroline Bylda and Richard G. Blair, Green Chem., 2010, 12, 468-474

High-yield conversion of plant biomass into the key value-added feedstocks 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural, levulinic acid, and levulinic esters via 5-(chloromethyl)furfural, Mark Mascal and Edward B. Nikitin, Green Chem., 2010, 12, 370-373

Ionic liquid tolerant hyperthermophilic cellulases for biomass pretreatment and hydrolysis, Supratim Datta, Bradley Holmes, Joshua I. Park, Zhiwei Chen, Dean C. Dibble, Masood Hadi, Harvey W. Blanch, Blake A. Simmons and Rajat Sapra, Green Chem., 2010, 12, 338-345

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Solvent guide to replce DCM in chromatography

18 Sep 2012

By Mary Badcock, Deputy Editor.

A quick bench-top solvent guide reference has been developed in order for alternative solvents to dichloromethane (DCM) to be selected for separation of a variety of organic molecules.

Chromatography is widely used by synthetic chemists for purification as it can be broadly applied to a vast range of compounds and is very adaptable. However, the largest contributor of chlorinated solvent waste in the medicinal chemistry industry is chromatography – primarily DCM. Given the significant human and environmental toxicities associated with DCM, reduction or ideally replacement of this solvent is important.

Here, Joshua Taygerly, Emily Peterson and colleagues from Amgen Inc. and Northeastern University, USA have developed a guide which aims to help synthetic chemists find suitable and more environmentally friendly alternatives to a DCM-solvent system for chromatographic purification of compounds. The authors selected several ‘drug-like’ molecules which reflected the types of molecules regularly prepared and purified, and separated these into three categories – acidic, basic and neutral (where ‘neutral’ refers to compounds without a carboxylic acid or amine functionality). They tested several alternative solvent systems and assembled a figure which allows the scientist to find the DCM solvent system that would have been applied to a particular molecule and follow it up vertically to find potentially equivalent systems (see the guide for neutral compounds right).

The primary use of this guide is to provide chemists with a quickly identifiable starting point for selecting alternative solvent systems to DCM.

You can read this article for free until the 17th October 2012!

A convenient guide to help select replacement solvents for dichloromethane in chromatography, Joshua P. Taygerly, Larry M. Miller, Alicia Yee and Emily A. Peterson, Green Chem., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2GC36064K

You may also be interested in these articles relating to solvent selection – free to access for 2 weeks:

Searching for green solvents, Philip G. Jessop, Green Chem., 2011, 13, 1391-1398

Expanding GSK’s solvent selection guide – embedding sustainability into solvent selection starting at medicinal chemistry, Richard K. Henderson, Concepción Jiménez-González, David J. C. Constable, Sarah R. Alston, Graham G. A. Inglis, Gail Fisher, James Sherwood, Steve P. Binks and Alan D. Curzons, Green Chem., 2011, 13, 854-862

Green chemistry tools to influence a medicinal chemistry and research chemistry based organisation, Kim Alfonsi, Juan Colberg, Peter J. Dunn, Thomas Fevig, Sandra Jennings, Timothy A. Johnson, H. Peter Kleine, Craig Knight, Mark A. Nagy, David A. Perry and Mark Stefaniak, Green Chem., 2008, 10, 31-36

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

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Meet our Authors: Liang-Nian He

14 Sep 2012

By Mary Badcock, Deputy Editor.

Liang-Nian He is a Professor at Nankai University in China. His research interests current revolve around carbon dioxide (CO₂) chemistry (capture and utilization) and sustainable synthetic chemistry. Liang-Nian He kindly took a few moments to chat to Green Chemistry…

Who or what initially inspired you to become a chemist?

The life of an academic is simple and straightforward and I enjoy working in an academic environment. I became interested in learning chemistry at the age of 12 in junior high school, which aroused my curiosity to know what happens behind such phenomena such as combustion of magnesium in oxygen, and the color change in the acid-base reaction. However, there was very little science education at that time. When I continued my college education, chemistry was taught formally, and my interest developed further. I was so fascinated by the nature of matter and had such a strong passion to understand all the interesting things in nature at the molecular level. Chemistry is such a powerful tool that can create almost anything you want. Accordingly, I definitely pursue a career in the field of chemistry when I was conscious of fundamental importance of chemistry to our society from drugs to dyes, from food to clothing.

What has been the motivation behind your recent research?

Chemical utilization of CO₂ as a feedstock, promoter or reaction media for producing materials and fuels is attractive as an integral part of the carbon cycle. In particular, establishing large-scale production using CO₂ in industry would be a fascinating dream for synthetic chemists. I am very grateful to Professor Toshiyasu Sakakura (National Institute of Advanced Industry Science and Technology, Japan) for introducing me to this emerging state of the art and exciting field of chemistry.

What do you see as the main challenges facing research in this area?

Click here to read more…

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Green Chemistry Blog

Professor Joan Brennecke elected to the National Academy of Engineering

From Waste to Wealth Using Green Chemistry

Biocatalysis: an article collection

Low melting mixtures in organic synthesis – an alternative to ionic liquids?

Top ten most accessed articles in August

Sustainability in Chemical Synthesis Conference

Issue 10 of Green Chemistry now online!

Article collection: Renewable energy

Solvent guide to replce DCM in chromatography

Meet our Authors: Liang-Nian He

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