The challenge of turning industrial chemistry green
Green chemistry is a maturing discipline. But the subject still holds big challenges that the next generation of chemists must tackle, as Josh Howgego reports
Chemistry has a dark side. Behind every ounce of innovative plastic, invaluable drug or fresh research insight, there can be a mountain of solvent, electricity, heavy metals and their associated emissions.
Whether the pollution produced outweighs the benefits these new products and ideas bring is a deep and seldom considered question. But for more than 20 years now there have been chemists who want to make that darkness a good deal greener. They are working to make sure that the impacts of large-scale industrial chemistry are minimised. Their profession, known as ‘green chemistry’, is now fairly mature – though as we’ll see there are still plenty of difficult problems left for chemistry’s next generation to solve.
Thanks for using Education in Chemistry. You can view one Education in Chemistry article per month as a visitor.
Register for Teach Chemistry for free, unlimited access
Registration is open to all teachers and technicians at secondary schools, colleges and teacher training institutions in the UK and Ireland.
Get all this, plus much more:
- unlimited access to resources, core practical videos and Education in Chemistry articles
- teacher well-being toolkit, personal development resources and online assessments
- applications for funding to support your lessons
Already a Teach Chemistry member? Sign in now.
Not eligible for Teach Chemistry? Sign up for a personal account instead, or you can also access all our resources with Royal Society of Chemistry membership.