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CHEMISTRY:
TWELVE PRINCIPLES
The twelve core principles of
green chemistry were set out by Dr. Paul Anastas¹.
They comprise targets for all industrial chemical processes.
1. It is better to prevent
waste than to treat or clean up waste after it
is formed.
2. Synthetic methods should be designed
to maximise the incorporation
of all materials used in the process into the final product.
3. Wherever practicable, synthetic methodologies
should be designed to use and generate substances that
possess little or no toxicity
to human health and the environment.
4. Chemical products should be designed
to preserve efficiency of function while reducing
toxicity.
5. The use of
auxiliary substances (e.g. solvents, separation agents,
etc) should be made
unnecessary wherever
possible and, innocuous
when used.
6. Energy requirements should be recognised
for their environmental and economic impacts and should
be minimised. Synthetic
methods should be conducted at ambient
temperature and pressure.
7. A raw material of feedstock should
be renewable rather
than depleting wherever technically and economically practicable.
8. Unnecessary derivatisation (blocking
group, protection/deprotection, temporary modification
of physical/chemical processes) should be avoided
whenever possible.
9. Catalytic
reagents (as selective as possible) are superior
to stoichiometric reagents.
10. Chemical products should be designed
so that at the end of their function they do not persist
in the environment and break
down into innocuous degradation products.
11. Analytical methodologies need to
be further developed to allow for real-time, in-process
monitoring and control prior to the formation of
hazardous substances.
12. Substances and the form of a substance
used in a chemical process should be chosen so as to
minimise the potential for chemical accidents,
including releases, explosions and fires.
1: Anastas, P. T.; Warner, J. C.
Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice, Oxford University
Press: New York, 1998, p.30
Photography courtesy of Emanuel
Lobeck, Kenn Kiser, Crissie Hardy
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