Green chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. Green chemistry applies across the life cycle of a chemical product, including its design, manufacture, use, and ultimate disposal.
Green chemistry:
Prevents pollution at the molecular level
Is a philosophy that applies to all areas of chemistry, not a single discipline of chemistry
Applies innovative scientific solutions to real-world environmental problems
Results in source reduction because it prevents the generation of pollution
Reduces the negative impacts of chemical products and processes on human health and the environment
Lessens and sometimes eliminates hazard from existing products and processes
Designs chemical products and processes to reduce their intrinsic hazards
Design chemical products that are fully effective yet have little or no toxicity.
Design chemical products to break down to innocuous substances after use so that they do not accumulate in the environment.
Green chemistry aims to design and produce cost-competitive chemical products and processes that attain the highest level of the pollution-prevention hierarchy by reducing pollution at its source.
For those who are creating and using green chemistry, the hierarchy looks like this:
Source Reduction and Prevention of Chemical Hazards
Designing chemical products to be less hazardous to human health and the environment*
Making chemical products from feedstocks, reagents, and solvents that are less hazardous to human health and the environment*
Designing syntheses and other processes with reduced or even no chemical waste
Designing syntheses and other processes that use less energy or less water
Using feedstocks derived from annually renewable resources or from abundant waste
Designing chemical products for reuse or recycling
Reusing or recycling chemicals
As today’s fastest growing crude oil demand sector, chemicals presents considerable opportunities for future growth and long-term value creation. Our chemicals business currently spans the production of basic chemicals such as aromatics, olefins, and polyolefins to more complex products such as polyols and advanced synthetic rubber. Our chemicals products are found in the many of the items we use every day and serve the needs of industries such as packaging, automotive, footwear and appliances.
