Green Processes: Opportunities to Leapfrog

World over, companies related to either energy consumption or energy generation seem too busy in their strategic planning in response to global climate change. Green is the new norm. Green is the new focus of discussion. Green is the way forward. Any new investment which is not green is unlikely to find any favour. All the actions must depict responsible green scenarios. Any new proposal must contain value-added green alternatives to grab the project. Any new contract must adhere to Green Processes, Green Chemistries and Green Technologies.

The scientific community is being challenged to find sustainable technological solutions to help in controlling global warming. The major thrust is on altering the pattern and type of energy that is being consumed. Several industrial chemical processes were invented way back when the “Green” process was not the priority.?These traditional routes and pathways are no more sustainable in the long run. The focus has been set on chemistry in the long term considering the consequences of present technologies. In this context, the concept of “Green Chemistry” would address several options to minimise the chemical manufacturing process’s adverse environmental or health impacts.?The prime objective of green chemistry is to select the safest and most efficient pathways to manufacture the chemicals while reducing waste.

Green process selection is based on the following significant concepts out of the twelve guiding principles of green chemistry.

• Waste Prevention: Develop the processes to reuse and recycle the wastes generated in the process. The best example is zero liquid discharge processes. The overall approach should consider the implementation of green strategies followed by the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle mantra.
• Use of Renewable Feedstock: Hydrogen from water electrolysis, Green methanol, Green ammonia are some examples of finding investment interests.?Biofuels, biogas, and bioplastics can be made from renewable sources such as edible and non-edible biomass or Algae. These biofuels are low carbon solutions to the present fossil fuel-based extraction of fuels.
• Design for Energy Efficiency:?Design for green combustion means finding alternate combustion fuels such as hydrogen.?Hard to abate sectors such as steel rely on green hydrogen in the DRI process.
• Safer Chemistry: Develop alternate routes, new catalysts for conducting reactions at low temperature and low pressure. Avoid the use of harmful, toxic materials in the process. Ammonia is also being looked at as a potential candidate for hydrogen energy carriers more safely and economically.

Surprisingly, the green chemistry framework is not new. The idea of green chemistry was initially developed in the USA in response to the ‘Pollution Prevention Act of 1990’ and in search of improved designs to eliminate pollution. Twelve principles of green chemistry were published way back in 1998, setting up a direction for researching and practising newer pathways.?In the following year, the ‘Royal Society of Chemistry’ launched its first Green Chemistry Journal.?Way back in 2005, the citation for the Nobel prize in chemistry recommended the work of Chauvin, Grubbs, and Schrock as “a great step forward for green chemistry”.

However, only after the Paris 2015 agreement, energy transition has become an area of actual investment. Off late, the net-zero pledge by corporates and a renewed focus on green chemistry is continuing to gain traction.?

Hydrogen finds tremendous potential as an alternate energy source as it can be produced in a green way by using renewable energy. Besides the existing ammonia or methanol manufacturing applications, hydrogen finds new users such as transportation fuel, Stationary power generation, and combustion fuel.

Climate change targets call for a reduction in total energy per GDP by around ~35% globally. When the global population grows by 25% till 2050, the energy demands will increase by 40% in the same period. In short, as the population grows, we must continue to drive GDP growth; and we need more energy to do so. But now, we must do it more with less.

The cost of newer green processes is not something that encourages direct deployment. A green requires enormous support from red tape. So, we need a green policy, subsidy, incentives, budget for R&D, and everything that would be green.?