Green Chemistry Principles: How to Reduce Threats to Environmental and Safety

Green Chemistry (Pixabay)

The quality of our lives, especially in modern society, is highly dependent on the products of the chemical, oil processing, and automotive industries. In other words, people's lives in this age of globalization are greatly influenced and also dependent on the products of emerging technologies. However, the products of these industries not only produce the products we need but also produce waste or emissions that can damage the environment and human health. In this case, there are still many processes or technologies used in these industries when producing certain products that produce waste or damage the environment around us.

In addition, concern for the environment has become socialized and globalized, where the attention of the community, industry and government support each other and work together in dealing with this. The government has also issued regulations or laws on overcoming or preventing waste or pollution to the environment.

Therefore, we as chemists must have an innovative approach that aims to design chemical products and processes that are more environmentally friendly. The concept emerged as a form of concern about the negative impact of the chemical industry on the environment and human health.

Green Chemistry is a term coined in 1991 by Anastas of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But this does not mean that the green chemistry movement did not exist before the early 1990s. Several countries had begun practicing the principles of green chemistry in previous years triggered by concerns about the disruption of natural and environmental balance, threats to the availability of clean water, and depletion of energy reserves. Green chemistry applies new principles in the synthesis, processing, and application of chemicals in such a way as to reduce threats to environmental and human safety. Green chemistry, often also called Environmental benign Chemistry, Clean Chemistry, atomic economy, benign-by-design chemistry.

Green Chemistry aims to overhaul the traditional way of conducting chemical processes, emphasizing pollution prevention from the beginning of the production process, rather than just the treatment of waste after it is formed.

Green chemistry principles can be applied by the use of renewable raw materials, waste utilization, avoiding the use of toxic and/or hazardous reagents and solvents in the manufacture and application of chemical products. Natural materials whether sourced from plants or animals have a role in the application of green chemistry. The application of green chemistry is expected to facilitate the assurance of human health and the environment, while maintaining efficiency and profitability.

Green chemistry proposes 12 principles that direct the approach in designing more sustainable chemical processes. These principles include:

The application of green chemistry principles in material synthesis methods has a significant impact on the sustainability and efficiency of the process. By adopting these principles, researchers can design synthesis processes that are cleaner, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly. For example, by reducing the use of hazardous chemicals, using renewable raw materials, and improving reaction efficiency, synthesis processes can produce less waste, require less energy, and reduce the overall carbon footprint.

The application of green chemistry and environmental knowledge plays an important role in shaping individual awareness and action towards environmental conservation. By applying green chemistry and having good environmental knowledge, it can increase environmental awareness, thus increasing environmental care behavior.