Through innovative design, creation, processing, use, and disposal of substances, the chemical industry plays a major role in advancing applications to support sustainability in a way that will allow humanity to meet current environmental, economic, and societal needs without compromising the progress and success of future generations. Based on a workshop held in February 2005 that brought together a broad cross section of disciplines and organizations in the chemical industry, this report identifies a set of overarching Grand Challenges for Sustainability research in chemistry and chemical engineering to assist the chemical industry in defining a sustainability agenda. These Grand Challenges include life cycle analysis, renewable chemical feedstocks, and education, among others.

In recent years the need for sustainable process design and alternative reaction routes to reduce industry?s impact on the environment has gained vital importance. The book begins with a general overview of new trends in designing industrial chemical processes which are environmentally friendly and economically feasible. Specific examples written by experts from industry cover the possibilities of running industrial chemical processes in a sustainable manner and provide an up-to-date insight into the main concerns, e.g., the use of renewable raw materials, the use of alternative energy sources in chemical processes, the design of intrinsically safe processes, microreactor and integrated reaction/ separation technologies, process intensification, waste reduction, new catalytic routes and/or solvent and process optimization.

Sustainability in the Design, Synthesis and Analysis of Chemical Engineering Processes is an edited collection of contributions from leaders in their field. It takes a holistic view of sustainability in chemical and process engineering design, and incorporates economic analysis and human dimensions. Ruiz-Mercado and Cabezas have brought to this book their experience of researching sustainable process design and life cycle sustainability evaluation to assist with development in government, industry and academia. This book takes a practical, step-by-step approach to designing sustainable plants and processes by starting from chemical engineering fundamentals. This method enables readers to achieve new process design approaches with high influence and less complexity. It will also help to incorporate sustainability at the early stages of project life, and build up multiple systems level perspectives. Ruiz-Mercado and Cabezas' book is the only book on the market that looks at process sustainability from a chemical engineering fundamentals perspective. - Improve plants, processes and products with sustainability in mind; from conceptual design to life cycle assessment - Avoid retro fitting costs by planning for sustainability concerns at the start of the design process - Link sustainability to the chemical engineering fundamentals

Towards Sustainable Chemical Processes describes a comprehensive framework for sustainability assessment, design and the processes optimization of chemical engineering. Beginning with the analysis and assessment in the early stage of chemical products' initiating, this book focuses on the combination of science sustainability and process system engineering, involving mathematical models, industrial ecology, circular economy, energy planning, process integration and sustainability engineering.All chapters throughout answered two fundamental questions in depth: (1) what tools and models are available to be used to assess and design sustainable chemical processes, (2) what the core theories and concepts are to get into the sustainable chemical process fields. Therefore, Towards Sustainable Chemical Processes is an indispensable guide for chemical engineers, researchers, students, practitioners and consultants in sustainability related area. - Provides innovative, novel and comprehensive methods and models for sustainability assessment, design and optimization, and synthesis and integration of chemical engineering processes - Combines sustainability science with process system engineering - Integrates mathematical models, industrial ecology, circular economy, energy planning, process integration and sustainability engineering - Includes new case studies related to renewable energy, resource management, process synthesis and process integration

Industrial Environmental Performance Metrics is a corporate-focused analysis that brings clarity and practicality to the complex issues of environmental metrics in industry. The book examines the metrics implications to businesses as their responsibilities expand beyond the factory gateâ€"upstream to suppliers and downstream to products and services. It examines implications that arise from greater demand for comparability of metrics among businesses by the investment community and environmental interest groups. The controversy over what sustainable development means for businesses is also addressed. Industrial Environmental Performance Metrics identifies the most useful metrics based on case studies from four industriesâ€"automotive, chemical, electronics, and pulp and paperâ€"and includes specific corporate examples. It contains goals and recommendations for public and private sector players interested in encouraging the broader use of metrics to improve industrial environmental performance and those interested in addressing the tough issues of prioritization, weighting of metrics for meaningful comparability, and the longer term metrics needs presented by sustainable development.

Biotechnology in the Chemical Industry: Towards a Green and Sustainable Future focuses on achievements and prospects for biotechnology in sustainable production of goods and services, especially those that are derived at present mostly from the traditional chemical industry. It considers the future impact of industrial biotechnology and lays out the major research areas which must be addressed to move from a flourishing set of scientific disciplines to a major contributor to a successful future knowledge-based economy. The book focuses on the research needed to underpin three broad topics: biomass, bio-processes and bio-products, including bio-energy. Readers, including advanced students, researchers, industry professionals, academics, analysts, consultants, and anyone else interested, or involved in biotechnology will find this book very informative. - Offers a comprehensive introduction to the subject for researchers interested in the biotechnological applications in chemical industry - Provides a state-of-the art update on the field - Presents the economic and ecological advantages of industrial biotechnology - Discusses efforts made by developing countries towards industrial biotechnology - Describes new biotechnological applications - Includes the major challenges facing industrial biotechnology

Sustainable development is an area that has world-wide appeal, from developed industrialized countries to the developing world. Development of innovative technologies to achieve sustainability is being addressed by many European countries, the USA and also China and India. The need for chemical processes to be safe, compact, flexible, energy efficient, and environmentally benign and conducive to the rapid commercialization of new products poses new challenges for chemical engineers. This book examines the newest technologies for sustainable development in chemical engineering, through careful analysis of the technical aspects, and discussion of the possible fields of industrial development. The book is broad in its coverage, and is divided into four sections: Energy Production, covering renewable energies, innovative solar technologies, cogeneration plants, and smart grids Process Intensification, describing why it is important in the chemical and petrochemical industry, the engineering approach, and nanoparticles as a smart technology for bioremediation Bio-based Platform Chemicals, including the production of bioethanol and biodiesel, bioplastics production and biodegradability, and biosurfactants Soil and Water Remediation, covering water management and re-use, and soil remediation technologies Throughout the book there are case studies and examples of industrial processes in practice.