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The United States is dipping its toe into the "green chemistry" trend, but where does the world stand?  Will the world suffer or benefit from chemical products of the future in our manufacturing of vehicles, electronics, even food and drinks?  Because rapidly rising economies such as China and India are entering the manufacturing marketplace, their chemical proficiency becomes a global issue because winds carry toxins to neighboring regions, waters carry toxins, and lands harbor toxins  -- known and yet to be discovered and evaluated -- for centuries.

Globalization Trends

Globalization is one of the most important megatrends currently affecting society. Its impact on the chemical industry is far-reaching, being both a source of opportunity but also a driver for change in the industry itself.

Globalization can create growth opportunities for many chemical companies, who are actively looking for ways to enter into the higher-growth regional markets of the world. Meanwhile, India is forecast to become a low cost manufacturing hub for passenger vehicles in the coming years, and trends such as this will have a major impact on where materials need to be supplied to in the future.

Urbanization Trends

And alongside globalization, the related trend of urbanization is also creating its own set of opportunities for chemical companies.

Consumer awareness and action will grow as chemicals accumulate in our environment, our food supply and our water supply.  Solutions are needed... BEFORE problems are created.  Regulation of chemical products is a new challenge that we must face, as difficult as it is to understand the technical language used to obfuscate understanding of what's in our products, and the waste stream affected by un-tested product ingredients.

Frost & Sullivan's Global Chemicals and Materials team have completed extensive analysis on Global Chemicals market.

The EPA SNAP program has developed a series of pages for each SNAP industrial sector. These links lead to  lists by end use and for the entire sector, as well as related documents (e.g., fact sheets on specific end-uses).

Refrigeration & Air Conditioning

End Uses

• Chillers typically cool water, which is then circulated to provide comfort cooling throughout a building or other location. Chillers can be classified by compressor type, including centrifugal, reciprocating, scroll, screw, and rotary. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, CFC-114, R-13B1, HCFC-22, R-500 and other ODSs. Chillers used to cool industrial processes are discussed under Industrial process refrigeration systems.
• Industrial process refrigeration systems cool process streams in industrial applications. The choice of substitute for specific applications depends on ambient and required operating temperatures and pressures. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-11, CFC-12, HCFC-22 and other ODSs.
• Ice skating rinks frequently use secondary refrigeration loops. They are used by the general public for recreational purposes. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-12, HCFC-22, R-502 and other ODSs.
• Industrial process air conditioning is distinct from commercial and residential air conditioning. It is often used when ambient temperatures near 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees Celsius) and corrosive conditions exist. Units in this end-use provide comfort cooling for operators and protect process equipment. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-12, CFC-114 and other ODSs.
• Cold storage warehouses are used to store meat, produce, dairy products and other perishable goods. The majority of cold storage warehouses in the United States use ammonia as the refrigerant in a vapor compression cycle, although some rely on other refrigerants. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-12, HCFC-22, R-502, and other ODSs.
• Refrigerated transport moves products from one place to another while maintaining necessary temperatures, and include refrigerated ship holds, truck trailers, railway freight cars, and other shipping containers. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-12, R-502 and other ODSs.
• Retail Food Refrigeration includes all cold storage cases designed to chill food for commercial sale. In addition to grocery cases, the end-use includes convenience store reach-in cases and restaurant walk-in refrigerators. Icemakers in these locations are discussed under commercial ice machines. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-12, HCFC-22, R-502 and other ODSs.
• Vending machines are self-contained units which dispense goods that must be kept cold or frozen. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-12, R-502 and other ODSs.
• Water coolers are self-contained units providing chilled water for drinking. They may or may not feature detachable containers of water. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-12, R-502 and other ODSs.
• Commercial ice machines are used in commercial establishments to produce ice for consumer use, e.g., in hotels, restaurants, and convenience stores. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-12, R-502 and other ODSs.
• Household refrigerators and freezers are intended primarily for residential use, although they may be used outside the home. Household freezers only offer storage space at freezing temperatures, unlike household refrigerators. Products with both a refrigerator and freezer in a single unit are most common. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-12, R-502 and other ODSs.
• Residential dehumidifiers are primarily used to remove water vapor from ambient air for comfort or material preservation purposes. While air conditioning systems often combine cooling and dehumidification, this application serves only the latter purpose. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-12, HCFC-22 and other ODSs.
• Motor vehicle air conditioning systems, or MVACS, provide comfort cooling for passengers in cars, buses, planes, trains, and other forms of transportation. MVACS pose risks related to widely varying ambient conditions, accidents, and the location of the evaporator inside the passenger compartment. Given the large number of cars in the nation's fleet, and the variety of designs, new substitutes must be used in accordance with established retrofit procedures. Flammability is a concern in all applications, but the conditions of use and the potential for accidents in this end-use increase the likelihood of a fire. In addition, the number of car owners who perform their own routine maintenance means that more people will be exposed to potential hazards. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-12 and HCFC-22.
• Residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pumps includes central air conditioners (unitary equipment), window air conditioners, and other products. HCFC-22, a class II substance, is the most common refrigerant for this application. SNAP has identified substitutes for HCFC-22 and other ODSs.
• Heat transfer includes all cooling systems that rely on convection to remove heat from an area, rather than relying on mechanical refrigeration. There are, generally speaking, two types of systems: Systems with fluid pumps, referred to as recirculating coolers, and those that rely on natural convection currents, referred to as thermosiphons. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, CFC-114, CFC-115 and other ODSs.
• Very Low Temperature Refrigeration systems require maintaining temperatures in the vicinity of -80 degrees F (-62 degrees C) or lower. Examples include medical freezers and freeze-dryers, which generally require extremely reliable refrigeration cycles to maintain low temperatures and must meet stringent technical standards that do not normally apply to refrigeration systems. SNAP has identified substitutes for CFC-13, R-13B1 (Halon 1301), R-503 and other ODSs.

Publications

Ten Questions to Ask Before You Purchase An Alternative Refrigerant

Programs that Provide Training on HFC-134a Retrofit

ASHRAE Journal Article about Refrigerant Safety

ARTI Refrigerant Information Database

The meaning of greening

The term green chemistry was first coined in 1998 by Yale professor Paul Anastas and John Warner of the Warner Babcock Institute in their book "Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice." They defined it as "the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products."

The green chemistry movement is beginning to take hold at UC Berkeley. An important recent step was a 2008 report commissioned by the California EPA entitled "Green Chemistry: Cornerstone to a Sustainable California," which includes among the authors Drs. Michael Wilson and Megan Schwarzman, research scientists in the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. The wide-ranging report outlines some of the major environmental, health, and economic impacts of California's current approach to regulating chemicals.

Over 100 synthetic chemicals and pollutants have been found in umbilical cord blood, breast milk, and adult tissues, and, according to the report, many of these chemicals are "known or probable human carcinogens, reproductive or neurological toxicants, or all three."

Thousands of new chemicals are introduced to the marketplace each year and global chemical production is doubling every 25 years.

The report highlights the need for comprehensive policy solutions to avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of releasing these chemicals into the environment.

Read more at the Berkeley Science Review

SOURCE:
Green Chemistry
Chemists clean up their act (view PDF)
by Lee Bishop and Mitch Anstey

From 1961 to 1971, over 20 million gallons of the powerful defoliant Agent Orange were sprayed across the jungles of South Vietnam. The herbicidal active ingredients destroyed millions of acres of forests, but perhaps even more tragically, the contamination of Agent Orange with the carcinogen dioxin caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and continues to affect the people of southern Vietnam to this day. Dioxin is now infamous as one of the world's most potent cancer-causing chemicals.

It's All About the Supply Chain . . .

Burning chlorine-containing organic materials produces dioxin, and oftentimes the chlorine is present only as a contaminant and not as the crucial component of the material, making dioxin production difficult to control. Coal fire plants, waste incinerators, and even forest fires are implicated in dioxin production, and until recently, engine exhaust from ships and trains also contributed to the problem.

In response, the California Environmental Protection Agency began investigating how chlorinated chemicals could be contaminating these vehicles' fuel.

They found that the automotive repair industry was using two chlorine-containing compounds, methylene chloride and tetrachloroethylene, as brake and engine cleaners. These chemicals were then combined with used car oil that was recycled into a cheap source of fuel for dioxin-spewing tankers and trains.

These findings prompted well-intentioned regulations to prohibit the use of those chlorinated chemicals in degreasers in California, and the automotive repair industry adopted a mixture of the chemicals hexane and acetone as a substitute.

Tragically, auto mechanics began experiencing numbness of their hands and feet, and some were even rendered wheelchair-bound.

It was eventually determined that hexane was being metabolized into a potent neurotoxin in the mechanics' bodies, causing nerve damage. This so-called "regrettable substitution" illustrates the difficulties inherent in designing and regulating chemical tools, weighing their benefits against often unknown environmental and health impacts.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the current chemical production and regulation system is flawed, and the field of green chemistry aims to provide the solution.

Read more at the Berkeley Science Review