United Slates
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics
Washington, DC 20460
EPA744F-93-008
April 1993
Design for the Environment Program
announces:
Alternative Synthetic Design
for Pollution Prevention
A One-Day Symposium Presented as part of the
American Chemical Society's 2Q6th National Meeting
August 22-27, 1993
Chicago, Illinois
The United States Environmental Protection Agency, as
part of its Design for the Environment program, is
sponsoring 9 symposium titled "Alternative Synthetic
Design for Pollution Prevention" to be presented at the
206th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society
The goal of the one-day symposium is to stimulate
thinking and research in pollution-preventing chemical
synthesis. Six of the research papers to be presented
were sponsored by grants from the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) or the National Science
Foundation (NSF).
Many chemists have been trained to design synthetic
sequences to produce the greatest yield without
considering the potential "pollution caused by the
synthesis. When heavily-polluting synthetic sequences are
used to produce high volumes of chemical compounds for
industrial applications, the associated cost to human
health and the environment can be high. The
development of alternative synthetic pathways which
avoid or reduce the use of toxic chemicals will provide
chemical producers with powerful tools for pollution
prevention.
The Alternative Synthetic Design Symposium will:
feature research aimed at developing
practical alternative synthetic pathways
for both fine chemicals and industrial
commod;ty chemicals, and
describe NSF/EPA grant programs to
encourage further research in alternative
synthesis
Research to be presented includes pollution-
preventing synthetic rcutes using such features
as visible light catalysis, microbial catalysis and
supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent. Also
on the program are papers describing synthetic
routes to avoid the use of benzene in the
synthesis of styrene and other aromatics, routes
to avoid the use of phosgene in the synthesis of
urethanes and isocyanates, and routes to avoid
the use of toxic, air-sensitive Lewis acids as an
alternative to the Friedel-Crafts reaction.
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Division of Environmental Chemistry Symposium
Alternative Synthetic Design for Pollution Prevention
(subject to change)
SESSION ONE
Session Chairman: Dr. Paul T. Anastas
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Introductory Remarks
--Dr. Paul Anastas, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Green Technology's Challenge to Synthetic Chemists: Environmentally
Benign Chemical Synthesis for the Economy and the Environment
--Dr. Kenneth Hancock, National Science Foundation
The UCLA Styrene Process
-Dr. Orville Chapman, UCLA
Designing Microbes to be Synthetic Catalysts
--Dr. John Frost, Purdue University
Supercritical Carbon Dioxide as a Medium for Conducting Free Radical
Reactions
--Dr. James Tanko, Virginia-Polytechnic University
Generation of Urethanes and Isocyanates from Amines and Carbon Dioxide
--Dr. Dennis Riley, Monsanto Corporate Research
* Homogeneous Catalytic Carbonylation of Nitroaromatics: An Alternative to
Phosgene Use
' , --Dr. Wayne Gladfelter, University of Minnesota
Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution for Hydrogen: New Halide Free Routes
for the Production of Aromatic Amines
--Dr. Michael Stern, Monsanto Corporate Research
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Division of Environmental Chemistry Symposium
Alternative Synthetic Design for Pollution Prevention
(subject to change)
SESSION TWO
Session Chairman: Dr. Carol A. Farris
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Pollution Prevention Through Alternate Synthetic Pathways at the United
States Environmental Protection Agency
--Dr. Paul Anastas, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Preparative Reactions Using Visible Light -High Yields from
Pseudoelectrochemical Transformation
--Dr. Gary Epling, University of Connecticut
A Photochemical Alternative to the Friedel-Crafts Reaction
-Dr. George Kraus, Department of Chemistry
SELECTFLUOR - A Safe. Effective Reagent for the Selective Fluorination of
Organic Substrates
--Dr. Guido Pez, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Chemistry and Catalysis: Key Elements of Environmentally-Safer Processes
---Dr. Leo E. Manzer, DuPont Company
Alternate Syntheses and Other Source Reduction Opportunities for
Premanufacture Notification Substances at the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
--Dr. Carol Farris, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Computer Assisted Alternative Synthetic Design for Pollution Prevention
Initiatives at the U.S. EPA
--Dr. J. Dirk Nies, Dynamac Corporation
Concluding Remarks
--Dr. Paul Anastas, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
For more information contact Dr. Carol Farris, U.S. EPA, (202) 260-1732, fax (202) 260-0981
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The Design for the Environ-
ment (DfE) Program in EPA's
Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics harnesses EPA's
expertise and leadership to
facilitate information ex-
change and research on poUu-.
tion prevention efforts. DfE
works with both large and
small businesses on a volun-
tary basis, and its wide-
ranging projects include:
Changing general busi-
nesses practices to provide
incentives for pollution pre-
vention efforts.
Working with businesses
and trade associations ii
specific industries to evalu-
ate the risks, performance,
and costs of alternative
chemicals, processes, and
technologies.
Helping individual busi-
nesses undertake environ-
mental design efforts
through the application of
specific tools and methods.
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