vvEPA
United States
Environmental
Protection
Agency
The Presidential
Green Chemistry Challenge
Awards Program:
Summary of 2009 Award
Entries and Recipients
An electronic version of this document is available at:
http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry
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of
Contents
Introduction [[[ 1
Awards [[[ 3
Academic Award. ............................................. 3
Small Business Award 4
Greener Synthetic Pathways Award 5
Greener Reaction Conditions Award................................ 6
Designing Greener Chemicals Award 7
Entries from Academia ............................................ 9
Entries from Small Businesses ...................................... 19
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Introduction
The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Program is a competitive incentive
to create environmentally preferable chemicals and chemical processes. Each year the United
States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) celebrates innovative, award-winning tech-
nologies developed by high-quality nominees. The year 2009 marks the 14th year of the
program. This compilation summarizes the entries submitted for the 2009 awards. Five of the
more than 90 entries were nationally recognized on June 22, 2009, at an awards ceremony in
Washington, D.C.
The national policy established by the 1990 Pollution Prevention Act is aimed at reducing
pollution at its source whenever feasible. By applying scientific solutions to real-world envi-
ronmental problems, the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge has significantly reduced
the hazards associated with designing, manufacturing, and using chemicals. Through a vol-
untary EPA Design for the Environment partnership with the chemical industry and profes-
sional scientific community, this annual awards program seeks to discover, highlight, and
honor green chemistry. An independent panel of technical experts convened by the American
Chemical Society judged the entries for the 2009 awards. The judges used criteria that in-
cluded health and environmental benefits, scientific innovation, and industrial applicability.
These technologies are also meant to succeed in the marketplace: each illustrates the technical
feasibility, marketability, and profitability of green chemistry.
For further information about the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge and EPA's
Green Chemistry Program, go to www.epa.gov/greenchemistry.
Noie: The summaries provided in rhis d.ocument were obiained from the entries received, for the 2009 Presidential Green
Chemistry Challenge Awards. EPA edited, the descriptions for spa.ce, stylistic consistency, and. clarity, but they were not
written or officially endorsed by the Agency The summaries are intended only to highlight a fraction of the information
contained in the nominated, projects. These summaries were not used, in the judging process; judging was conducted on all
information contained in the entries received. Claims made in these summaries have not been verified bv EPA.
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Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization: Low-impact
Polymerization Using a Copper Catalyst
and Environmentally Friendly Reducing Agents
Innovation and Benefits
Hazardous chemicals are often required in the manufacture of important polymers
such as lubricants, adhcsivcs, and coatings. Professor Matyjaszcwski developed an
alternative process called "Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP)" for manu-
facturing polymers. The process uses chemicals that are environmentally friendly, such
as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) as a reducing agent, and requires less catalyst. ATRP has
been licensed to manufacturers throughout the world, reducing risks from hazardous
chemicals.
Worldwide production of synthetic polymers is approximately 400 billion pounds per year;
approximately half of this involves free radical polymerization. With the recent development
of controlled radical polymerization (CRP), it is now possible to make well-defined polymers
with precisely controlled molecular structures. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP)
is one such technology; it is a transition-metal-mediated, controlled polymerization process
that was discovered at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in 1995. Since then, Professor
Matyjaszewski and his group have published over 500 scientific papers on CRP; these papers
have been cited over 30,000 times, making Professor Matyjaszewski the second-most cited
researcher in all fields of chemistry in 2008. This explosive interest in ATRP is due to its sim-
plicity and ability to tailor-make functional macromolecules for specialty applications. ATRP
has become the most versatile and robust of the CRP methods.
Professor Matyjaszewski has been working continually to increase the environmental friend-
liness of his process. During the last four years, he and his team at CMU have developed new
catalytic systems that dramatically decrease the concentration of transition metal, while pre-
serving good control over polymerization and polymer architecture. The latest improvements
are activators generated by electron transfer (AGET, 2004), activators regenerated by electron
transfer (ARGET, 2005), and initiators for continuous activator regeneration (ICAR, 2006).
These methods allow the preparation, storage, and use of the most active ATRP catalysts in
their oxidatively stable state as well as their direct use under standard industrial conditions.
The recent discovery of ARGET ATRP reduces the amount of copper catalyst from over
1,000 ppm to around 1 ppm in the presence of environmentally friendly reducing agents
such as amines, sugars, or ascorbic acid. AGET and ARGET ATRP provide routes to pure
block copolymers. The new processes allow oxidatively stable catalyst precursors to be used
in aqueous homogeneous, dispersed (miniemulsion, inverse miniemulsion, microemulsion,
emulsion, and suspension), and solventless bulk polymerizations. Professor Matyjaszewski's
wrork is opening new "green" routes for producing many advanced polymeric materials.
ATRP has become an industrially important means to produce polymers. Since
2003, ATRP has been licensed to 8 of the over 40 corporations funding the research at CMU
(PPG, Dionex, Ciba, Kaneka, Mitsubishi, WEP, ATRP Solutions, and Encapson). Licensees
around the world have begun commercial production of high-performance, less-hazardous,
safer materials including sealants, coatings, adhesives, lubricants, additives, pigment disper-
sants, and materials for electronic, biomedical, health, and beauty applications.
Professor Krzysztof
HVIatfjaszewisIki,
Carnegie Mellon
Uniwersity
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¥irent Energy
Inc.
BioForminf Process: Catalytic Conversion of Plant
Sugars into Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels
Innovation and Benefits
Virent's BioForming* process is a water-based, catalytic method to make gasoline, die-
sel, or jet fuel from the sugar, starch, or cellulose of plants that requires little external
energy other than the plant biomass. The process is flexible and can be modified to gen-
erate different fuels based on current market conditions. It can compete economically
with current prices for conventionally produced petroleum-based fuels. Using plants as
a renewable resource helps reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Virent has discovered and is developing an innovative green synthetic pathway to con-
vert plant sugars into conventional hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals. Virent's catalytic
BioForming*1 process combines proprietary aqueous-phase reforming (APR) technology
with established petroleum refining techniques to generate the same range of hydrocarbon
molecules now refined from petroleum. First, water-soluble carbohydrates are catalytically
hydrotreated. Next, in the APR process, resultant sugar alcohols react with water over a pro-
prietary heterogeneous metal catalyst to form hydrogen and chemical intermediates. Finally,
processing with one of multiple catalytic routes turns these chemicals into gasoline, diesel,
or jet fuel components. The technology also produces alkane fuel gases and other chemicals.
Virent's BioForming* platform can generate multiple end-products from a single feedstock
and enable product optimization based on current market conditions.
Compared to other biomass conversion systems, Virent's technology broadens the range of
viable feedstocks, provides more net energy, and produces fuels compatible with today's infra-
structure. The process uses either food or non-food biomass; it is scalable to match feedstock
supply. Unlike fermentation, Virent's robust process can use mixed sugar streams, polysaccha-
rides, and C$- and Cg- sugars derived from cellulosic biomass. By using more plant mass per
acre, the process provides better land use and higher value for farmers. The technology needs
little energy input, and can be completely renewable. Virent's energy-dense biofuels separate
naturally from water; as a result, the process eliminates the energy-intensive distillation to
separate and collect biofuels required by other technologies. The hydrocarbon biofuels from
Virent's process are interchangeable with petroleum products, matching them in composition,
functionality, and performance; they work in today's engines, fuel pumps, and pipelines. Pre-
liminary analysis suggests that Virent's BioForming* process can compete economically with
petroleum-based fuels and chemicals at crude oil prices of $60 a barrel.
The BioForming'5' process can speed the use of non-food plant sugars to replace petroleum
as an energy source, thus both decreasing dependence on fossil hydrocarbons and minimiz-
ing the impact on global water and food supplies. Fuels derived from the process can have a
20—30 percent per Btu cost advantage over cthanol. The BioForming* platform is near com-
mercialization. During 2008, Virent produced over 40 liters of biogasoline for engine testing
and began fabrication of its first 10,000-gallon-per-year pilot plant to produce biogasoline.
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A Solvent-Free Biocatalytic Process for Cosmetic and
Personal Care Ingredients
Eastman Chemical
Company
Innovation and Benefits
Esters are an important class of ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products.
Usually, they arc manufactured by harsh chemical methods that use strong acids and
potentially hazardous solvents; these methods also require a great deal of energy, East-
man's new method uses immobilized enzymes to make esters, saving energy and avoid-
ing both strong acids and organic solvents. This method is so gentle that Eastman can
use delicate, natural raw materials to make esters never before available.
The cosmetics and personal care market is avast enterprise of formulated specialty chemi-
cals. Esters are an important class of cosmetic ingredients, comprising emollients, emulsifiers,
and specialty performance ingredients. In 2006, the estimated North American consumption
of esters as emollients and emulsifiers was 50,000 metric tons. Usually, such esters are manu-
factured using strong acid catalysts at high temperatures; unfortunately, this produces undesir-
able byproducts that must be removed by energy-intensive purifications. Other methods of
producing cosmetic esters require organic solvents that are potentially hazardous to workers
and the environment. The growing trend for natural ingredients and environmentally re-
sponsible processes in the cosmetics market requires new manufacturing methods.
In 2005, scientists at Eastman began investigating enzymes as catalysts to produce cosmetic
esters. Eastman has now synthesized a variety of esters via enzymatic esterifications at mild
temperatures. The esterifications are driven to high conversion by removing the coproduct,
usually water from esterification of an acid or a lower alcohol from transesterification of an
ester. The mild processing conditions do not lead to formation of undesirable byproducts that
may contribute color or odor. The immobilized enzyme, such as lipasc, is easily removed by
filtration. The specificity of the enzymatic conversions and the relatively low reaction tem-
peratures minimize the formation of byproducts, increase yield, and save energy.
Eastman's process can use delicate raw materials such as unsaturated fatty acids that would
oxidize during conventional esterifications. Thus, Eastman can make ingredients never
before available. It has manufactured hundreds of such new esters by combining differ-
ent alcohols and adds. Biocatalysis can even yield new products that offer superior perfor-
mance. For example, two esters can be formed from 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol and acetic acid.
One—esterification at the benzyl moiety—is only accessible via the enzymatic route. This
particular ester inhibits tyrosinase, a key enzyme in melanin synthesis, and, therefore, is effec-
tive in reducing undesirable skin pigmentation and providing a more uniform skin tone.
Eastman's biocatalytic process can save over ten liters of organic solvent per kilogram of
product. The ester product is often pure enough to obviate post-reaction processing. An
early lifecycle assessment identifies Eastman's process as vastly improved over conventional
processes, especially in energy use. Overall, this process improves quality, yield, cost, and
environmental footprint compared to conventional chemical syntheses.
Leading cosmetic companies are currently evaluating many of Eastman's new esters, in-
cluding emollient esters made from rice bran oil, glyceride emulsifiers, and new ingredients
that combat the visible signs of aging.
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CEM Corporation
Innovative Analyzer Tags Proteins for Fast, Accurate
Results without Hazardous Chemicals or
High Temperatures
Innovation and Benefits
Each year, laboratories test millions of samples of food for the presence of protein.
Such tests generally use a large amount of hazardous substances and energy CEM has
developed a fast, automated process that uses less toxic reagents and less energy. The
new system can eliminate 5-5 million pounds of hazardous waste generated by tradi-
tional testing in the United States each year. "What's more, it differentiates between
protein and other chemicals used to adulterate food, such as melamine.
The recent use of melamine to masquerade as protein and adulterate both baby formula in
China and pet food in the United States makes accurate testing for protein imperative. The
standard Kjeldahl and combustion tests for protein measure total nitrogen, however, and can-
not distinguish melamine from protein. Kjeldahl testing uses sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide,
hydrochloric acid, and boric acid along with a catalyst of copper sulfate, selenium, or mercury.
U.S. companies generate 5-5 million pounds of hazardous waste annually from Kjeldahl test-
ing. Trained chemists are required to run these tests due to the hazardous materials and high
temperatures required.
The Sprint™' Rapid Protein Analyzer automates a technique that tags protein directly and
provides fast, accurate results. CEM's proprietary iTAG™ solution actually tags protein by
attaching only to histidine, arginine, and lysine, the three basic amino acids commonly found
in proteins. The proprietary iTAG™ solution contains an acidic group that readily attaches to
the basic amino acids; iTAG'™ also has an extensive aromatic group that readily absorbs light
and appears orange. The iTAG™ bound to the protein is removed from solution by a filter
and the remaining iTAG"" is then measured by colorimetry. The Sprint"" System ignores any
other nitrogen that may be present, including the nitrogen in melamine. As a result, it en-
ables food and pet food processors to be absolutely certain of the bulk protein content of their
ingredients and final products for quality control, product safety, and nutritional labeling.
Sprint™ may be used in the laboratory, on the processing line, or as a rapid check for incoming
raw materials. The system does not require a trained chemist to obtain accurate results.
Sprint™' uses a green chemistry method: its iTAG'" solution is nontoxic, nonreactive,
and water-soluble. It eliminates all of the hazardous waste created by Kjeldahl testing. In
addition, Sprint™' does not require high temperatures, making it a much safer method
than Kjeldahl or combustion techniques. It is easy to operate and can test most samples in
2—3 minutes, compared to 4 hours for a Kjeldahl analysis. It uses disposable filters and
recyclable sample cups and lids; all other parts of the system that touch the sample are self-
cleaning. Remarkably fast, accurate, cost-effective, and safe. Sprint™ is poised to become
the method of choice for protein testing. The methods it automates are approved by AOAC
(Association of Analytical Communities) and AACC International (previously: American As-
sociation of Cereal Chemists). It was commercialized in January 2008.
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Cbempol®MPS Resins and Sefose® Sucrose Esters
Enable High-Performance Low-VOC Alkyd
Paints and Coatings
Innovation and Benefits
Conventional oil-based "alkyd" paints provide durable, high-gloss coatings but use
hazardous solvents. Procter & Gamble and Cook Composites and Polymers are de-
veloping innovative Chempol*1 MPS paint formulations using biobased Serbse"5 oils
to replace petroleum-based solvents, Sefose"' oils, made from sugar and vegetable oil,
enable new high-performance alkyd paints with less than half the solvent. Paints with
less hazardous solvent will help improve worker safety, reduce fumes indoors as the
paint dries, and improve air quality.
Solvent-borne alkyd coatings arc in demand because they are cost-effective and
high-performing in many applications including architectural finishes, industrial metal, and
equipment for agriculture and construction. Millions of gallons of these paints and coatings
are sold in the United States and around the world. Conventional alkyd resin paints and coat-
ings require large amounts of volatile solvents to solubilize the organic components and attain
appropriate viscosities. These solvents contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone and
smog. Low-VOC alkyd coatings exist, but suffer from inferior performance. Some take too
long to dry; others use substitute, VOC-exempt solvents that tend to be expensive and often
have an undesircd odor or other inferior performance. Low-VOC, watcrbornc acrylic latex
paints are also available, but they have performance trade-offs such as low gloss and reduced
corrosion resistance compared to solvent-borne alkyd coatings.
The Procter &C Gamble Company (P&G) and Cook Composites and Polymers Company
(CCP) have collaborated to develop a new alkyd resin technology that enables formulation
of paints and coatings with less than half the VOCs of solvent-borne alkyd coatings. These
alkyd formulations are enabled by Sefose'3' sucrose esters which are prepared from renew-
able feedstocks by esterifying sucrose with fatty acids in a patented, solventless process. The
molecular architecture and functional density of Sefose® are controlled by selecting natural oil
feedstocks with optimal fatty acid chain length distribution, unsaturation level, and degree
of esterification. In applied paint films, Sefose® undergoes auto-oxidative cross-linking with
other constituents and becomes an integral part of the coating films. Chempol8' MPS alkyd
resins are specially formulated to deliver performance advantages such as fast drying, high
gloss, film toughness, and increased renewable content.
Replacement of conventional alkyd resins by Chempol8 MPS could (1) reduce VOCs
equivalent to the emissions from 7,000,000 cars per year; (2) reduce ground-level ozone by
215,000 tons per year; and (3) save 900,000 barrels per year of crude oil from the solvents and
alkyd polymers it replaces. ChempoP MPS is cost-competitive with conventional alkyds on
an equal-dry-film basis. In October 2008, CCP launched Chempol'15 MPS and began actively
sampling the coatings industry. P&G is also evaluating and testing Sefose* oils as biobased
alternatives to replace petroleum-based lubricants.
The Procter &
Gamble Company
Cook
Company
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Liquid but Nonvolatile Sulfonic Acids and Amines:
Greener Chemicals for Greening Processes
Chemistry impacts most aspects of the global economy. Acids and bases, many of the
former as sulfonic acids and the latter as amines, impact chemistry. Pure or in solution, these
acids and amines are commonly volatile, noxious, and malodorous, are frequently flammable,
and often pose substantial risks to health and the environment. Professor Davis has effectively
eliminated these problems by covalently anchoring acid and amine functionalities to non-
volatile liquid salt matrices (ionic liquids; ILs). These ILs function as nonvolatile reagents and
catalysts. Their application to important problems such as carbon dioxide (CC>2) capture and
catalysis can lead to process efficiencies that are greener because they consume less energy.
Professor Davis and his group covalently tether reactive functional groups to ions that they
then use to formulate ILs. Their term "task-specific ionic liquids" (TSILs) describes these
materials. Their successes include developing nonvolatile liquid amine TSILs that revcrsibly
scavenge CO2- These TSILs can replace aqueous monoethanolamine and diethanolamine that
scavenge CC>2 impurities from natural gas. First-generation TSILs have a CCH-uptake capac-
ity equal to that of the free amines and require only about one-third the energy to extrude the
captured CCH. Second-generation amine TSILs are even more effective, contain no fluorine
or other exotic elements, have an atom-efficient synthesis, and are far less expensive. Three
large U.S. companies are investigating amine TSILs for bulk CC>2 capture and membrane-
based CO2 separation. During 2008, Professor Davis licensed the rights for small-scale manu-
facturing and sales of second-generation amine TSILs to Frontier Scientific, Inc.
Professor Davis has also developed acid TSILs that are nonvolatile liquid Bronsted acids
for catalyzing important industrial organic reactions. An industrial collaborator is investi-
gating these TSILs. Professor Davis has licensed first-generation amine and acid TSILs to
Merck KGaA. He is negotiating agreements with several large international firms for second-
generation TSILs.
Professor
Hillard Davis. Jr.,
Department of
Chemistry,
University of
Alabama
The University of California, Santa Barbara Green
Chemistry Initiative
The University of California, Santa Barbara Green Chemistry Initiative (UCSB GCI) ad-
dresses the challenges of reducing hazardous waste in UCSB research labs and laboratory-
based courses. Focusing on the campus is essential, as it is the training ground for future
chemists. These efforts started with programs beneficial to the Chemistry department. The
first program dealt with replacing mercury thermometers with less-hazardous, alcohol-based
thermometers. The second was the introduction of the UCSB Surplus Chemical Program
and website, which allow researchers to exchange chemicals with each other. These programs
helped the Student Intern LabRATS build trust with the faculty in the Chemistry Depart-
ment.
With 1,100 undergraduate students in 130 laboratories each week at UCSB, there are huge
potential savings. Although lab manuals already used some microchcmistry, the LabRATS did
research to see how much more waste they could reduce. For example, their manuals had an
experiment with lead nitrate that might be replaced by less-hazardous zinc nitrate. To test this,
they ran the regular experiment with lead nitrate alongside the revised experiment with zinc
nitrate. Although this was unsuccessful, the model they developed allowed them to investigate
alternative, less-hazardous substitutions in any learning laboratory. Currently, they are extend-
Raminderjit (Sonarn)
Gill
Alvarez,
University of
California,
Barbara
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Professor Arlin E.
Gyberg, Aygsbyrg
College; Sarfec
Corporation
Professor C.
Liao, Department
of Chemical
Biomoletular
Engineering,
University of
California,
Angeles
ing their efforts and model into organic chemistry with Professor Bruce H. Lipshutz and his
ideas for aqueous alternatives to organic solvents.
Their multipronged approach to reducing hazardous waste has led faculty and students to
interact on multiple levels to think about implementing green chemistry. Even after the failure
of the zinc nitrate substitution, students and collaborators pushed forward with new ideas and
approaches. This work has been supported by two grants from the Green Initiative Fund. The
UCSB GCI has been leading efforts under the university's Campus Sustainability Plan, which
requires the university to achieve net zero waste by 2020.
The Mcgyan Process: A Green Synthetic Route for
Biodiesel Production
Fossil fuels have detrimental effects on the environment. Biobased fuels such as biodiesel
are more environmentally friendly: their use recycles carbon through renewable biomass, and
they burn cleaner than fossil fuels. Current manufacturing processes for biodiesel generate
significant waste streams. They also require energy-intensive, high-purity, virgin oils (mostly
soy oils), whose price accounts for over 80 percent of the price of biodiesel. As a result, the
biodiesel industry is not commercially viable at present without government support.
Working with Professor Arlin E. Gyberg and his student Brian Krohn at Augsburg
College, SarTec has developed a green synthetic route to produce biodiesel in a fixed-bed,
flow-through catalytic reactor that could change how the industry produces this renewable
fuel. The key to this new reactor is a highly efficient, heterogeneous catalyst that economically
converts triglycerides and free fatty acids to biodiesel. The catalyst contains modified porous
microspheres of zirconia, titania, or alumina.
SarTec's Mcgyan process offers many environmental advantages over the current biodiesel
production method, including the following: (1) The Mcgyan process uses less energy overall.
(2) The process can make biodiesel from waste and byproduct lipid sources such as brown
grease and corn oil reclaimed from ethanol production as well as virtually any plant oil because
free fatty acids and water in the feedstocks do not interfere. (3) The zirconia-based catalyst is
contained in a fixed-bed reactor and is not continuously consumed (washed out) in the pro-
duction process. (4) The new technology reduces the amount of hazardous waste produced by
eliminating unwanted side reactions that produce soap wastes from free fatty acids. (5) The
Mcgyan process does not require large quantities of base (or acid) to covert feedstocks into
biodiesel. During 2008, SarTec neared completion of a three-million-gallon-per-year facility
that will use this technology. The projected start date for the facility is February 2009.
Biosynthesis of Higher Alcohols from Renewable Carbon
Sources
Higher alcohols, especially those with 3-8 carbon atoms, are useful as chemical feedstocks
and transportation fuels. Higher alcohols offer advantages over ethanol as gasoline substi-
tutes because they have higher energy density, lower hygroscopicity, and lower vapor pressure,
which lead to better air quality. Branched-chain alcohols also have higher octane numbers
than do their straight-chain counterparts. The current source of these higher alcohols is petro-
leum, which results in a net increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CC>2).
The biosynthesis of higher alcohols from renewable resources including non-food crops or
CC>2 has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of chemical manufacturing and trans-
portation fuels. Although biosynthetic higher alcohols could be important to a sustainable
economy, no native organisms make them.
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Professor Liao and his colleagues have developed a platform technology for one-pot, mi-
crobial conversion of renewable carbon sources (sugars and cellulose) and waste (CO2) to
higher alcohols. They have used metabolic engineering, protein engineering, and genomics
to develop strains of E. coli that produce higher alcohols including isobutanol, 1-butanol,
2-methyl-l-butanol, 3-methyl-l-butanol, 3-methyl-l-pentanol, and 2-phenylethanol from
renewable carbon sources. Their strategy leverages the microbial host's highly active amino
acid biosynthetic pathway and diverts its 2-keto acid intermediates into alcohol synthesis.
They then extend the chain length of the 2-keto acids to synthesize non-natural higher alco-
hols. Their engineered microbes produce isobutanol from glucose in high, near-theoretical
yields. Because almost all microbes possess pathways for amino acid biosynthesis, this technol-
ogy is applicable to microorganisms that consume other carbon sources, such as cellulose (e.g.,
Clostridium) or CC>2 (e.g., cyanobacteria).
Professor Liao has licensed this technology to Gcvo, Inc., which built a pilot plant to
produce isobutanol from glucose. This technology can potentially save 67 million tons per
year of CC>2 currently produced by the synthesis of 14 billion gallons of higher alcohols from
petroleum.
Getting Organic Solvents Out of Organic Reactions
Organic solvents are routinely used as the medium for organic reactions. Unfortunately,
many of them arc derived from petroleum, and they produce an estimated 70-80 percent of
the world's chemical waste.
Professor Lipshutz has found that a mono-PEGylated, a-tocopherylated sebacic acid deriv-
ative (PTS) is an atypical surfactant that allows several of the most common organic reactions
catalyzed by transition metals (especially palladium and ruthenium) to take place in water as
the only solvent, at room temperature, and in high isolated yields. These first-of-their-kind
processes under mild, aqueous conditions include olefin metathesis reactions (chemistry for
which the Nobel Prize was awarded in 2005), as well as palladium-catalyzed Suzuki, Heck,
and Sonogashira cross-couplings. Importantly, product isolation is especially facile without
frothing or foaming. By allowing catalysis in water, PTS eliminates the use of organic solvents
in these reactions.
PTS is a nanomicelle-forming amphiphile that features vitamin E as the inner, lipophilic
''solvent", along with a 10-carbon linker, and a PEG-600 hydrophilic portion. PTS has no
health or safety issues; in fact, it is currently being made in the United States at the metric ton
level for intended use in food and beverages.
PTS forms micelles in aqueous solution that function as nanoreactors. The high concen-
trations of reactants and catalysts within PTS micelles lead to dramatically increased rates of
reaction. This allows reactions at ambient temperatures and creates additional environmental
savings. Other common, commercially available surfactants are less effective in the cross-cou-
pling reactions studied to date.
Professor Lipshutz's broad-based technology addresses the major source of chemical waste:
organic solvents. It offers opportunities for industrial processes to replace organic solvents
with small percentages of PTS in water, even seawater, as the only solvent. PTS is covered by
patents owned by the National Research Council in Canada and is under exclusive license to
Zymes, LLC.
Professor H.
Lipshytz,
Department of
Chemistry
Biochemistry,
Uniwersity of
California,
Zy LLC
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Professor Leonard
R. MacGillivray,
of
Chemistry,
University of
Professor IVIark
Mascal,
Department of
Chemistry,
University of
California,
Template-Controlled Reactivity in the Organic Solid
State
Subtle changes in molecular structure can profoundly influence the solid-state packing and,
thus, the reactivity of molecules. The problem of crystal packing prevents members of closely
related molecules from exhibiting homologous, solid-state structures and reactivity patterns.
Professor MacGillivray has developed a general method to control chemical reactivity in
the organic solid state. He uses small organic molecules as templates to assemble reactants in
the solid state into positions suitable for chemical reactions. The templates assemble olefins
via hydrogen bonds within stoichiometric solids known as co-crystals. The olefins then un-
dergo intcrmolccular [2+2] photodimcrizations. The key to the method is the ability of the
templates to assemble the olefins in discrete assemblies tor solid-state reactions. The solid-state
arrangements of the olefins are controlled by the template rather than by long-range crystal
packing. This work has the potential to open new avenues of organic synthesis because the
medium allows molecules to react in geometries and orientations that can be inaccessible in
solution.
Professor MacGillivray has used his method tor the solid-state synthesis ot molecules
known as ladderanes with regiospecificity, no byproducts, and 100-percent yield. Ladderane
structures are building blocks for many natural products; previously, they had presented a
major synthetic challenge for many chemists.
In 2008, Professor MacGillivray demonstrated that the co-crystals used for his solid-state
reactions form via solvent-free methods based on mortar-and-pestle dry grinding. Previously,
co-crystal formation had required solvent. His methods can also be used in the green synthesis
of ligands in inorganic chemistry. Specifically, his molecules can be used as building blocks
of self-assembled metal-organic architectures and porous materials with structures akin to
zeolites. His work succeeds where many researchers have failed. It now opens the organic solid
state as a general solvent-free medium in synthetic organic chemistry, with further applica-
tions in inorganic chemistry and materials science.
High-Yield Conversion of Plant Biomass into a New
Generation ofBiofuels
These are days of extraordinary necessity in biofuel research. In the United States, large-
scale automotive fuel production from biomass is limited, to the fermentation of cornstarch
hydrolysates to ethanol. Although cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel are gaining as reasonable
alternatives to corn ethanol, they are, at present, insignificant as alternative fuels. The princi-
pal problem for cellulosic ethanol remains the difficult, expensive derivation ot fermentable
sugars from biomass. Biodiesel production, on the other hand, is seriously limited by the
availability of plant oils. Other technologies including biopyrolysis oil and cellulosic gasoline
are being tested, but may not be economically viable.
Recognizing opportunities in this area, Professor Mascal undertook a detailed study of
the deconstruction ot cellulose. He found that acid solution quickly hydrolyzed cellulose to
glucose, but that subsequent reactions led to complex reaction mixtures including various
furans and other compounds. "When he carried out the process in a biphasic reactor under
carefully workcd-out conditions, however, he was able to sequester the initial furanic products
away from the aqueous acid and isolate them in remarkably good yields. Cellulose was sus-
pended in an aqueous HC1—LiCl solution and extracted into an organic solvent at a moderate
temperature (65 °C). The solvent was evaporated (and recycled), leaving an oil consisting of
5-(chloromethyl)furfural (71 percent) and three minor furfural-derived products (14 percent)
for a total 85-percent yield. No other process is known to give comparable yields of simple
12
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organic products from cellulose. The method works equally well on raw biomass, producing
not only substituted Cg-furfurals in high yield from the cellulose, but also furfural itself from
the C5-sugar (hemicellulose), constituting the total carbohydrate utilization of biomass. The
resulting furfurals are nonvolatile, nontoxic, biodegradable liquids with an energy density
similar to that of gasoline. Professor Mascal is planning to scale up the process to a 50-liter
reactor.
Biodegradable, Chemically Modified Starch Polymers
for Protective Foam Packaging and Insulation
Applications
Almost all electronic, commercial, and industrial products come packaged with a protective
foam plastic, which is generally petroleum-based polyethylene, polystyrene, or polyurethane
foam. This plastic foam is not biodegradable; because it is lightweight, bulky, and not profit-
able to recycle, it presents a major disposal problem. There is also growing pressure to reduce
the carbon footprint of packaging by switching to biorenewable feedstocks. As one example,
the U.S. Government program for procurement of biobased products has targeted biobased,
biodegradable foams with minimum 50-percent-biobascd content for Federal procurement.
Starch is a readily available anhydroglucose polymer. It exhibits hydrophilic properties and
strong intermolecular association via hydrogen bonding due to the hydroxyl groups on the
granule surface. The strong hydrogen bonding association and crystallization lead to poor
thermal processing, however, because the Tm is higher than the thermal decomposition tem-
perature; degradation sets in before thermal melting. The hydrophilicity and thermal sensitiv-
ity render the starch molecule unsuitable for thermoplastic applications.
Professor Narayan has synthesized biodegradable, chemically modified thermoplastic starch
polymers by reacting starch with maleic anhydride and glycerol using a twin screw extruder
as the reactor. The chemically modified starch reacts with biodegradable polyesters like poly-
butylene adipate-co-terephthalate in the extruder to give starch-polyester graft copolymers.
The modified starch polymer and graft copolymers can be processed like any other thermo-
plastic polymers to produce foam and insulation packaging products that can replace existing
petroleum-based products. In addition, the starch-polyester graft copolymers can be formed
into films and injection-molded articles.
KTM has successfully commercialized the biodegradable, starch foams under the trade
name of GreenCell"". KTM is manufacturing Green Cell'" in its 23-miHion-board-foot-per-
year facility in Lansing, MI and recently topped $1,000,000 in sales revenues. Corn Products
International has licensed Professor Narayan's technology for use in films and molded articles;
it is partnering with BASF to manufacture ECOBRAS™ products.
Professor Ramani
Mara yan,
of
Chemical
Michigan
Uniwersity; KTM
Industries
Highly Efficient, Practical Monohydrolysis of Symmetric
Diesters
The development of environmentally friendly, cost-effective organic reactions is of cen-
tral importance in both academia and industry. Water is among the most environmentally
friendly solvents because it generates no hazard during chemical conversion processes. Water-
mediated organic reactions thus represent typical green chemistry. Among various synthetic
conversions, dcsymmctrization of symmetric compounds is one of the most cost-effective
reactions because the starting symmetric compounds are typically available commercially at
low cost or are produced easily on a large scale from inexpensive precursors. Water-mediated
desyiiimetrization of symmetric organic compounds has the potential to be a greener reaction
process of tremendous synthetic value.
Niwayama,
of
Chemistry
Biochemistry,
Tech Uni¥ersity
13
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T. ¥.
(Babu)
RaJanBabu,
Department of
Chemistry, The
Ohio
University
Monohydrolysis of symmetric diesters produces half-esters, which are highly versatile
building blocks in organic synthesis and have considerable commercial value. Because the
two ester groups in the symmetric diesters are equivalent, it is challenging to distinguish these
ester groups chemically. Classical saponification usually produces complex mixtures of dicar-
boxylic acids, half-esters, and the starting diesters, which are difficult to separate. As a result,
saponification yields a large amount of undesirable, dirty waste. The most common method
for effective monohydrolysis uses enzymes, which provide no basis for predicting the yield or
enantioselectivity. Ring-opening reactions of cyclic acid anhydrides require hazardous organic
solvents.
Professor Niwayama has pioneered water-mediated desymmetrization and has been devel-
oping monohydrolysis of symmetric diesters with remarkable success. She discovered a highly
efficient, practical ester monohydrolysis of symmetric diesters. In this reaction, aqueous so-
dium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide is added to a symmetric diester suspended in water
that may or may not contain a small amount of tetrahydrofuran or acetonitrile at 0 °C. This
reaction produces pure half-esters in high to near-quantitative yields without producing dirty
waste or requiring hazardous organic solvents. During 2008, Professor Niwayama applied for
a patent and licensed her technology to Kishida Chemical Company.
Ethylene in Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis: A General
Route to Profen Drugs from Styrene Derivatives
a General Solution to the Exocyclic Stereochemistry
Problem
In this era of heightened environmental awareness and the ever-increasing demand for
more efficient chemical processes, one major challenge facing organic synthesis is the selective
incorporation of abundantly available carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen sources into
other common substrates. Working on this challenge, Professor RaJanBabu and his group
have discovered a new co-dimerization of ethylene and various functionalized vinylarenes,
1,3-dienes, and strained alkenes (asymmetric hydrovinylation). They found highly catalytic
(substrate—catalyst ratio up to 7,412:1) protocols for nearly quantitative and highly selective
reactions. These reactions proceed under mild conditions (-52 °C to 25 °C, 1 atmosphere
of ethylene) to produce highly valuable 3-arylbutenes. These reactions consume both start-
ing materials; they leave no side products. Prototypical examples of this chemistry include
highly enantioselcctivc syntheses of the nonstcroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such
as ibuprofen, naproxen, flurbiprofen, and fenoprofen from the corresponding styrenes and
ethylene.
Cyclic and acyclic 1,3-dienes also undergo efficient heterodimerization with ethylene.
Yields up to 99 percent can be realized for several 1 -vinylcycloalkenes and 1-substituted-
1,3-butadicncs. Phospholancs and finely tuned phosphoramiditcs arc excellent ligands for an
asymmetric variation of this reaction, the latter giving 99-percent yield and over 95-percent-
enantiomeric excess for selected substrates. An exocycHc chiral center can be used to install
other stereocenters in the ring (e.g., the carbon to which the side-chain is attached). These
discoveries open an expeditious route to several biologically relevant classes of compounds,
including many steroid derivatives.
Professor RaJanBabu also synthesized several new ligands and discovered new control ele-
ments that may have broader applications in the discovery of other highly selective catalytic
processes. Examples include (1) the effects of electronic and steric tuning of ligands, and
(2) the role of hemilabile ligands and their synergy with highly dissociated counterions in
enhancing selectivity.
14
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Terephthalic Acid Synthesis at High Concentrations in
High- Temperature Liquid Water
Terephthalic acid (TPA) is a monomer used to produce polyethylene terephthalate, a plas-
tic material used for disposable water bottles and beverage containers. The main commercial
route to TPA is the partial oxidation of />-xylene in acetic acid at approximately 200 °C and
15-30 atmospheres with a manganese—bromine—cobalt catalyst. The environmental profile of
this route is poor. Acetic acid is flammable; it also reacts with the bromide catalyst to produce
high levels of methyl bromide emissions. (According to EPA's Toxics Release Inventory, a
single terephthalate acid plant can release approximately 25,000 pounds of methyl bromide
annually.) Separating the acetic acid solvent from water for recycling requires an expensive,
energy-intensive distillation. Further, acetic acid oxidizes during the reaction so that approxi-
mately one billion pounds of make-up acetic acid are required each year. Manufacturing this
make-up acetic acid requires substantial raw materials and energy. It also creates pollutant
emissions.
Professor Savage and his group have discovered reaction conditions and a reactor strategy
to synthesize terephthalic acid by the catalyzed partial oxidation of/>-xylene at high concentra-
tions in high-temperature liquid water. This reaction has high yields and nearly 100-percent
selectivity. Replacing acetic acid with water has many benefits. Water is not flammable. Us-
ing water eliminates methyl bromide emissions and the oxidative solvent losses that required
make-up acetic acid. Because water is both byproduct and solvent, the large distillation col-
umn is unnecessary, saving associated costs and energy.
Professor Savage has also developed and analyzed conceptual designs for his chemical pro-
cess to show quantitatively that it is competitive on the bases of economics, energy con-
sumption, and environmental impacts. He has also developed processing strategies so that the
high concentrations needed for a commercial process could be used with his greener reaction
conditions. The University of Michigan has filed a provisional patent application for this
technology.
Phillip E.
Chemical
Engineering
Department,
Uni¥ersity of
Michigan
EarthTe(®: Green Water Treatment
EarthTec" is an EPA-registered algaecide and bactericide (EPA Number 64962-1) that is
certified by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Standard 60 as a drinking water addi-
tive. It uses no chlorine and contains less copper than competing products. The proprietary
copper formulation made by EarthTec*1 is 99-9-percent-suspended cupric ions (Cu(II)); its
proprietary base product, ET-3000, keeps the copper biologically active and suspended. The
copper remains fully dissolved indefinitely, thereby insuring long-term organic control as well
as less environmental release. EarthTec3' is not an organic compound.
Earth Science Laboratories has done extensive empirical research to develop and design the
proprietary chemical technology that makes Earth Tec* environmentally superior to chlorine.
These studies conclude that EarthTec3 lowers trihalomethane production, reduces disinfec-
tion byproducts and their precursors (natural organic matter), and reduces geosmin, elimi-
nating the taste and odor in drinking water. EarthTec® also lowers haloacetic acid levels and
reduces total organic carbon, both particulate and dissolved. Unlike chlorine, EarthTec® cre-
ates no carcinogenic disinfection byproducts. EarthTec* reduces the use of copper and other
chemicals, eliminating hazardous chemical substances from the environment relative to the
competing, chlorine-based technology. One can use 88.5-percent less EarthTec* than other
copper sulfate products.
Compared to other copper sulfate products and chlorine, EarthTec8 is less toxic than those
current products, is safer for the atmosphere, is nonflammable, and reduces toxicity to hu-
Linda
Schweitzer, Oakland
University;
Professor Robert
Reed,
University of
Science
Inc.
15
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Xiyzhi
Syn,
Department of
Grain Science
Industry
Director, Center for
Polymers
by Design,
University
Professor Pay I
A.
of
Chemistry,
Stanford
University
mans, animals, and plants, producing human health and environmental benefits. EarthTec181 is
also more cost-effective than other copper sulfate products and chlorine.
The motto of Earth Science Laboratories is "clean water tor the planet" and their mission,
in part, is to produce environmentally responsible water treatment products in an ecologically
accountable manner. Earth Science Laboratories manufactures EarthTec5' and sells it world-
wide. Professors Schweitzer and Reed performed empirical research comparing the product
to chlorine.
Green Process for Unfolding Soy Protein Polymers for
Green Adhesives
About 20 billion pounds of adhesives are used annually in the United States for appli-
cations including wood products, foundries, packaging, and labeling. These adhesives are
mainly petroleum-based. Industry is seeking biobased adhesives and coatings, but enabling
technologies are lacking. On the other hand, byproducts of the current annual production
of soybean biodiesel and corn ethanol include about 90 billion pounds of low-cost, protein-
based meals aside from food and feed uses.
Most proteins contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions. Hydrophobic interac-
tions are a dominating factor in protein folding, unfolding, aggregation, gelling, self-assembly,
adhesion, and cohesion properties. Hydrophobic regions are often buried inside of the com-
plicated protein body, however.
Professor Sun's technology unfolds protein molecules with 0.5-5 percent of nonhazard-
ous agents such as urea, detergents, organic/inorganic salts, and pH adjustment agents (i.e.,
NaOH, HC1). After the proteins unfold, some of their covalent and hydrogen bonds break
and form individual polypeptides. Because hydrophobic groups are now exposed on the
polypeptide surface, the resulting polypeptides become surface-active and interact with other
hydrophobic polymers and chemicals. Potential applications include adhesives, surfactants,
coatings, medical materials such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, and pharmaceudeals,
thickeners and binders for food or feed, and cosmetic products. This technology makes high-
value products from biotuel residues and, thus, can have great impact on bioenergy and the
environment. It will replace at least 6 billion pounds of hazardous materials including form-
aldehyde, vinyl acetate, isocyanine, and acrylic acid based adhesives. The performance of Pro-
fessor Sun's adhesives is superior or similar to urea-formaldehyde, phenol-formaldehyde, and
many other synthetic latex-based adhesives.
Dr. Sun's adhesive technologies are in the pipeline for commercialization. Biodegradable,
edible feed containers for livestock were commercialized in 2007- One company has licensed
the technology tor pet food binders and others are evaluating samples for a variety of com-
mercial uses.
Green Chemistry through Function-Oriented Synthesis,
Step Economy, and Ideal Synthesis
For decades, Professor Wender has pioneered the development of chemical methods for
preparing biologically important molecules and has advanced the concepts of ideal synthesis
and step economy. Recently, he has developed Functional Organic Synthesis (FOS), a multi-
faceted, inclusive approach. FOS simplifies biologically active natural products to create new
target structures that are amenable to preparative organic synthesis with greater efficiency
and less waste while maintaining or improving their original activity. Professor Wender has
revolutionized the preconceptions of other chemists by inventing new synthetic reactions that
16
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rapidly and efficiently raise the complexity of simpler starting materials to product-like inter-
mediates in just a few steps. Professor Wender has impressed the chemistry community with
his arene-olefin photocycloaddition, cyclopropane and other rearrangements, and numerous
so-called "impossible" annelation reactions (e.g., [5+2], [2+2+2+2], [5+2+1], [4+4]).
FOS has not only guided the design of improved drug-like targets and their more efficient
syntheses, but has also led to new reactions that achieve those goals better and with less waste.
Recent examples of FOS from his laboratory include (1) simple arenes that modulate protein
kinase C and mimic the more complex phorbols; (2) simplified enediyne compounds for
cancer treatment; (3) simplified bryostatin analogs that contain only key pharmacophores,
but have improved potency; (4) laulimalide analogs with simplified structures that remove the
inherent functional instability of natural laulimalide, thus rendering them more desirable as
drug candidates; (5) the design, synthesis, and optimization of polyarginine drug transport-
ers to improve potency and circumvent multidrug resistance pathways in cancer cells; and
(6) an efficient "reverse" process to transform a more plentiful natural product, phorbol, into
prostratin, an important HIV drug adjuvant that activates the latent virus rendering it more
available to conventional drug therapy. Professor Wender's FOS concept has many facets, any
of which can lead to greener chemistry in drug discovery.
Biobased Polymers and Composites
Professor Richard Wool's research has shown that recent advances in green chemistry, ge-
netic engineering, composite science, and natural fiber development offer significant opportu-
nities for new, improved materials from renewable resources that are recyclable, biocompatible,
and biodegradable, thereby enhancing global sustainability. Combining his biobased resins
with natural fibers (plant and poultry), starch, and lignin produces new low-cost composites,
pressure-sensitive adhesives, elastomers, and foams that are economical in many high-volume
applications. These high-performance composites are being designed for use in energy-effi-
cient solar-integrated roofs, wind foil blades, hurricane-resistant housing, sub-aqua hydro tur-
bines, and hydrogen storage, in addition to agricultural equipment, automotive sheet mold-
ing compounds, civil and rail infrastructures, marine applications, electronic materials, and
sports equipment. The development of biobased materials is consistent with the principles of
green chemistry and engineering, which pertain to the design, commercialization, and use of
processes and products that are technically and economically feasible, but also minimize the
generation of pollution and the risk to human health and the environment.
Professor Wool's recent work includes developing biobased printed circuit boards made
with chicken feathers and chemically modified plant oils. He did this work for Microsoft in
collaboration with Rogers Corporation, Cara Plastics, and Hunter PCB. Another example
is the biobased composite resins he developed in collaboration with Cara Plastics and Dy-
naChem Inc.; worldwide distribution of these resins began in 2008. A third example is his
development of biobased non-polyurethane foams that are free of highly toxic diisocyanates.
These foams will be commercialized during 2009 for applications in equipment insulation.
Finally, windmill blades for windfarms will be made with his resins; each blade will contain
9 tons of biobased resins. The Boone Pickens windfarm of 2,000 turbines in Texas will require
123 million pounds of biobased resins every twenty years.
P.
from
Renewable
(ACRES)
Center for
Composite
Materials,
University of
Delaware
17
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A Climate-Friendly Hydrocarbon Refrigerant for Safer,
More-Efficient Cooling
Historically, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been used as refrigerants in air conditioners
and refrigerators. CFCs have the advantages of safe incombustibility, high stability, and low
toxicity, but unfortunately they destroy the ozone layer. In the past decade, various hydrochlo-
rofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) have replaced CFCs. HCFCs and
HFCs are, indeed, safer for the ozone layer, but they have been shown to be strong greenhouse
gases.
A. S. Trust & Holdings has developed HCR-188C, a substitute hydrocarbon formulation
that has been independently evaluated to have zero ozone-depletion potential and a global
warming potential of less than 5 over the standard 100-year time horizon. HCR-188C is
made from all naturally occurring substances approved for common use. It includes ethane,
propane, isobutene, normal butane, isopentane, and normal pentane, plus hexane and hep-
tane for specific applications. The key element to its performance is the exact proportions of
these components.
HCR-188C can be used independently of CFCs and HFCs/HCFCs. Its cooling efficiency
exceeds that of CFC R-12 and HFC R-134a. One-quarter the mass of HCR-18 8C in a re-
frigerator or automotive air conditioning system provides the same cooling as a full charge of
the CFC R-12 while using only 68 percent of the electricity. A major safety improvement of
HCR-188C over current hydrocarbons lies in its reduced charge rate compared to common
propane-butane combinations. Another problem with current HFCs is decomposition upon
leakage, which causes the HFC to become less efficient and require more frequent replace-
ment. The higher molecular weight of HCR-188C makes it less apt to leak through joints
or o-rings; as a result, it retains its cooling properties, extending the lifetime of the unit.
In 2008, EPA's Significant New Alternatives Program approved HCR-188C for sale in the
United States as a replacement for CFC-12 coolant fluid in household refrigeration and air
conditioning units.
Spray-Dried Dispersions Based on Hydroxypropyl
Methylcellulose Acetate Succinatefor Delivery of
Low-Solubility Drugs
Increasingly, drug candidates emerging from drug-discovery programs have low solubility.
These candidates frequently have low oral bioavailability and require high doses to achieve a
therapeutic effect.
Bend Research has developed a novel drug-delivery technology using hydroxypropyl
methyl cellulose acetate sucdnate (HPMCAS). HPMCAS is an amphiphilic polymer whose
hydrophobic regions interact with insoluble drug molecules whereas its hydrophilic regions
allow these structures to remain as stable colloids in aqueous solution. HPMCAS forms amor-
phous dispersions with a broad range of low-solubility drugs for use in solid oral dosage forms.
Spray-dried dispersions (SDDs) of low-solubility drugs and HPMCAS dissolve rapidly and
disperse in the body to enhance the bioavailability of the drugs by 10-fold or more. Tests
of SDD technology with hundreds of low-solubility compounds exhibiting a wide range of
challenging physical properties have demonstrated that the technology can enable the de-
velopment of many promising drug candidates that would otherwise be halted due to low
solubility.
A. S. &
Holdings Inc.
Inc.
19
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Codexis, Inc.
SDD technology has several environmental benefits. The increased bioavailability of drugs
administered as SDDs can reduce the amount of drugs required and, thus, the amount manu-
factured by up to 27 percent. Reduced drug manufacture can also reduce manufacturing
wastes including waste solvents by up to 27,000 tons annually. The increased bioavailability
greatly reduces the amount of drugs that pass unabsorbed into the environment after con-
sumption by patients. The process for manufacturing HPMCAS is atom-economical and uses
renewable materials.
SDD technology is well-understood and has been applied to over 400 drug candidates,
23 of which have advanced to human clinical testing including one to Phase 3 testing. A
$90 million commercial manufacturing facility was constructed in 2007; subsequently, one
HPMCAS SDD has been manufactured in batches of up to 2,000 kilograms for Phase 3 clini-
cal trials and drug registration. Many companies are currently testing SDDs with numerous
drug candidates.
Greening Atorvastatin Manufacture: Replacing a
Wasteful, Cryogenic Borohydride Reduction with a
Green-by-Design, More Economical Biocatalytic
Reduction for a Higher Quality Product
Atorvastatin calcium is the active ingredient in Pfizer's cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor5".
The key advanced chiral intermediate in the manufacture of atorvastatin is f-butyl (4R,6R)-
6-cyanomethyl-2,2-dimethyl-l,3-dioxane-4-acetate (i.e., ATS-8, also known as TBIN). It
is the control point for stereopurity and the first isolated intermediate comprising both of
atorvastatins chiral alcohol centers. Pfizer's traditional ATS-8 process used a NaBHL} reduc-
tion of the corresponding (5^?)-hydroxy-3-ketoester (ATS-6, HK) enantiomer under cryo-
genic conditions to give, after quenching, the (3-/?,5-/?)-dihydroxyestcr (ATS-7, diol). The
ATS-6 was first converted with hazardous triethylborane in situ to a diastereo-directing boron
chelate, which was then reacted with NaBH4 at or below -85 °C to promote diastereoinduc-
tion. After this reaction, the boronic wastes were removed by repeated methanol quenches and
vacuum distillations. The diastereoinduction was inadequate, however, and several percent of
the wrong (35) diastereomer was formed. Subsequently, the ATS-7 diol, an oil, was protected
as its acetonide, ATS-8, whose diastereopurity required upgrading by crystallization, with
concomitant product loss.
Codexis developed a greener, more economical process for reducing ATS-6 to diastereopure
ATS-7. This process uses a ketoreductase biocatalyst specifically evolved to reduce ATS-6 with
perfect diastereoselectivity under greener, aqueous, ambient reaction conditions in conjunc-
tion with a previously evolved, process-tolerant glucose dehydrogenase biocatalyst. It obviates
the use of hazardous boron reagents, reduces solvent use by 85 percent, reduces waste by
60 percent, lowers energy use dramatically, and provides a higher yield of more stcrcopurc
ATS-7. The ATS-7 from this reaction is already more diastereopure than was the atorva-
statin in Pfizer's Lipitor"1 pills as of 2006. Codexis's biocatalytic process is now supplying
tens of metric tons per year, and growing, of high-quality ATS-8 to manufacturers of atorva-
statin for geographic generic markets. During 2008, Pfizer announced the conversion of its
ATS-8 manufacture to a biocatalytic reduction using a ketoreductase in-licensed from a third
party.
20
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Rapid Enablement of Green, Economic Processes for
Chiral Alcohols by the Codex™Panel ofRecombinant,
Robust, Divergent Evolvants of One Ancestral
Ketoreducta.se
Biocatalytic reduction of ketones has long been recognized as an attractive, green alternative
to using hazardous reagents, energy, or mass-intensive processes for making chiral alcohols.
This promise went largely unfulfilled, however, due to the practical inefficacy of the available
kctorcductasc (KRED) biocatalysts, which were hampered by narrow substrate-specificity,
low activity, poor in-process stability, inadequate stereoselectivity, and productivity-limiting
product inhibition.
By directed evolution from a common wild-type ancestor, Codexis has successfully evolved
a number of stable, high-activity KRED biocatalysts to make important chiral alcohols for
commercial applications. This success gave rise to the concept of the Codex™' KRED panel,
developed to increase the speed and lower the cost of identifying suitable biocatalysts. Codex-
is's widely applicable platform of pre-evolved, diverse KREDs from one ancestor successfully
addresses the long-unmet needs for greener, commercially practical processes for chiral alco-
hols. The Codex"" KRED Panel includes diverse variants of one KRED that are "pre-evolved"
for in-process stability and efficient manufacture. The variant enzymes contain combinatorial
mutations that confer, as a population, activity on a wide structural variety of ketones and
selectivity to either alcohol stereoisomer. The variants, all of known sequence, are arrayed on
microtitcr plates for rapid screening to find the desired activity on a new ketone substrate. If
a new custom variant is needed, the Codex™ panel provides "Protein Sequence Activity Rela-
tionship" (ProSAR) data to jump-start further directed evolution.
Codexis launched its Codex™ KRED panel in 2007 and now provides it by subscription
to three pharmaceutical companies. Merck is using KREDs from the Codex™ panel to pro-
duce materials for clinical trials and has stated that KRED reductions are now their preferred
method for making chiral alcohols. Building on its success, Codexis has since developed pan-
els for other generally useful biocatalytic organic chemical conversions including panels of
transaminase, nitrilase, acylase, and halohydrin dehalogenase biocatalysts.
Nitro-tuff Tubes: Eliminating Genotoxic Carcinogenic
Waste in Cylinder Tubes
Hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders are used in industries and applications from oil and
gas production to food processing. The fluid power market relics heavily on chrome-plated
rods and tubes to produce these cylinders. Chrome-plated interior diameter (CPID) tubes
and chrome-plated outside diameter (CPOD) tubes are inert. The plating process, however,
generates a mist that contains hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), a known toxin linked directly
to lung cancer. Hexavalent chromium can also be released during further fabrication such as
welding or by disposal.
Commercial Fluid Power is developing and marketing Nitro-tuff tubes as a safe, environ-
mentally friendly replacement for chrome-plated tubes. Nitro-tuff tubes are ferritic nitro-
carburized steel. During their manufacture, the surface of the steel is converted to a nonme-
tallic epsilon iron nitride (e-FesN) in an atmosphere of ammonia and carrier gas. Following
nitriding, an oxidizing atmosphere is introduced to produce a thin, corrosion-resistant, black
surface film of Fe3NO3_4. The iron nitride layer is the basis for the steel's extraordinary wear
Codexis, Inc.
Commercial Fluid
Power LLC
21
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Cortec Corporation
Chemical
Corporation
and corrosion resistance. Advances in mechanical properties, size, and finish control now
allow Nitro-tuff tubes to substitute for CPID or CPOD tubes without loss of quality or
strength. These efforts are reducing the use of hexavalent chromium and its release into the
environment.
Most large chrome-plating facilities currently meet government standards for air quality,
disposal, and containment of toxic waste products. Ever-tightening controls continue to in-
crease the cost of chrome plating, however, and have helped drive technology toward greener
alternatives such as Nitro-tuff tubes. Nitrided tubing can meet current market pricing struc-
tures for CPID and CPOD tubing.
Commercial Fluid Power continues to strive to bring an eco-friendly solution to the fluid
power market. Recent research, development, and testing have opened new markets for Nitro-
tuff tubes. The journey for a safer, more environmentally friendly replacement product at
Commercial Fluid Power is ongoing.
Corrosion-Control Chemicals Based on Sustainable
Resources
Several years ago, a Federal government-commissioned survey estimated the cost of cor-
rosion in the United States at $275 billion annually. Corrosion of metals is a natural process
during which metals oxidize, returning to their natural state. Selected chemicals can prevent,
control, and slow down the corrosion of metals. The chemistry of preventing, cleaning, and
retarding corrosion differs for each task.
Cortec Corporation (derived from corrosion technology) develops and provides products
for corrosion control. Thirteen years ago, Cortec began a program to use chemicals derived
from sustainable resources whenever possible in developing new products and changing old
ones. For example, Cortec develops, manufactures, and sells corrosion control products and
systems using solvents such as
-------
release of the chemicals into the water and produces a linear dissolution of the solid chemicals.
The technology allows dry products to be applied consistently to treat water.
Smart Release'" has been scientifically demonstrated to maintain treatment levels more
consistently with less maintenance and intervention by maintenance staff than do commonly
used liquid feed systems for small- and medium-sized tower systems. Customers report that
the system improves tower efficiency by up to 10 percent. A 10-percent improvement in a
500-ton cooling system results in estimated savings of over 250,000 pounds per year of carbon
dioxide (CC>2). Smart Release™ reduces the carbon footprint by 74 percent due to reduced
packaging and shipping because the solid product contains 95-percent active ingredients com-
pared with 10-percent active ingredients for liquid products. It reduces energy consumption
because it uses a feeder made of recycled material that has no moving parts. Smart Release'™
provides safer handling for workers because it is less toxic than competing liquid products,
primarily because Smart Release™ is a pH-neutral solid. It also reduces accident potential be-
cause solids are less prone to spills than are liquids.
Smart Release™ also has applications in other water-treatment applications, including
potable water, biocides, biodispersants, and reverse-osmosis membranes. Dober conducted
plant trials for these innovations in 2008 and expects to introduce them commercially during
2009-
Recycling Carbon Dioxide into Carbon-Neutral Liquid
Fuels
The planet urgently needs a transportation fuel that is much more carbon-neutral than the
5-25-pcrcent carbon-neutrality of most biofuels. Doty Energy shows that off-peak, low-car-
bon grid energy (mostly wind energy) and waste carbon dioxide (CO2) can be converted into
clean, stable, liquid fuels: their "WindFuels™. They plan to use waste CC>2 from coal-burning
power plants.
Doty Energy's detailed simulations predict that plant efficiency, from input electrical en-
ergy to chemical energy in the fuels, will approach 60 percent, which is about twice what was
generally expected a few years ago. Moreover, the proposed process could respond in milli-
seconds to major changes in grid supply and demand. Thus, it has the potential to stabilize
the grid completely, even if over half of its energy comes from wind. Carbon-neutral products
that can compete in the current global market are essential to prevent a climate disaster within
decades.
In Doty Energy's process, water and renewable electrical power are fed into an alkaline elec-
trolyzer, which produces hydrogen (H?) when excess low-carbon energy is locally available.
Then waste CC>2 and the renewable hydrogen are piped into an improved Reverse Water Gas
Shift (RWGS) process, which permits practical reduction of CC»2 to carbon monoxide (CO)
at efficiencies approaching theoretical limits (ultimately, over 94 percent). The renewable CO
and H2 are then fed into a Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) process. The FTS reactor converts
some of the CO and H2 into liquid fuels containing light hydrocarbons and alcohols. The
unreacted feedstocks and undcsired products are recycled efficiently. The desired liquid fuels
and chemicals may be stored and distributed by conventional means such as pipelines and
tanker trucks. The International Patent Searching Authority issued a completely favorable
written opinion under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for this technology and the PCT
was published in September 2008.
Doty
23
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Earth Science
Laboratories, Inc.;
Professor Linda
Schweitzer,
Oakland
University;
Uniwersity
of Missouri
Ltd.;
Cognis Corporation
French Creek
Software, Inc.
EarthTei®: Green Water Treatment
NOTE: This project is the result of a partnership between Professor Linda Schweitzer of
Oakland University, Professor Robert Reed of the University of Missouri, and Earth Science
Laboratories, Inc. The project was judged in both the academic and small business categories.
The abstract appears in the academic section on page 15.
Carbon Blocked Fly Ash Conditioning Treatment
Coal combustion in the United States produces over 70 million tons of fly ash each year.
Fly ash is made up of the finely divided, non-combustible materials from coal combustion
including silica, aluminum, iron, and a variable amount of unburned carbon in a highly
adsorptive form. The silica materials in fly ash can combine with the calcium hydroxide in
hydrated cement to form calcium silicate hydrate, the mineral glue in cement. Unfortunately,
the carbon in fly ash tends to adsorb the special chemicals added to form the matrix of tiny air
pockets in cement that provide the cement's freeze/thaw durability. As a result, many speci-
fications limit the carbon content of fly ash, usually to somewhere between 3 and 6 percent,
and much of the fly ash produced in the United States is discarded in landfills.
If the carbon interference can be eliminated, fly ash can be used as a mineral admixture
in concrete products to replace up to 30 percent of the cement in concrete. FlyAshDirect, a
Cincinnati-based company, has invented a process called Carbon Blocker™. This is a patent-
pending chemical treatment for fly ash that coats the carbon and prevents it from adsorbing
air-entraining chemicals. Carbon Blockcr™ contains no metals or inorganic salts; its active
ingredient is an ester derived from renewable raw materials. It is readily biodegradable, does
not add to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and is generally recognized as safe (GRAS)
for food applications. It is used in its pure state without any solvent or other additives. There
are currently five commercial Carbon Blocker™ systems installed at three power plants: one
each in Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. The use of Carbon Blocker™ could allow thousands
of tons of fly ash to be used in concrete rather than landfilled.
Chemical Treatment Modeling Optimization
Software: The French Creek Software Calculation
Engine
Most of the water taken out of the environment is used for cooling of industrial and power-
generating operations. Some of the water is returned to the environment through evaporation,
but most is returned after being heated and treated with persistent chemicals. Any reduction
in the amount of water used or the quantity of treatment chemicals discharged has a major
impact on the quality and long-term availability of water.
The user-friendly French Creek Software Calculation Engine provides scale prediction,
corrosion modeling, and dosage optimization for cooling water treatment. Before French
Creek Software introduced its line of software in 1990, few tools were available to predict scale
and corrosion problems or to optimize treatment. The available tools such as simple indices
and rules-of-thumb contained inaccuracies that resulted in operation at lowcr-than-dcsircd
concentration ratios, in increased water use within plants, and in higher-than-necessary dis-
charges of treatment chemicals to the environment.
24
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Using a sophisticated ion-association model, the French Creek Software Calculation En-
gine pinpoints the operating conditions at which scale and corrosion become problems and
prescribes the most effective dosage of chemicals to inhibit or prevent them. These dosages are
often far less than those suggested by typical rules-of-thumb.
In 2006, one of the largest water treatment service companies used the Calculation Engine
to save over 21 billion gallons of water by implementing an award-winning automated cooling
system controller and companion software. Through applications by other major companies
and approximately one-third of the smaller regional companies, French Creek's commercial
and private-label programs are estimated to have saved additional billions of gallons of water.
In typical applications, French Creek technology has optimized dosages of water treatment
chemicals and reduced treatment rates by up to 50 percent.
Sustainable Chemicals from Renewable Resources: A
Breakthrough for Biomanufacturing
Genomatica develops and commercializes novel, biomanufactured, sustainable industrial
chemicals for all major industry sectors. The company enables the production of sustainable
chemicals through a proprietary technology platform that fundamentally transforms the way
in which natural processes can be used to convert low-cost, renewable feedstocks into high-
value products. It defines sustainable chemicals as those that are designed and manufactured
using efficient, effective, safe, and more environmentally benign raw materials and processes.
This new approach tightly integrates computational modeling and design with experimental
execution in the laboratory.
Genomatica's latest breakthrough uses a genetically engineered microorganism (E. colt) and
100-percent-renewable feedstocks (sugar and water) in an anaerobic fermentation to directly
produce 1,4-butanediol (EDO), a large-volume chemical used in many polymer applications.
This breakthrough is important because no organism has previously been found or engineered
to produce EDO from sugars. Genomatica used proprietary metabolic models and simula-
tion algorithms to test all possible ways that EDO could be produced inside a cell, then se-
lected the optimal paths from sugar using criteria such as yield and the number of enzymatic
steps. The company then implemented these pathways and strain designs in the laboratory to
produce a microorganism and fermentation process for EDO synthesis. Subsequent process
development led to optimum separation and purification designs for a fully integrated, cost-
advantaged, energy-efficient, clean, safe, renewable bio-EDO production process.
This new bio-EDO process creates less waste and emissions, uses less energy, and requires
lower per-unit capital investment than do petroleum-based EDO processes. The new process
is estimated to produce at least 25-percent less carbon dioxide (CC>2) and require at least
30-percent less energy relative to current petroleum-based EDO processes. Genomatica ex-
pects its bio-EDO process to be cost-competitive at sustained oil prices as low as $40 per bar-
rel. The company is currently designing a one-ton-per-day demonstration plant.
Novel Solvent-Free, Fluoropolymer Coating Process
Fluoropolymers and other specialty polymer coatings are used widely. Conventionally,
these coatings are applied using liquid-based methods. Polymer formulations are dissolved in
a solvent or emulsified as a powder in a liquid medium, applied to the part, and then cured
and dried with heat. The problems with this approach include the adverse human health and
environmental effects related to the key processing agent and surfactant, perfluorooctanoic
acid (PFOA); solvent waste; and energy-in tensive curing processes.
Genomatica
G¥D Corporation
25
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Ingenuity IEQ, Inc.
GVD Corporation has developed solvent-free, chemically pure polytetrafluoroethylene
(PTFE, Teflon3) polymer coatings formed by initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD). In
GVD's green coating process, a precursor gas such as hexafluoropropylene oxide decomposes
as it passes over heated metal filaments to produce reactive molecules that migrate to the
surface of the part and polymerize to form the desired coating. GVD selects precursors and
operating conditions that use minimal energy and low temperatures.
This green technology is valuable for creating ultra-thin (10 nm to 10 micron) layers of
insoluble, infusible polymers (like PTFE), which are hard to process by conventional means.
GVD's PTFE coatings are deposited from the vapor phase and are spectroscopically indistin-
guishable from conventional PTFE coatings. Critically, GVD's clean PTFE process does not
use any of the solvents or surfactants (e.g., PFOA) incorporated into spray-on PTFE formula-
tions. GVD's vapor-deposited, conformal PTFE coatings arc well-suited to high-surface-area
substrates and those with micro- and nanoscale features, such as foams, microelectromechani-
cal systems, and carbon nanotubes. GVD's coatings can be deposited at room temperature
such that they can easily coat even facial tissue and other temperature-sensitive substrates.
Other iCVD polymer compositions include cross-linkable silicones, functional coatings,
cross-linked hydrogel coatings, antimicrobial coatings, and even electrically conductive poly-
mer coatings.
GVD PTFE-coated parts and coating services are being sold commercially. During
2008, GVD negotiated a multiyear PTFE manufacturing agreement with a major semicon-
ductor equipment manufacturer.
Green Chemistry for Energy Conservation and Indoor
Environmental Quality
Ultraviolet photocatalytic oxidation (UVPCO) mimics naturally occurring atmospheric
processes to improve indoor environmental quality (IEQ) by reducing levels of volatile, par-
ticulate, and biological contaminants. In UVPCO modules, UVC light activates nanoparticles
of a titanium dioxide catalyst coated on a pleated flexible mesh support to initiate photocata-
lytic reactions. These reactions oxidize volatile organic compounds (VOCs), primarily to wa-
ter and carbon dioxide (CC>2); they also agglomerate fine particles and inactivate bioaerosols.
UVPCO modules are integrated with air filters and instrumental controls into customized
engineered systems that are more energy- and cost-efficient than conventional processes, such
as carbon adsorption or paniculate filtration. The scientific validity of UVPCO technology
has been proven in environmental test chambers and at field test sites.
UVPCO technology is expected to replace carbon adsorption, which requires media de-
rived from carbonization of petroleum feedstocks at high temperatures. UVPCO can destroy
contaminants both in air circulated within buildings and in air exhausted to the atmosphere.
Because UVPCO systems reuse indoor air for more cycles, they reduce the introduction of
contaminants from outside air to indoor air. This broadly applicable technology offers ben-
efits to human health and the environment by treating building environments to reduce air
contaminants, thereby reducing ventilation demands and conserving energy.
Ingenuity IEQ, a small business in Midland, Ml, incorporates UVPCO modules manufac-
tured by Genesis Air into customized engineered systems that they design, install, and main-
tain in a variety of new and existing buildings. Genesis Air, Inc., a small business in Lubbock,
TX, develops unique UVPCO modules that are generally applicable to healthcare, homeland
security, LEED™ green building systems, and ASHRAE High-Performance buildings in insti-
tutional, commercial, and governmental facilities within the United States. Ingenuity IEQ is
positioning UVPCO, marketed as GAP™' technology, into new and existing systems to ensure
proper residence time and effectiveness for optimized air purification.
26
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Biodegradable, Chemically Modified Starch Polymers
for Protective Foam Packaging and Insulation
Applications
NOTE: This project is the result of a partnership between Professor Ramani Narayan of
Michigan State University and KTM Industries, The project was judged in both the academic
and small business categories. The abstract appears in the academic section on page 13.
Micro bial Production ofUltraClean1M Diesel
Developing large-scale, sustainable petroleum replacements has become both a national
and global priority. Among renewable, scalable, domestically derived fuels, those that are cost-
competitive with petroleum and compatible with the existing distribution and consumer in-
frastructure have the greatest potential for rapid, widespread consumer adoption.
LS9 has developed an efficient route for producing diesel fuel from renewable biomass by
fermentation. Using synthetic biology, LS9 has engineered established industrial microorgan-
isms (E. coli) to convert fermentable Cy- and C^-sugars to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs)
in a single unit operation. Their engineered microorganisms (Micro-Refinery™ Catalysts)
continuously release FAMEs to the culture medium. The FAMES are recovered from the fer-
mentation broth by simple centrifugation and washed. Without further chemical processing,
they can exceed requirements for on-road vehicle use. LS9 has demonstrated production of
FAMEs from a diversity of feedstocks including glucose, xylose, sucrose, glycerol, and hydro-
lysates from stover, woodchips, and bagasse. The process enables precise genetic control of the
molecular composition and performance characteristics of the resulting fuel.
LS9 is now producing an advanced biofuel, UltraClean™ Diesel, which is superior to
plant-derived biodiesel in performance, land yield, and cost. UltraClean™ Diesel lacks the
environmental pollutants (nitrogen and sulfur) and heavy metals (lead, manganese, and arse-
nic) found in petroleum diesel. Based on Argonne National Laboratory's GREET model for
lifecycle analysis, UltraClean™ Diesel will result in a 75-percent decrease in greenhouse gas
emissions. LS9 has demonstrated efficient production of the fuel from diverse plant-based
feedstocks at the 1,000-liter-pilot-plant scale; they have produced over a barrel of UltraClean'"
Diesel. During 2009, LS9 will move to commercial demonstration scale, with large-scale
commercial production planned for 2012. The unique simplicity, high yield, and specificity of
the process enable a high-performing product that is cost-competitive. Together these aspects
will facilitate broad environmental benefits through rapid product adoption.
Method Smarty Dish for Fish: An Environmentally
Responsible and Effective Cleaning Solution: No
Phosphates, Acrylates, or Ethylenediaminetetraacetic
Acid
In the United States, the market for automatic dishwashing products is approximately
$525 million. These products release roughly two million pounds of environmentally persis-
tent polyacrylates into U.S. waterways annually, placing a burden on wastewater treatment.
The polyphosphates in these products are of even greater concern; they release phosphates,
which are potent fertilizers that lead to algal eutrophication and fish kills.
KTM Industries;
Professor
Narayan,
Department of
Chemical
Engineering
Science,
Uniwersity
LS9, Inc.
Method Products
-------
Ozone International
LLC
Method has developed a product without phosphate or acrylate. An early challenge was to
optimize green chelants, dispersants, and complexation agents to deliver functionality equal to
or better than that of blends of polyacrylate, polyphosphate, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic
acid (EDTA). Not all green materials can directly replace these stalwart ingredients. Critical
performance functions include: (1) Water hardness and metal ion control over the wide pH
and temperature ranges encountered during automatic dishwashing. This affects spotting,
filming, and soil breakdown. (2) Stabilization of biodegradable components.
Method developed a synergistic green chelant dispersant system. It found that polyaspar-
tate could replace acrylate-copolymer dispersant backbones because polyaspartate delivers
both anticorrosive properties and crystal inhibition. Iminodisuccinate (IDS) provides the
chelant backbone; IDS works with the critical cleaning agent, Fe(III), which has a stabil-
ity constant high enough to be useful, but not high enough to persist in the environment.
Method's formulation includes gluconate and other organic acids to buttress water control
above the favorable pH range for IDS. Method selected the raw materials in Smarty Dish to
be ultra-low in phosphate, totaling less than 10 ppm in the final product. Method invented
a novel, cellulose-coated tablet, which required a custom manufacturing process. Method
gave thorough attention to health, safety, sustainability, environmental considerations, and
performance, each undergoing rigorous, third-party reviews. The result is Smarty Dish, an ex-
ceptionally well-considered green chemical development with top-level industry performance.
Method launched its Smarty Dish Tablets nationally in 2008.
Cleaning and Disinfecting with Ozone: Making Green
Chemistry with WhiteWater™ Ozone
In recent years, bacterial contamination in food processing plants has caused a significant
increase in food recalls and demands for improved sanitation. Traditional sanitation proce-
dures include direct treatment of food with disinfectants during production plus multistep
cleaning and disinfecting of food-handling equipment during downtime. Most disinfectants
used in food processing facilities have been based on oxidizers containing chlorine.
In 2001, the FDA approved the use of ozone as a disinfectant in food plants. Ozone is a
potent oxidizcr, compared to chlorine-based disinfectants, ozone has higher atom efficiency
and is used at lower concentrations. Replacing only conventional disinfectants with ozone was
not a commercial success, however, because cleaning and sanitation still required significant
plant downtime and the ozone equipment was expensive.
Ozone International has researched, developed, and commercialized new technology that
enables the effective, safe use of ozone in food plants, not only for disinfecting but also for
cleaning during and after production. The technology, WhiteWater™ ozone, generates ozone
on-site as needed and applies it in dilute aqueous solutions. WhiteWater'" ozone replaces both
conventional cleaning chemicals, such as surfactants and degreasers, and conventional disin-
fectants, such as chlorine-based products. WhiteWater™ ozone also continuously cleans and
disinfects food handling equipment during production, enhancing food safety while reducing
downtime for sanitation. WhiteWater'" ozone saves energy because it does not require heated
water as do traditional sanitation procedures. WhiteWater™ ozone also offers substantial cost
savings.
Used as directed, WhiteWater"" ozone does not expose workers or the environment to haz-
ardous levels of ozone gas. Discharge from a food plant using WhiteWater™ ozone contains
water, oxygen (02), and oxidized bacteria and organics that are more readily biodegradable
and less likely to contain chlorinated organic compounds such as chloroform. Ozone Interna-
tional's most recent patent was issued in 2007- WhiteWater™ ozone is in use by approximately
fifty food-processing facilities nationwide.
28
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The Mcgyan Process: A Green Synthetic Route for
Biodiesel Production
NOTE: This project is the result of a partnership between Professor Arlin Gyberg of Augs-
burg College and SarTec Corporation. The project was judged in both the academic and small
business categories. The abstract appears in the academic section on page 10.
Renewable Oil Production from Algae as a Replacement
for Petroleum-Based Products
Algae possess biochemical pathways that synthesize oil more efficiently than any other
known natural or engineered process. They can produce over 70 percent of their dry cell
weight as oil. Indeed, the fossilized remains of prehistoric algae account for much of the
world's petroleum deposits.
Using algae obtained through strain selection, screening, classical mutagenesis, and meta-
bolic engineering, Solazyme has, for the first time, created a practical bridge from carbohy-
drates, sugars, and cellulosic biomass to low-carbon lipids and hydrocarbons, compounds
critically important to mankind's need for fuels and chemicals. Solazyme has developed a
heterotrophic algal fermentation process that allows algae to manufacture chemicals, biofucls,
and edible oils, all in a scalable manner. Solazyme's approach includes selecting algae that
quickly accumulate high levels of desired biobased materials (e.g., lipids). From a productivity
standpoint, Solazyme's heterotrophic process is 1,000-times more productive than any com-
parable, scalable, photosynthetic process. In addition, all of Solazyme's algal oils are compat-
ible with the existing petroleum-refining infrastructure.
Solazyme's algae can be grown on a wide variety of carbon sources including industrial
byproducts such as molasses and biodiesel waste glycerin as well as traditional fermentation
feedstocks. Solazyme's algae also grow well on sugars from cellulosic feedstocks derived from
corn stover, sugarcane bagasse, or switchgrass. As a consequence, Solazyme's renewable fuels
will bring a range of environmental benefits, including a reduced reliance on fossil carbon and
reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Using sugarcane as a feedstock, for example, reduces green-
house gas emissions by 88 percent compared to ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). Using energy
crops such as switchgrass or miscanthus reduces these emissions by over 95 percent.
During 2008, Solazyme produced algal lipid feedstocks successfully at industrial scale in
commercial facilities, allowing Solazyme to produce fuels that meet multiple standards for
transportation fuels. Solazyme has repeatedly carried out fermentation and recovery at the
75,000-liter scale.
Replacement for Solvent-Based, Chromate-Containing
Primer
Corrosion of bonded metal parts is a major concern for the aerospace industry. Historically,
aerospace manufacturers have used solvent-based primers containing hexavalent chromium
(Cr(VI)) to protect metals from corrosion. Hexavalent chromium has, however, been classified
as a known human carcinogen and is subject to increasing regulations globally. In addition,
the solvents in these primers contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are precursors
to ozone formation.
To comply with new environmental and safety regulations, major aerospace manufacturers
including Boeing and Airbus are looking to qualify water-based, chromium-free primers for
Corporation;
Professor Arlin E.
Gyberg, Aygsbyrg
College
Solazyme, Inc.
IDA Research, Inc.;
Cytec Industries Inc.
29
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¥ery¥EK
Technologies, Inc.
structural bonding applications. Aerospace manufacturers and primer suppliers have been
evaluating several chromium-free corrosion inhibitors, but chromium-free primers with cor-
rosion performance to match that of chromium-based primers are not commercially avail-
able.
TDA Research has developed a platform technology for releasable chromium-free inor-
ganic—organic corrosion inhibitors. Cytec Engineered Materials, a subsidiary of Cytec Indus-
tries, is collaborating with TDA Research to develop a water-based, chromium-free, bonding
primer to give corrosion performance comparable to that of chromium-based primers. The
new water-based primer chemistry has synergistic effects with these chromium-free corrosion
inhibitors to give excellent corrosion performance over extended periods of time. In addi-
tion to eliminating chromium, the technology also eliminates VOCs, reduces the need for
refrigeration during storage, and reduces potential waste due to extended shelf life. Customers
who substitute the new technology tor existing solvent-based primers are expected to reduce
their annual operating costs by 25 percent. A patent application was submitted in December
2008.
Green Synthesis ofNanometal Catalysts and Plant
Surfactant-Based, In Situ Chemical Oxidation for
Sustainable Treatment and Remediation
According to EPA's 2004 publication, ''Cleaning up the Nation's Waste Sites", an estimated
294,000 sites will need to be cleaned up at an estimated cost of approximately $209 billion.
Many of these sites contain Non-Aqueous-Phase Liquids (NAPLs). EPA also estimates that
there are as many as 15,000 contaminated sites of former manufactured gas plants and coal-
burning factories nationwide. Beyond digging up these sites and hauling large quantities of
contaminated soils to landfills, there are extremely limited options currently available to treat
NAPLs.
VeruTEK Technologies has developed a novel green reaction process called Surfactant-
Enhanced In-Situ Chemical Oxidation (S-ISCO™) to reduce the amount of NAPLs in soils.
Its patent-pending S-ISCO™ technology uses VeruSOL'" (e.g., coconut oil, castor oil, citrus
extracts: biodegradable, U.S. FDA Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) surfactants) to solu-
bilizc immiscible phase organic contaminants into groundwater where oxidation reactions
readily destroy them.
Under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with EPA,
VeruTEK has also produced nanometals made from simple plant extracts such as tea or
other high-antioxidant plant polyphenols and dissolved metals at ambient temperature and
pressure. VeruTEK has used these nanometals to catalyze advanced oxidation reactions;
they have no hazardous materials in their synthesis and produce no hazardous wastes. In
2008, VeruTEK and EPA submitted a patent application for the green synthesis of these nano-
metals. VeruTEK has also developed green chemical reactions using plant-based co-solvents
and surfactants to simultaneously solubilize and oxidize toxic, organic-phase contaminants
in situ. These two processes will (1) reduce the use of toxic chemicals associated with the in-
dividual chemical reactions; (2) eliminate hazardous chemicals and wastes in the synthesis of
many useful nanometals; (3) profoundly reduce the quantities of hazardous, regulated waste
generated by excavating contaminated sites; and (4) eliminate the wasteful use of clean sand
and gravel to backfill contaminated sites after excavation.
30
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Sustainable, Natural Green Chemistry for Cooling
Water Treatment
Pure water evaporates from cooling towers to the atmosphere, but minerals in the water
stay behind and typically require 20-40-percent tower discharge to avoid scale or corrosion
problems. Chemicals added to inhibit scale and corrosion can save water, but low-solubility,
corrosive minerals still lead to water waste. Along with wastewater, towers also discharge treat-
ment chemicals including inorganic or organic phosphates, heavy metals, organic polymers,
biocides, and halogens.
Natural green chemistry (NGC) provides a paradigm shift in cooling water treatment, with
economical methods to reduce toxic and persistent chemicals, reduce water and energy use,
and support sustainable water ecosystems. Patented NGC methods use the natural minerals
present in water as sustainable feedstocks, providing superior corrosion and scale protection
that replaces chemical treatments. An NGC pretreatment step for scale control uses propri-
etary high-efficiency softening equipment to remove calcium and magnesium ions, which
lead to scale formation. The NGC process also polymerizes natural silica monomer to high-
molecular-weight multimeric and colloidal silica particles that are stable and do not form
scale. NGC concentrates minerals in tower water, facilitating natural biostatic chemistry that
reduces biocide use by 95 percent or more. NGC permits tower operation with 95-percent-
reduced water waste and less than 2 percent of makeup water. NGC obviates costly systems
to purify water for reuse by permitting over 99-percent evaporation of water used to remove
waste heat energy in existing tower systems. NGC reduces the tower discharge volume for
liquid or dry disposal and averts capital cost, chemicals, materials, and energy consumption.
NGC technology can eliminate the discharge of over 400 million pounds of organic and
toxic chemicals in the United States annually. NGC can potentially reduce fresh water use by
an estimated 500 billion gallons annually, with over $1.5 billion savings in costs from reduced
water, chemicals, and energy.
Cellulose-Based Fuels and Intermediate Chemicals
ZeaChem's pioneering biorefmery technology uses a hybrid of biochemical and ther-
mochemical processes to make liquid transportation fuels and industrial chemicals. Other ap-
proaches have thermodynamic restrictions that limit ethanol production to practical yields of
60-90 gallons per dry ton of biomass. The ZeaChem technology has a practical yield limit of
135 gallons per dry ton. This higher yield dramatically improves process economics, allowing
farmers to get more ethanol from their biomass crops.
Unlike other processes, the ZeaChem process uses all fractions of the plant: cellulose, hemi-
cellulose, and lignin. Their process allows both fermentable and nonfermentable fractions of
the biomass feedstock to contribute chemical energy to the product. First, they fractionate
biomass into a sugar-rich stream and a lignin-rich stream. Homoacetogenic bacteria convert
the sugars to acetic acid, which is esterified to ethyl acetate and recovered from the fermenta-
tion broth. The ethyl acetate is then hydrogenated to ethanol using hydrogen derived from
the lignin fraction. The lignin fraction also undergoes thcrmochemical processing to generate
steam and power, making the plant self-sufficient in energy.
Two environmental advantages of ZeaChem's technology are reduced fossil-derived car-
bon dioxide (CCb) emissions and smaller land-use footprints. The ZeaChem route generates
roughly 1.45 pounds of fossil-derived CO? per gallon of ethanol compared to 3.63 pounds
and 12.54 pounds of fossil-derived COi per gallon of ethanol from sugarcane and corn dry
milling, respectively. Projections on the combination of ZeaChem's high-yield factory technol-
ogy with high-yield energy farms and improvements in automobile efficiency suggest that as
Conservation
Technology
International, Inc.
ZeaChem Inc.
31
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Zymes, LLC;
H.
Lipshytz,
of
Chemistry
Biochemistry,
University of
California,
Barbara
much as 30 percent of America's light-duty fuels could be produced from the amount of agri-
cultural land currently used to produce corn ethanol. Such projections fundamentally change
the policy debate on the environmental aspects of ethanol as a liquid transportation fuel. Dur-
ing 2008, ZeaChem began construction of a 10-ton-per-day cellulosic ethanol facility.
Getting Organic Solvents Out of Organic Reactions
NOTE: This project is the result of a partnership between Professor Bruce Lipshutz of the
University of California, Santa Barbara and Zymes, LLC. The project was judged in both
the academic and small business categories. The abstract appears in the academic section on
page 11.
32
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Government
Reformulation of3M™ Neutral Cleaner and3M™
General Purpose Cleaner for the 3M™ Twist 'n Fill™
Chemical Management System Reduces Air Pollution
and Employee Health Hazards
3M™ has a long-standing commitment to product lifecycle management and pollution
prevention. In 2007, as part of that commitment, the company reformulated its 3M™ Neutral
Cleaner and 3M"" General Purpose Cleaner for the 3M""Twist 'n Fill"" Chemical Management
System. The reformulated cleaners significantly reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
in the product and maintain high-quality product performance. These new formulations are
certified by Green Seal8 as were the previous formulations; they are part of a portfolio of 3M™
products that can help its customers reduce their environmental footprint and provide social
and economic benefits.
The previous concentrated formulations for these hard-surface cleaners included
5-10-percent solvents to provide effective cleaning. These solvents were generally low-molec-
ular-weight alcohols or alkyl glycol ethers. They had the potential for higher skin irritation
and health hazards; due to their lower flashpoints of about 100 °F, they had transportation,
storage, and other regulatory issues when shipped in the concentrated formulations.
The newr formulations result from a unique combination of several active ingredients in-
cluding an alkyl pyrrolidone and an alkyl glucoside that provide superior cleaning and non-
streaking properties. All of the organic ingredients in the new formulations are readily biode-
gradable, and the primary surfactant in the formulation is made from renewable resources.
Compared with previous formulations and with traditional chemical management systems,
the new formulations offer several environmental and health advantages including (1) a high-
er flashpoint of over 175 °F, which lessens dermal irritation without using a solvent mix-
ture; (2) an estimated reduction of 600,000 pounds in VOC emissions from product use in
2008; and (3) a reduction in waste from the Twist 'n Fill™ system packaging. Based on its
2007 sales and production data, 3M"" estimates that these reformulations will save the com-
pany nearly $600,000 per year. The savings come from raw material costs and manufacturing
process improvements.
RegenSi™: Low-Carbon-Footprint Wafer Reclaim
Solution Extends the Lifecycle of Silicon Test Wafers
Because producing a prime 300-mm silicon wafer costs approximately $300, semiconduc-
tor manufacturers typically use test wafers, which cost over $100 apiece, to optimize and
monitor their manufacturing processes. A large fabricator might spend $2 million a month on
test wafers. The industry uses more than 27 million test wafers annually, and, as a result, chip
makers are now focusing on reusing test wafers as many times as possible.
A traditional wafer reclamation process involves chemically stripping unwanted films from
the wafer surface, mechanically polishing the surface to remove damage or impurities (i.e., sur-
face planarization), and cleaning to ensure that the reclaimed wafers meet customers' stringent
requirements. Currently, a wafer may only be reclaimed a limited number of times because the
combination of stripping and polishing physically reduces the thickness of the wafer by tens of
microns. Eventually, the test wafers become too thin and are discarded.
3M
Advanced
Technology
Inc.
33
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Functional
Chemicals, LLC
RegenSi™1 is a novel, all-wet, single-step process that strips away most films from test wa-
fers while limiting damage to the underlying silicon. This eliminates or reduces the need for
wafer surface penalization following the film stripping step. Surface planarization is energy-
intensive, uses a large volume of consumables, and is expensive. In addition, the much longer
bath-life of the RegenSi'" chemicals reduces both chemical waste and worker exposure. The
process has a carbon footprint 18-fold lower than that of the traditional three-step process and
consumes 85-percent less energy.
Processing its test wafers internally with RegenSi'™, a Taiwanese manufacturer achieved four
times more lite from each test wafer. Reported yields rose to 85 percent and silicon loss was
reduced by 75 percent. This combination of higher yields, greater productivity, and increased
reuse leads to significant overall cost savings, energy savings, and waste reduction. Currently,
eleven semiconductor manufacturers are using RegenSi™', and twelve more are testing it.
Replacement of Phosphates in Automatic
Dishwashing Detergents with GLDA, a Readily
Biodegradable Ch elating Agent Manufactured from a
Renewable Feedstock
Chelatcs arc chemical agents that interact or complex with metal ions, often increasing the
solubility of the metal ion. They are used in many types of cleaners and industrial processes.
Conventional chelates are based on atmnocarboxylic acids (e.g., ethylenediaminetetraacetic
acid, EDTA) and phosphates (e.g., sodium tripolyphosphate). Unfortunately, because EDTA
is not readily biodegradable and because phosphates can cause pollution via eutrophication,
these conventional materials are often viewed as environmentally unfriendly.
AkzoNobel has developed a readily biodegradable chelating agent that is manufactured
principally from a renewable feedstock. This new chelate, called tetrasodium L-glutamic acid,
Av,A-diacetic acid (GLDA), will replace phosphates in automatic dishwashing detergents
throughout the United States to comply with regulations from the State of Washington that
will limit phosphorous in such cleaners starting in 2010. GLDA is an effective chelate that
also has low animal toxicity and ecotoxicity. AkzoNobel has devoted significant research and
development, environmental health and safety testing, evaluations, and engineering/manufac-
turing design to developing and commercializing this new material.
GLDA is manufactured from the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG) in an
essentially waste-free synthesis. MSG is made by fermenting readily available corn sugars and
is considered a renewable material. The synthesis of GLDA includes classic cyanomethyla-
tion of the primary amino nitrogen on the MSG followed by in situ alkaline saponification.
In contrast with EDTA whose carbon is currently all fossil-based, over half of the carbon in
GLDA is biobased. Because GLDA is highly soluble, it will be offered at a significantly higher
concentration (approximately 30-percent-higher molar aqueous concentration) than EDTA,
reducing transport and packaging costs as well as packaging waste. Most significantly, GLDA
is readily biodegradable and will reduce pollution by replacing phosphates in dishwashing
detergents in the United States. In early 2009, AkzoNobel will begin commercial manufacture
of GLDA at its plant in Lima, Ohio.
American Ordnance
LLC
Inert Filler TB-1
The U.S. Army has a requirement for projectiles and mortars to be loaded with inert (non-
explosive) filler for training exercises and demonstration purposes. The primary inert filler
used for many years at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (lAAAP) was Inert Filler E (Type II
Filler; Spec: MIL-1-60350). This inert filler required ergonomically inferior methods to drill
34
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a 5" fuze well for a typical inert build (M549). The previous methods required either
(1) drilling a 5" deep by 2" wide fuze well with drill bits that quickly became gummed up
with filler so that the drilling required to install a fuze could take several hours per round, or
(2) inserting a 5"-long shaft funnel into the poured inert filler before the filler set up to limit
the drilling required. Removing the funnel required striking it with a rubber mallet to break
it loose; frequently the suction created made the funnel difficult to pull out and more drilling
was still required to finish the fuze well,
IAAAP achieved its goal by replacing Inert Filler E with inert filler TB-1, which meets all
filler requirements. Inert filler TB-1 is easy to machine and drill: it takes only 20 seconds to
drill a 5" long by 2" wide fuze well. Inert Filler TB-1 contains no hazardous materials and
costs 40-percent less than the former Inert Filler E. Funnel scrap from pouring the Inert Filler
TB-1 into projectiles should be 100-percent recyclable without separation, which allows the
scrap to be saved for later use and minimizes waste generation. Excess Inert Filler TB-1 easily
flakes off from projectiles and equipment, so cleanup is very easy. Cleaning previous inert fill-
ers required solvent and paper wipes; the solvent-contaminated paper wipes were hazardous
waste. The U.S. Army has approved the loading of 2,000 inert 760 ammunition rounds with
Inert Filler TB-1.
Pulp Mill Defoamers Based on Vegetable Oil
Defoamers are widely used in the pulp and paper industry, particularly in pulp washing.
The best defoamers for brown stock washing are based on silicone oils, although some defoam-
ers are based on paraffin oils. These defoamers have serious disadvantages, however. Silicone
oils are not biodegradable and can cany over onto the paper sheets, giving them undesirable
surface properties. Paraffin oil can cause dioxin formation during the pulping process.
Ashland Hercules Water Technologies has developed a new family of defoamers based on
vegetable oils. These biodefoamers eliminate paraffin oil, minimize the use of silicone oil, and
increase the use of natural, renewable ingredients. The technology is based on (1) a specific
blend of soybean oil and castor oil that has an optimal, low surface tension; (2) lecithin, a
natural product that stabilizes the system; and (3) modified silicone products that optimize the
defoaming characteristics, enhance the surface properties, and promote compatibility between
phases. The formulations contain vegetable oil, appropriate silicone product(s) such as modi-
fied, silicone polymers, a stabilizing agent, hydrophobic silica particles, two or more surfactants
and dispersants, biocides, and thickeners (natural gums and biodegradable polymers). The
formulation is an effective defoamer and produces a stable emulsion. The new defoamers can
be used as a concentrate without dilution or as an emulsion.
The new defoamers have been shown to be as effective as the pure silicone defoamers and
analogous petroleum-based defoamers, but are more cost-effective. Ashland Hercules launched
its first Advantage* biodefoamer in 2005 and its second-generation product in 2007- These
biodefoamers are being used on pulp mill washers and also on mill effluents. Although these
defoamers are designed for pulp and paper applications, they also are appropriate for other
non-food industrial uses. The products satisfy FDA requirements for food contact (21 CFR
176.210).
Water-Based Refractory Coatings with Wet/Dry Color
Change Indication
The use of refractory coatings in metal casting processes has been a common practice in the
foundry industry for decades. These coatings are applied to dies, cores, and molds to provide
a protective barrier facing the hot liquid metal. When applied to sand cores and molds, the
Technologies
Inc.
35
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Institute
coatings prevent casting defects like metal penetration and erosion, improve veining resistance
and casting surface finish, or simply mitigate imperfections resulting from molding media and
processes.
Traditionally, solvent-based refractory coatings have been widely preferred over water-based
coatings. More recently, workplace health and safety concerns, environmental concerns, and
economic considerations due to increasing costs of petrochemical-based materials such as sol-
vents are spawning the development and use of water-based coating technologies. Although
optimum drying of these water-based coatings is critical, the metal-casting market has not had
a simple analytical method to determine whether the coating has completely dried. Incom-
plete drying can cause casting defects that could be expensive to fix or may require scrapping
of the cast piece. Conversely, excessive drying wastes energy and may reduce productivity.
Ashland Performance Materials has developed a water-based refractory coating that
undergoes a distinctive color change as it dries. The water-based refractory coating with
wet/dry color change is an innovative approach that combines intended purpose, environ-
mental considerations, and a high level of functionality within an otherwise ordinary product.
Ashland successfully introduced this technology to the industry in 2005; it is now widely
accepted among metal casters. Some customers have saved more than 10 percent overall,
including a 50-percent reduction in gas used by the heaters to dry coated material. Ashland
continues to develop technologies and innovative solutions that deliver performance to their
customers and are environmentally responsible.
Environmentally Friendly Biobased Plasticizers for
Poly vinyl Chloride
Plasticizers are used in combination with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins to make flexible
and semi-rigid articles. Globally, over 13 billion pounds of plasticizer are produced annually
with 90 percent for use in PVC. Ninety percent of all plasticizers are phthalates, which are de-
rived from petroleum feedstocks. Some classes of phthalates have come under severe scrutiny
as suspect endocrine disrupters and are facing regional and federal regulation. For example,
California Assembly Bill AB1108 bans the use of six phthalates. Nationally, the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) takes effect on February 10, 2009, banning some
uses of phthalate ester plasticizers. Besides their regulatory issues, phthalates have other defi-
ciencies such as poor thermal stability and high levels of volatility and exudation.
Battelle has developed a green plasticizer technology based on vegetable oils that addresses
these deficiencies and the market's need for alternatives to phthalates. Battelle used molecular
modeling to tailor the structure of soybean oil to be compatible with PVC resin at high levels
with reduced migration and volatility compared with dioctyl phthalate, a common commod-
ity plasticizer. Battelle then synthesized and tested six soy-based PVC plasticizer candidates
such as epoxidized propylene glycol disoyate. These environmentally friendly bioplasticizers
have excellent compatibility with PVC resin and function as primary plasticizers and thermal
stabilizers. They are not expected to pose any health issues.
Replacing 25 percent of the global plasticizer consumption with a biobased product de-
rived from vegetable oil offers energy savings in the range of 5 billion Btu per year. Each
pound of phthalate replaced by a soy-based plasticizer replaces one pound of carbon dioxide
(CO?)- Several soy-based primary plasticizers have been scaled up to pilot plant scale and are
entering early-stage commercialization. Ohio-based PolyOnc Corporation, a Battelle licensee,
has developed an aggressive commercial plan to market the new plasticizer starting in 2009.
36
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AURA® Infusion Technology: A Green Method to
Incorporate Color and Performance Additives
Thermoplastics are all around us from housings of electronic devices to household appli-
ances, car interiors, sports equipment, and, increasingly, architectural components. The cur-
rent technology to incorporate color or other performance additives relics on continuous pro-
cesses that distribute the additives throughout the plastic parts. This can generate significant
solid waste or low-value material during transition into and out of each customized product
or when the product does not meet the color specification.
AURA* Infusion Technology customizes a thermoplastic part with a colorant or other per-
formance additive down the supply chain close to the end consumer. The technology uses a
batch process that has no transition periods. For example, coloring a part with AURA5' Infu-
sion Technology versus using pre-colored resin pellets to make the part can reduce the amount
of resin waste by 15-25 percent and significantly reduce inventory because part producers can
color parts on demand. AURA18 Infusion Technology minimizes the amount of colorant or
performance additive needed in the thermoplastic part by concentrating the additive near the
surface. The colorant or performance additive is infused by means of a hot bath for smaller
parts or a hot solution spraying system for larger parts. The solution typically contains a level-
ing agent, a plasticizing agent, and water in addition to the desired additive. The AURA*' Infu-
sion Technology process generates less than 1-percent waste because it is designed to recover
and recycle the unused performance additive for efficient customization and to recycle the
water and the small amount of solvent used.
By eliminating the additive in the bulk material, AURA'" Infusion Technology makes more
virgin resin available for recycling. Part producers can now take back customized products at
end-of-life, remove the surface color, and recycle or recolor them. Currently tour companies
are licensing this technology in the United States.
IMPACT Technology: A Greener Polyether Polyol
Process
Polyether polyols have a multibillion-pound worldwide market. Traditional manufacturing
is a semibatch process including potassium hydroxide catalysis and a number of steps includ-
ing removal of the catalyst. Early double metal cyanide (DMC) catalysts were more reactive,
but were inhibited by low-molecular-weight materials like glycerin; they also required catalyst
removal and the same amount of equipment. As a result, they were restricted to niche, high-
value products.
Bayer MaterialScience's IMPACT process for polyether polyols includes modifying the
DMC catalyst to increase its reactivity by ten-fold and taking advantage of an unusual ki-
netic property: the modified DMC selectively adds alkylene oxides to the lower-molecular-
weight molecules in a mixture of molecular weights. Combining these two inventions gives
a continuous process that requires less equipment. The modified DMC catalysts tolerate and
convert low levels of low-molecular-weight initiators, overcoming the inhibition observed in
traditional processes. Even though glycerin is continuously charged to the reactor, catalyst se-
lectivity results in the overall reaction mixture having a steady state with a narrow polydisper-
sity product and an average molecular weight of 3,000. The continuous process makes little
or no waste. It also saves energy by eliminating the heat-up cycle of the semibatch process,
in addition to the energy it saves by eliminating waste treatment. The IMPACT technology
lowers carbon dioxide (CCb) equivalents by around 75 percent and increases productivity
Bayer
Materia (Science, LLC
Bayer
LLC
37
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Champion
Technologies, Inc.
Clarke
Control
over the conventional technology. In Bayer MaterialScience's plant in Channelview, TX, this
technology is eliminating about 75 million pounds of wastewater and 54 million pounds of
CC>2 each year.
The Channelview plant produced its one-billionth pound of polyether polyol during Janu-
ary 2006; Bayer has licensed its technology to others including Dow, Shell, and BASF. Bayer
has used its technology to double polyether polyol production at its Channelview plant within
four years to 440 million pounds and has lowered variable production costs by 40 percent.
Lysine Phosphonate Scale Inhibitor: Improved
Biodegradation While Maintaining Performance over
Traditional Phosphonates
Scale inhibitors for use in off-shore oil production are in increasing demand as reservoirs
age and secondary recovery techniques such as injection with saltwater are used more fre-
quently. Off-shore oil wells are susceptible to scale as ions in the injected seawrater mix with
ions present in oil-bearing formations. The precipitation of calcium carbonate, barium sul-
fate, and other scales from water that is produced with oil can reduce production rates, in-
crease maintenance costs, or even block pipelines completely. The annual worldwide market
for oilfield scale inhibitors is $200 million.
Organic phosphonates inhibit scale formation as low-dose additives (sometimes at levels
below parts-per-million); they have high efficacy, low toxicity, and a low tendency to bioac-
cumulate. They typically exhibit low rates of biodegradation, however, and legislation in the
United States and North Sea has driven research into biodegradable scale inhibitors to replace
them. Polymeric scale inhibitors have been developed as an alternative to phosphonates be-
cause they have greater biodegradation rates and a low tendency to bioaccumulate. Unfortu-
nately, polymers cost more and require higher treatment rates.
Champion Technologies chose to develop new phosphonate scale inhibitors designed to
biodegradc more readily yet maintain their inherently high performance, low toxicity, and
low bioaccumulation. Champion replaced the polyamine starting material tor the phospho-
nates, typically diethylenetriamine (DETA), with lysine, which is a naturally occurring, re-
newable polyamine. They optimized the extent of phosphonomethylation to maximize both
performance and biodegradation. Lysine phosphonate exhibits the desired scale inhibition
but is inherently biodegradable, resulting in 20-60-percent biodegradation in 28 days by
OECD 306 (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's seawater bio-
degradation test). By comparison, traditional phosphonates are nonbiodegradable, with less
than 20-percent biodegradation in 28 days by OECD 306. During 2008, Champion submit-
ted a provisional patent application for this technology.
Natular: Engineering Green Chemistry for Mosquito
Control
Spinosad, a product of Dow AgroSciences and a 1999 winner of the Presidential Green
Chemistry Challenge, is a low-risk pesticide in widespread use on crops. Spinosad adsorbs
strongly to soils and organic matter, degrades photochemically at the site of application, and
is inherently unstable in water. These characteristics make it excellent for use on land, but
had precluded its use in aqueous environments. Clarke Mosquito Control has overcome this
challenge by innovations in tablet formulations and slow-release matrix chemistry to develop
Natular, a spinosad-based mosquito larvicide that provides excellent control in aquatic envi-
ronments. Recently EPA-registered, Natular's six formulations are designed to suit all mos-
quito-control environments, from catch basins to salt marshes. Natular is effective at use rates
38
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2-10 times lower than traditional larvicides, is 15 times less toxic than the organophosphate
alternative, does not persist in the environment, is not toxic to wildlife, and eliminates the use
of hazardous materials and processes in its manufacture.
Natular is the first new chemical larvicide for mosquito control in nearly three decades.
With an innovative structural matrix of active ingredient and organic inert components, Nat-
ular effectively moves through the water column, providing both immediate availability of
appropriate amounts of spinosad to target organisms and time-release spinosad for extended
control in tough aquatic environments. Formulation innovations reduce the potential for ap-
plication error and decrease the risk of damage to people and the environment from mosquito
control operations. The manufacturing process of Natular eliminates hazardous processes,
products, agents, and hazardous wastes, thereby decreasing health and environmental risk
throughout the supply chain and workplace. Clarke anticipates a significant shift in the vector
management industry to Natular, which will reduce the overall synthetic load in the environ-
ment while improving health and quality of life in treated areas. Clarke launched Natular in
the U.S. market in December 2008.
GreenWorks™Natural Cleaners from the Makers of
Clor ox: Home Cleaning Products
GreenWorks™ Natural Cleaners set a new standard for natural cleaning. These products
perform as well as conventional cleaners and are composed of over 99-percent natural, plant-
based ingredients from renewable sources and minerals. The formulas optimally blend natural
ingredients and naturally derived surfactants to achieve excellent cleaning performance.
One key to the GreenWorks'™ technology was Clorox's development of a novel nanoemul-
sion that dissolves ingredients such as essential oils in the formulation as well as dirt or soil.
The reduced particle sizes provide optimized surface interactions and increase the one-phase
stability region. This technology enables GreenWorks™ products to be isotropic clear upon
infinite dilution, reducing the ingredients by ten-fold compared to normal all-purpose or glass
cleaners. The products are biodegradable and non-allergenic, are not tested on animals, and
come in recyclable containers. The manufacturing facilities used to produce GreenWorks""
have zero emissions discharge. All GreenWorks™ products perform as well as or better than
leading conventional cleaners in laboratory and in blind, in-home consumer tests. This level of
cleaning is important to convincing consumers to switch from traditional cleaning products.
The EPA Design for the Environment (DfE) initiative has recognized the safe ingredients and
cleaning performance of GreenWorks™ products, which proudly display the DfE logo.
Fossil fuels contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. By switching from pet-
rochemicals to natural ingredients in its GreenWorks™ line, Clorox achieved a savings of ap-
proximately 450,000 gallons of petroleum in the United States during 2008. In addition,
plant-based renewable sources reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CC»2), a greenhouse gas,
during photosynthesis.
Clorox launched GreenWorks™ Natural Cleaners in January 2008. GreenWorks™ products
sell at only a modest premium over conventional cleaners, despite their use of costlier plant-
based renewable ingredients, an environmentally friendly manufacturing process, and innova-
tive science, which together offer the consumer the most natural, powerful cleaning products
on the market.
The Clorox Company
39
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Cognis
Corporation;
Fly Ltd.
Carbon Blacker™ Fly Ash Conditioning Treatment
NOTE: This project is the result of a partnership between FlyAshDirect Ltd, and Cognis
Corporation. The project was judged in both the small business and greener synthetic path-
ways categories. The abstract appears in the small business section on page 24,
Cytec
Inc.
Cytec Industries
Inc.; IDA Research,
Inc.
The Down Chemical
Company
Sodalite Scale Inhibitor
The Bayer process converts bauxite ore to alumina. The heat exchangers and interstage
piping used in the process build up sodalite scale (i.e., aluminosilicate crystals), which re-
duces the heat transfer efficiency of the exchangers. Periodically, the equipment is cleaned
with 5-10-pcrccnt sulfuric add, which removes scale but also leads to worker exposure and a
waste stream.
Cytec developed its MAX HTK Bayer Sodalite Scale Inhibitor family of products to elimi-
nate sodalite scaling in the Bayer process. The active ingredient is a proprietary polymer con-
taining a silane functional group that interacts with a growing sodalite crystal. The silane in-
hibits crystal growth either by incorporation into the crystal or by adsorption onto its surface.
Dosages range from 20 to 40 ppm.
Eliminating the formation of sodalite scale on heater surfaces produces a number of ben-
efits. First, the heat from steam produced in various unit operations is recovered more effi-
ciently. Second, increased evaporation allows the plant to use more water in the countercur-
rcnt washing circuit for recovering caustic. Third, reduced production of new steam reduces
emissions from burning carbon-based fuel. Last, the reduced use of sulfuric acid results in less
worker exposure and less waste from cleaning the heaters.
There are about 50 Bayer plants worldwide with annual capacities of 0.5-6 million tons of
alumina; most plants are in the 1.5-3-million-ton range. Since Cytec introduced MAX HT*:
in 2004, eight Bayer plants worldwide have adopted it and twenty more plants are in various
stages of testing it. Plants using MAX HT"5 save $2-20 million annually per plant and save
0.25-1.25 Btu per ton of alumina produced. Fewer cleaning cycles and less acid per cycle cre-
ate significant reductions in waste: a typical 1.5-million-ton alumina plant can reduce its waste
by 1,500-4,500 tons of 5-percent acid per year.
Primer to Replace Solvent-Based, Chromate-Containing
Primer
NOTE: This project is the result of a partnership between TDA Research and Cytec In-
dustries. The project was judged in both the small business and designing greener chemicals
categories. The abstract appears in the small business section on page 29-
Glycerin to Epichlorohydrin Process: How Green is my
Epichlorohydrin?
Epichlorohydrin is a large-volume, commodity chemical used mostly to manufacture liq-
uid epoxy resins. Estimated worldwide capacity for epichlorohydrin was two billion pounds
in 2006. The predominant manufacturing process today is a multistep route using petro-
chemical-derived propylene and electrochemically generated chlorine as the primary feed-
stocks. This route has significant environmental issues including the formation of chlorinated
40
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byproducts and large amounts of wastewater. Further, the route incorporates only one of the
four chlorine atoms it uses into the final product; the other three appear as aqueous chloride
waste or hydrogen chloride.
The Dow Glycerin to Epichlorohydrin (GTE) process exploits the increasing availability
of low-cost glycerin, which is a byproduct of biodiesel production from renewable seed oils.
Likewise, it uses hydrogen chloride, a byproduct from several commodity-scale manufactur-
ing processes such as the incumbent cpichlorohydrin process, vinyl chloride, or isocyanate
manufacture; hydrogen chloride is often neutralized and wasted. The GTE process uses a
simple, two-step route with a carboxylic acid catalyst to synthesize epichlorohydrin. The key
innovation is the use of hydrogen chloride at elevated pressure. The resulting elevated liquid-
phase hydrogen chloride concentration drives the reaction to high conversions to the desired
dichlorohydrins without removing the coproduct water from the reaction. Water in the reac-
tion prevents the formation of chlorinated byproducts.
The GTE route has additional environmentally desirable attributes, including more ef-
ficient use of chlorine, formation of fewer chlorinated byproducts, and less production of
aqueous chloride waste. The process will reduce wastewater by over 70 percent and reduce
the formation of organic byproducts by over 75 percent. It is significantly more energy ef-
ficient: it uses 30-percent less steam and uses less energy to make chlorine and caustic. Com-
mercialization of this economically and environmentally advantageous process is planned for
2011, when it will produce up to 150,000 metric tons per year of highly pure
epichlorohydrin.
Innovative Industrial Process Using Hydrogen Peroxide
to Synthesize Propylene Oxide
Propylene oxide (PO) is among the 50 largest-volume chemical intermediates in the world.
It is a key raw material for a wide range of industrial and commercial products, including
polyurethanes, propylene glycols, and glycol ethers. Historically, the synthesis of propylene
oxide has either produced significant volumes of coproducts or required recycling of organic
intermediates.
Dow and BASF jointly developed a new route to propylene oxide based on the reaction of
hydrogen peroxide and propylene, referred to as HPPO. Hydrogen peroxide is a clean, versa-
tile, environmentally benign oxidant that substitutes for chlorinated oxidants, which present
environmental challenges in many manufacturing operations. In the HPPO process, propyl-
ene is epoxidi/ed by hydrogen peroxide in a fixed-bed reactor at moderate temperature and low-
pressure. A catalyst facilitates the reaction, achieving high conversion and product selectivity.
This proprietary catalyst is a ZSM-5 type in which tetrahedrally coordinated titanium replaces
several percent of the silicon; it has been formulated for use in a fixed-bed reactor system. The
reaction occurs in liquid phase with mcthanol as a solvent. Hydrogen peroxide is completely
converted and the propylene conversion is nearly quantitative. The crude propylene oxide is
purified by distillation and the methanol solvent is recycled. The reaction of hydrogen perox-
ide and propylene has a high yield and produces no significant coproducts except water.
The HPPO process also provides environmental benefits. Dow and BASF expect this tech-
nology to reduce wastewater production by as much as 70-80 percent and energy use by
35 percent over current technologies. During 2007, Dow constructed a pilot plant in Free-
port, TX to develop this technology. The first commercial process based on this technol-
ogy began production in 2008 at a BASF production facility in Antwerp, Belgium. During
2008, Dow broke ground on a world-scale plant in Map Tha Phut, Thailand, which will begin
production in 2011.
The Dow Chemical
Company; BASF AG
41
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DyPont Crop
Protection
Inc.
Chlorantraniliprole: Designing Green Chemistry for
Insect Control
Historically, the developers of pesticide active ingredients focused primarily on creating
pesticides that were effective against target pests with little regard for the safety of humans or
the environment. Now, however, new active ingredients must not only meet societal demands
for safety but also have novel modes of action that preclude the target pest(s) from developing
resistance. Consumers now expect affordable, high-quality food that is produced with mini-
mum impact on the environment; higher regulatory hurdles for pesticide registration reflect
these expectations.
To meet these demands, DuPont redesigned the early stages of its discover)' process to
optimize three factors: pest efficacy, low toxicity to mammals and other nontarget species,
and environmental attributes. In searching for insecticides that best fulfilled all three factors,
DuPont realized that the best overall product might not be the most biologically active one.
DuPont evaluated over 2,000 candidate analogs to find one product with the right balance of
these factors. The result, chlorantraniliprole, is one of the most active and least toxic chemical
insecticides ever discovered. It can replace organophosphate insecticides. Chlorantraniliprole
is effective at lower application rates and requires fewer applications per growing season than
other pesticides. It is effective against many pests that have developed resistance to other pes-
ticides.
Chlorantraniliprole controls insect pests by a new mode of action: activating their ryano-
dine receptors (RyRs) in an unregulated, manner, depleting internal calcium stores, and. thereby
paralyzing the target insects. Chlorantraniliprole is remarkably selective for insect RyRs over
mammalian RyRs; this selectivity is a key to its low toxicity and high margins of exposure.
Chlorantraniliprole is known by the trade names Rynaxypyr'9 and Calteryx™ for crop and turf
applications, respectively. In spring 2008, EPA registered Rynaxypyr8 as a Reduced Risk pesti-
cide; by the end of the year, Rynaxypyr1" had completed its first season of commercial use.
Wash 'n Walk™Floor Care System
Foodservice operations can be dangerous places for employees because grease and other
food soils fall onto floors throughout the work day. Grease creates slippery floors, leading to
slips and falls that impact employee safety and the bottom line for Ecolab's customers. Tradi-
tional floor cleaning and maintenance systems include surfactants to emulsify grease, highly
alkaline chemicals to hydrolyze grease, hydrofluoric acid to etch floor tiles for greater traction,
and EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; not readily biodegradable) for water condition-
ing.
Ecolab has designed a revolutionary floor care system that both results in cleaner floors
and increases the coefficient of friction (the primary measure of slipperiness of floors). The
formula is unique in exhibiting superior performance and providing environmental and hu-
man health benefits. Ecolab's floor care system incorporates three innovative platforms. First
is a proprietary blend of surfactants, including a silicon surfactant uniquely capable of remov-
ing complex organic or greasy soils from a variety of substrates. Second is a suite of stabilized
enzymes, including Upases, that arc stable at alkaline pH values and in the presence of high
concentrations of water. Third is an optional suite of stabilized bacterial spores that germinate
and then decompose proteins, starches, and fatty acids. The Wash 'n Walk'" formula also
includes Trilon M water conditioner that is composed of amino carboxylates and is readily
biodegradable. Wash 'n Walk'™ can be used with cold water. It uses a no-rinse procedure that
leaves enzymes and spores on the floor to break down grease and other soils that accumulate
over time.
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The Wash 'n Walk™ formula received Green Seal Certification in 2006 under the
GS 37 standard. To achieve this certification, the formula passed a rigorous review to
demonstrate both superior environmental and human health benefits. Between 2004 and
2008, Wash 'n Walk™ saved Eco lab's customers 546 million gallons of water annually.
New Manufacturing Route for Arzoxifene
Hydrochloride
Arzoxifene hydrochloride (HC1) is an investigational new drug candidate currently in phase
III clinical trials. Prior to manufacturing arzoxifene HC1 commercially, Eli Lilly reviewed its
original manufacturing process. The review identified several major environmental burdens
including a large excess of trifluoroacetic add as a solvent, an extremely high loading of pal-
ladium catalyst, and extensive use of methylene chloride as a solvent. Eli Lilly decided to
abandon this route and accept the risk of designing and developing a greener route. Moreover,
Eli Lilly had to discover, develop, and introduce the new route on an accelerated schedule to
ensure that ongoing patient needs would be met.
An intensive effort by chemists, engineers, and environmental professionals resulted in the
discovery of a new route that meets these requirements. The new process eliminates trifluo-
roacetic acid and methylene chloride. It reduces the amount of palladium-carbon catalyst
and subsequent contaminated waste by over 100-fold. Several innovations across reaction
methodology and reaction engineering also enable the newr route. Fundamental discoveries
include replacing benzyl with diethylcarbamyl (DEC) as the phenol protecting group and
implementing novel sulfide oxidation conditions. The DEC protecting group meets the needs
of the synthesis and is still removable. This change enables alternative oxidation conditions,
which allow the novel route to succeed.
Process mass intensity (PMI) is the total mass of raw materials put into a process (includ-
ing water) for every kilogram of drug produced. Overall, the new route has a net PMI of
145 kilograms per kilogram of arzoxifene HC1, which is 31-percent less than the original
route. Eli Lilly demonstrated its new route at a commercial scale in Lafayette, IN during
2006. It finished validating the process in 2008 and has now manufactured commercial quan-
tities. Eli Lilly's application of the 12 green chemistry principles led it to reinvestigate its syn-
thetic route and significantly improve its manufacturing process.
Ecomate®: An Environmentally Benign Blowing Agent for
Polyurethane Foams
For many years, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were the preferred foam blowing agents used
to manufacture polyurethane foams. CFCs gave good insulating and structural properties
to foam used in refrigerators, building construction, and spray foam. CFCs were removed
from polyurethane foam in the 1990s, however, due to their potential to destroy the ozone
layer. Alternative hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are lower in ozone depletion poten-
tial (ODP), but will be phased out in the United States by 2010. A related problem is that
some foam blowing agents, including CFCs, HCFCs, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
have very high global warming potentials (GWPs). The HCFCs and HFCs have GWPs of
725-1810, compared to 1.00 for carbon dioxide (CC>2).
Foam Supplies developed ecomate* (its trade name for methyl formate) to replace CFCs,
HCFCs, and HFCs as blowing agents for polyurethane foams. Ecomatc*1 is a zero-ODP,
zero-GWP blowing agent. Because it does not contribute to the formation of smog, ecomate*1
Eli Lilly and Company
Supplies, Inc.
43
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Corporation
Corporation
is also volatile organic compound (VOC)-exempt. Each pound of ecomate* replaces about
two pounds of alternative blowing agents, so one million pounds of ecomate* would eliminate
the equivalent of 1.4—3.4 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions (CO?e). Replacing high-
GWP compounds, such as HFC-134a and HFC-245fa, with ecomate8' has led to saving close
to 2,2 billion pounds per year of CC^e.
Ecomate® costs substantially less than do HFCs. Further, ecomate* technology requires
little or no modification to existing foaming processes. The insulating and structural char-
acteristics of ecomate* foams are equivalent to those of conventional polyurethane foams.
Ecomate*' has been demonstrated in pour-in-placc, boardstock, and spray insulation systems,
as well as boat flotation foam. It has outstanding properties and a low environmental impact.
Products made with ecomate* are widely available in the United States; Foam Supplies has
also licensed its technology in the UK, Brazil, China, Australia, and Poland.
Aquence® Auto deposition Coating: The Smart Coating
Solution
Conventional electrodeposition processes for applying coatings to automotive and indus-
trial equipment parts require that the parts be electrically charged. These processes require
12-15 steps, including surface conditioning and pretrcatment with metal phosphate coatings.
They contain both volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals.
Henkel has developed Aquence* coatings as sustainable options to conventional coatings.
Aquence18coatings are low-VOC, water-based functional organic epoxy—acrylic—urethane. The
formulation includes epoxy—acrylic copolymer, proprietary blocked isocyanate cross-linker,
coalcsccnt, surfactant, and pigment. The autodeposition process consists of a mildly acidic
bath that contains a negatively charged polymer dispersion, ferric chloride, and deionized
water. The mildly acidic, oxidizing bath liberates a small amount of iron from the immersed
steel parts resulting in a locally high concentration of positively charged ferrous ions at the
steel surface. These ions cause the negatively charged polymer dispersion particles to deposit a
coating on the surface. The process has only 7 steps. The absence of electric current from the
process shortens the cycle time and lowers the curing temperature of the coating, which saves
energy. The low pH of the coating bath discourages bacterial growth, and the elimination of
heavy metals reduces time and expense in chemical maintenance and waste treatment.
The water-based Aquence® autodeposition coating technology developed by Henkel re-
cently set a newr industry precedent by coating an entire vehicle body in assembly. Aquence*
customers can realize a 40-percent footprint reduction, reduced capital expense and paint
shop complexity, decreased energy consumption, elimination of heavy metal sludge, and im-
proved inside-out corrosion performance. Henkel launched its Aquence8' 925G epoxy—acrylic
coating for industrial primers and automotive body primer in 2007 and its Aquence* 930
epoxy—acrylic coating for improved cyclic corrosion resistance in the frame and chassis market
in 2008. Aquence* is in trials globally at over 150 locations.
Bonderite® TecTalis: Next-Generation Coating
The conventional zinc phosphate pretreatment process promotes adhesion and corrosion
resistance on painted surfaces. It has been the automotive standard for over 60 years, but
it contains regulated heavy metals, requires expensive wastewater treatment, and uses large
amounts of energy. Zinc phosphating also requires accelerator compounds such as nitrite,
hydroxylamine, or nitro-compounds. The process produces approximately as much sludge
as it does coating: only about one-half of the zinc ends up as coating; the remaining zinc is
lost as sludge that contains Zn;3(PO4)2 and FePC>4. Zinc phosphate baths require continuous
removal of sludge.
44
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Henkel developed TecTalis, the automotive industry's first non-phosphate conversion coat-
ing, as an efficient, sustainable replacement for traditional zinc phosphate treatments. Henkel
developed TecTalis from its earlier-generation, ambient-temperature Bonder!te'" NT-1 tech-
nology. In the TecTalis process, fluorozirconic acid reacts with the metal substrate to form a
zirconium oxide layer approximately 20-50 nm thick; this layer is much thinner than a zinc
phosphate layer, which measures 2,000-10,000 nm. The TecTalis process deposits approxi-
mately 99 percent of the zinc onto the coating, so there is essentially no sludge formation.
The Bonderite® TecTalis process is simpler than a traditional zinc phosphate process in that
TecTalis requires no conditioning or final seal stages. In addition, the new technology can fit
into an existing zinc phosphate plant. Customers can design a smaller pretreatment footprint
that uses less water and energy than a traditional system. TecTalis provides the corrosion per-
formance necessary to meet automotive standards.
TecTalis is an environmentally sustainable technology that eliminates pretreatment sludge,
reduces landfill requirements, and simplifies wastewater treatment. The conversion coating is
free of phosphate, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and carbon dioxide (CCh) equiva-
lent emissions. The process operates at ambient temperature, reducing utility and natural re-
source requirements. Hcnkcl's TecTalis has been in use in the United States and internationally
since 2007.
Refrigerant for Automotive Air Conditioning with Low
Global Warming Potential
Driven by the European Union's (EU's) F-Gas Directive to phase out the automotive re-
frigerant HFC-134a, Honeywell and DuPont have jointly developed first hydrofluoro—olefin
refrigerant, HFO-1234yf (CF3CF=CH.2), for use in mobile air conditioning (MAC) systems.
HFO-1234yf has a very low 100-year global warming potential (GWP) of 4 versus 1,430 for
HFC-134a, a potent greenhouse gas, and easily meets the EU's F-Gas mandate for refriger-
ants with GWP below 150. HFO-1234yf also has zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and
an excellent Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP), due its low GWP and its high energy
efficiency. LCCP calculations predict a potential annual global savings in carbon dioxide
(CO?) equivalent of 5-2-5-9 million metric tons per year in 2017 when the refrigerant is fully
implemented.
DuPont and Honeywell have completed extensive testing for toxicity, materials compat-
ibility, stability, and air conditioning performance. Based on its low toxicity, HFO-1234yf is
safe in MAC systems. Its unique structure leads HFO-1234yf to be stable inside MAC sys-
tems, but to break down quickly upon release to the atmosphere. HFO-1234yf exhibits only
mild flammability and low potential for ignition. With minimal modifications, MAC systems
designed for HFC-134a can be converted to HFO-1234yf.
Honeywell and DuPont have applied for EPA SNAP approval and ASHRAE and REACH
registrations. They have also provided detailed information to the SAE Cooperative Research
Program for an evaluation of HFO-1234yf. The program sponsors included automobile man-
ufacturers representing 70 percent of the global market. They concluded that HFO-1234yf
was the preferred low-GWP refrigerant. EPA's Mobile Air Conditioning Climate Protec-
tion Partnership sponsored an industry stakeholder meeting in December 2008. Stakehold-
ers reviewed options for low-GWP refrigerants and selected HFO-1234yf as the preferred
option. If adopted globally in all new vehicles, HFO-1234yf would eliminate about 60 mil-
lion pounds of HFC-134a representing a substantial climate change benefit of approximately
40 million metric tons of CC>2 equivalent.
Honeywell
International, Inc.;
DyPont
45
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Huntsman
Advanced Materials
Corporation
JohnsonDiversey,
Inc.; ¥irox
Technologies
Manufacturing More Efficient Fuel Cells to Reduce
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Huntsman Advanced Materials and GrafTech have collaborated to develop two new grades
of high-performance, resin-impregnated, expanded graphite composites tor GRAF CELL* bi-
polar plates targeted at high-temperature fuel cell applications. The Huntsman resins that en-
able the new composites were developed to offer improved properties yet remain compatible
with GrafTcch's continuous manufacturing process.
Composites incorporating benzoxazine resins allow continuous operation at 120 °C and
will meet the aggressive targets for performance and cost set by the U.S. Department of
Energy for automobiles in 2015. Composites incorporating bismaleimide resins allow opera-
tion at temperatures up to 180 °C in concentrated acid environments, enabling these com-
posites to be used in phosphoric add fuel cells and polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel
cells incorporating polybenzimidazole (FBI) membranes. These new systems are superior to
existing commercially available systems in mechanical testing, gas permeability, dimensional
stability, and single cell fuel testing. Compared to the metal bipolar plate, the graphite com-
posite bipolar plate with new Huntsman resins has the following advantages: (1) superior
corrosion resistance, (2) lighter weight for greater efficiencies, (3) a long operating life be-
cause there is no poisoning of the PEM membrane, and (4) consistent electrical performance
because no insulating surface forms. These benefits have a direct impact on the reduction of
carbon dioxide (CCH) emissions during the lifecycle of the fuel cell.
These resin systems also enable the use of cost-effective, high-volume manufacturing tech-
niques that will lower plate costs per kilowatt and ultimately accelerate the widespread com-
mercial adoption of hydrogen-based energy systems. Huntsman anticipates the commercial-
ization of fuel cells with its benzoxazine resins for stationary power applications in 2009; it
anticipates the commercialization of fuel cells with its bismaleimide resins for automobiles
during late 2009 or early 2010.
Development of Sustainable Disinfectants
Fourteen types of disinfectant chemicals are found in over 90 percent of current disinfec-
tant formulations. Several of these chemicals kill microbes too slowly to be practical, have a
poor safety profile, or both. Among these disinfectants, hydrogen peroxide is environmentally
preferable because it decomposes to water and oxygen. It has a broad spectrum of activity but
is typically slow-acting and relatively unstable. For example, 3-percent hydrogen peroxide
takes 20 minutes to inactivate Stctphylococcus aureus. This long contact time is not practical in
most applications.
JohnsonDiversey developed Oxivir™ TB based on Virox's accelerated hydrogen peroxide
(AHP'M) technology. Oxivir'" TB is a highly stabilized hydrogen peroxide solution that ad-
dresses most of the disadvantages of traditional products. It has a broad spectrum of activity as
a bactcricidc, virucidc, fungicide, and tubcrculocidc. It is very fast-acting. It is safer to use than
other disinfectants. Oxivir™ Tb is less corrosive than straight hydrogen peroxide, thus widen-
ing its compatibility with a variety of surfaces. Its ingredients are food additives, nontoxic,
and/or biodegradable. These ingredients include hydrogen peroxide, citric acid, phosphoric
acid, linear alkyl benzene sulfonic acid, alkyl diphenyl oxide disulfonate, benzyl alcohol, and
linear alcohol ethoxylate. The improved stability of Oxivir™ TB allows it to have a shelf life of
at least two years.
Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide (AHP"") technology creates a synergy between hydrogen
peroxide, anionic surfactants, and chelating agents. It takes only one minute for 0.5-per-
cent hydrogen peroxide (AHP™) to inactivate S. aureus and many other bacteria and viruses.
46
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Although its mode of action is not understood completely, it appears that specific surfactants
in AHP™ solution facilitate the penetration of hydrogen peroxide into the cell and hence in-
crease the antimicrobial activity.
In 2006, EPA cleared Oxivir™ TB for sale in the United States. EPA classifies it as a Cat-
egory IV pesticide; this class requires no precautionary labeling.
Green Chemistry in Action: A Remarkably Efficient
and Sustainable Synthesis of the HIV Integrate
Inhibitor, Raltegravir™
ISENTRESS5' (raltegravir1"') is the first medication to be approved in a new class of anti-
retroviral therapies called integrase inhibitors. It represents a critical advance for the treat-
ment of HIV/AIDS. Merck developed the initial route to raltegravir™ rapidly in response
to a fast-paced clinical development program. This route produced enough of the drug for
development and initial commercial launch. As Merck required quantities of this drug in the
thousands-of-kilograms range, however, it became clear that the company needed a more ef-
ficient and sustainable route.
Merck's process redesign resulted in a remarkably efficient, environmentally sustainable,
eight-step process for raltegravir™. The revised process combines a highly innovative, atom-
economical Michael addition/cycloisomerization sequence used in the first-generation route
with exceptional streamlining of the final steps. The improved process increases overall yield
by 35 percent, reduces total waste by 70 percent, eliminates toxic reagents, and reduces the
manufacturing cost. The process replaces methyl iodide, a well-known carcinogen, ncuro-
toxin, and respiratory toxicant, with trimethylsulfoxonium iodide, an innovative, substantially
less toxic substitute. The optimized process requires no special equipment.
Overall, Merck reduced the e-factor or process mass intensity (PMI) from 314 for the
original process to 97 for the new process. This is a remarkable reduction of 12 PMI per step.
The waste reduction is equal to 217 metric tons per metric ton of raltegravir"" manufactured.
Given the required dose of 800 milligrams per person per day of ISENTRESS5', the waste
reduction translates to 140 pounds per person per year compared to the original manufactur-
ing route. Merck completely developed the revised process and introduced it into production
at manufacturing scale in April 2008. Because Merck converted to its new optimized route
shortly after it launched ISENTRESS*, the benefits of the greener process will accrue through-
out the lifecycle of this important medicine.
TractionBack®: Alternative Green Adhesives Solutions for
Textile Composites Used in Commercial Buildings
Poor indoor air quality is one of the top five environmental health risks associated with
building interiors. Traditional modular carpet installation requires adhesives and sealants that
contain such volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as formaldehyde and 2-ethyl-l-hexanol.
Carpet installation may also require surface preparation including sanding and removal of old
adhesive, which degrades air quality further.
Milliken's TractionBack* antiskid, adhesive-free backing is a thin coating formulation ap-
plied to the felt on the bottom of carpet tile. The formulation is an amorphous ethylene—
propylene copolymer that is tackified with a hydrocarbon resin and tall-oil rosin, a biobased
component. The raw materials in the formulation have almost no measurable VOCs in
the solid state. TractionBack51 high-friction coating for modular carpet eliminates the need
for onsite adhesive applications and repairs traditionally required for new and replacement
& Co.
Milliken & Company
47
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Monsanto
Company
installations, thus eliminating related VOCs. Milliken estimates that each year TractionBack®
eliminates the use of 400 tons of sealants and adhesives as well as 16,000 five-gallon containers
tor the sealants and adhesives.
TractionBack* eliminates chemical pollutants such as adhesives, floor primers, sealants,
and other VOCs; eliminates biological pollutants such as mold and bacteria; and reduces
the particulate hazards of sanding and surface preparation. Additional environmental ben-
efits include (1) energy reduction during production; (2) waste reduction during installation;
(3) waste reduction to landfills by extending product life because individual tiles can be repo-
sitioncd or replaced easily; (4) reduction of downtime for building spaces; (5) incorporation
of biobased raw materials; and (6) removal of poly(vinyl chloride), PVC, wrhich has environ-
mental issues related to its production, installation, and eventual disposal. TractionBack'3' uses
fewer resources in its manufacturing and installation, which reduces both its eco-footprint
and its associated waste. TractionBack18 has been on the market since 2003- Milliken revised
its formulation for TractionBack'51 to include biobased raw materials in 2005.
Revolutionizing Insect Weed Control: Bollgard®
Insect-Protected Cotton Technology and Bollgard IP
Cotton with Roundup Read)P Flex for Herbicide
Tolerance
Cotton accounts for over 40 percent of global fiber production, but is also the most pesti-
cide-intensive commodity crop. Cotton production alone uses 25 percent of all insecticides. It
has been a persistent challenge to both protect cotton from insects and weeds and reduce the
negative health and environmental impacts of cotton-protecting pesticides.
Monsanto has developed genetically engineered cotton plants that meet this challenge. The
resistance of Bollgard18 and Bollgard II® cotton to insects is based upon natural insect control.
Bacillus thuringiensis (a ubiquitous soil microbe) produces Cry (crystalline) proteins that are
insect toxins. Monsanto pioneered plant molecular genetics to create cotton plants that ex-
press these Cry proteins to control many devastating caterpillar pests. The specificity of Cry
proteins ensures that only target organisms are affected.
Bollgard II® with Roundup Ready8' Flex cotton is also tolerant of Monsanto's herbicide,
Roundup (glyphosate). Roundup kills plants by inhibiting 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phos-
phate synthase, a key enzyme in the aromatic amino acid synthesis pathway common to all
plants. By inserting a glyphosate-insensitive version of that enzyme into the cotton plant's
genome, Monsanto rendered the cotton tolerant to Roundup. With Roundup Ready8' Flex
cotton, growers can use Roundup throughout the season to control weeds safely and effec-
tively. This eliminates more-toxic herbicides and conserves energy by eliminating farmers'
trips across fields.
Cotton growers can increase yields and reduce input costs with Bollgard IP. Monsan-
to's products also provide measurable environmental and health benefits by reducing global
applications of pesticide active ingredients by 14 percent for herbicide-tolerant crops and
24 percent for insect-resistant crops.
In 2007, EPA approved a natural refuge for Bollgard II'9 cotton for most of the United
States, further increasing yields and decreasing pesticide use. As of 2007, 43 percent of wrorld
cotton production or 15 million hectares contained genes for insect resistance, herbicide toler-
ance, or both. Virtually all of this is Monsanto's technology.
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A Green, Energy-Efficient, Biocatalytic Process to
Manufacture Pregabalin
Pregabalin (the active ingredient in the drug Lyrica'") is a compound for the successful
treatment of several indications associated with neuropathic pain. The drug is approved in
154 countries. Pfizer launched Pregabalin in the United States in 2005, but replaced its origi-
nal process with a biocatalytic one in 2007.
Pfizer's new process uses an innovative enzymatic reaction to eliminate a wasteful enantio-
meric separation in the final step. The biocatalytic process eliminates organic solvents from all
four reaction steps. The process operates at a high substrate concentration, which dramatically
improves environmental performance, worker safety, and process efficiency. Pfizer's excep-
tional green chemistry innovation includes using a biocatalytic reaction, conducting reactions
in water rather than organic solvents, selectively synthesizing chirality earlier in the process
sequence, recycling the undesired enantiomer using a continuous process, telescoping reac-
tions for higher efficiency, and implementing catalytic as opposed to stoichiometric reactions.
Pregabalin is one of the very few small-molecule pharmaceutical agents where every chemical
step in the manufacturing process is performed in water. Pfizer has published this chemistry in
a peer-reviewed scientific journal and made the methodology available to the wider scientific
community
Pfizer has implemented its new process in a production facility at a 10-metric-ton batch
size. Between 2007 and 2020, Pfizer estimates that this process will eliminate 185,000 metric
tons of solvent, 4,800 metric tons of mandelic acid, 10,000 metric tons of the starting cyano-
diester and 1,890 metric tons of Raney® nickel. The process also uses 83-percent less energy
than the original process.
Pfizer's biocatalytic process is much more sustainable than the chemical process it replaced.
The efficiency, safety, and environmental improvements for the Pregabalin synthesis dem-
onstrate how green chemistry principles can produce significant benefits for society. Pfizer
believes that it has brought an important pain-relieving medicine to the patient in the most
environmentally responsible manner.
Openair™ Plasma Surface Treatment: Reducing Emissions
of Volatile Organic Compounds and Improving
Environmentally Sensitive Paint Processes
World-class manufacturing processes require surface treatments that produce clean, highly
activated surfaces for optimal adhesive bonding, coating, and printing. Openair™ is the first
industrial surface-preparation process to use plasma for nanoscale cleaning and surface activa-
tion. The Openair"" process provides reliable, cost-effective, environmentally friendly surface
treatment of metals, ceramics, glass, and polymers to enable the highest-quality bonding,
coating, and printing. This enabling technology allows full automation with total process
control.
Openair™ plasma treatment breaks up organic contaminants on the surface of the part to
be painted; the resulting small molecules vaporize or are oxidized to carbon dioxide (CC>2)
and water vapor. Openair'™ plasma treatment removes dust and neutralizes static. It activates
surfaces by incorporating oxygen-containing functional groups that can form strong chemi-
cal bonds to the applied paint. Plasma treatment allows true chemical bonding between the
substrate and paints.
Compared to current processes, plasma treatment technology eliminates or reduces sol-
vents, adhesion promoters, primers, volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, wastewater
Pfizer
Dewelopment
Plasmatreat North
Inc.; Ford
Company
49
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PPG Inc.
PPG Inc.
streams, non-degrading parts from landfills, and high energy use. Previously, the technology
had only been successful in treating small plastic components.
Plasmatreat and Ford Motor Company expanded plasma treatment technology to large,
complex parts such as automotive bumpers made of thermoplastic olefins. Transferring the
technology to large parts was difficult, primarily because suitable, large-scale processing equip-
ment did not exist. Ford's Dearborn, MI laboratory developed such equipment, opening a
huge market for Openair™ plasma technology. Large paint facilities adopting this technology
can eliminate annually over one million gallons of toxic wastewater and tens of thousands of
gallons of highly toxic sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid, and flocculating agents. Because
a single plasma treatment replaces multistage power-wash systems, dry-off ovens, solvent wip-
ing, and adhesion-promoting primers, the process has a shorter cycle time and a smaller fixed
capital investment. During 2008, two patent applications wrere filed for the technology.
Green Logic™: Chitosan-Enbanced Paint Detackifier
GREEN LOGIC™ is a liquid, chitosan-containing, paint denaturant technology that pro-
vides an alternative to traditional chemistries based on mclamine—formaldehyde or acrylic
acid. Paint denaturants, also referred to as "paint detackifiers", are added to the water curtain
circulating in downdraft, water-washed paint spray booths to render oversprayed paint non-
sticky. In traditional, wet paint spraying operations used in automotive original equipment
manufacturing (OEM), only 50-80 percent of the paint is transferred to the vehicle; the
residual 20-50 percent remains in the air until it is trapped in the circulating wrater curtain.
The chemicals added to the water curtain detackify, coagulate, and flocculate this oversprayed
paint, allowing it to be removed from the water later. The available melamine—formaldehyde-
based detackifiers contain small amounts of free formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. The
alternative acrylic acid based paint denaturants rely on two nonrenewrable petroleum-based
feedstocks: ethylene and propylene.
PPG derives its GREEN LOGIC™ technology from the chitin of crab, lobster, and shrimp
shells that are waste products of food production. Chitosan, the main component of GREEN
LOGIC™ technology, is poly(glucosamine), a glucosamine polysaccharide structurally similar
to cellulose. PPG's technology requires less overall tackification chemical and reduces the use
of sodium hydroxide by 87 percent. Chitosan has been demonstrated to have antimicrobial
properties and, therefore, it decreases the use of hazardous biocides. GREEN LOGIC"" ex-
hibits superior foam control, which reduces environmental stack emissions. The GREEN
LOGIC'™ technology has performed as well as and in some cases better than traditional prod-
ucts used in this area while providing significant cost savings to customers and reducing their
carbon footprints. Financial data from a number of customers show a 40-percent savings in
wastewrater treatment (approximately 5.5 million gallons per year per plant) and a 28-percent
overall process savings. Seventeen automobile manufacturing plants in the United States are
currently using this technology.
Zircobond™ Pretreatment
Pretreatments protect metal substrates against corrosion and improve adhesion of paints.
Conventional zinc phosphate pretreatment forms a sludge byproduct containing suspected
carcinogens and heavy metals such as zinc, nickel, and manganese that are hazardous and
subject to environmental regulations. These heavy metals also create challenges in wastewater
management. Increasing demand for the raw materials used for zinc phosphate pretreatment
is also rapidly outpacing the capacity of suppliers worldwide.
PPG has developed Zircobond™ pretreatment as an alternative to conventional pretreat-
ment technologies. The Zircobond™ process is based on dilute, aqueous fluorozirconic acid. It
50
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contains no regulated heavy metals, phosphates, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). With
its zirconium-based chemistry, Zircobond'" pretreatment uses a more stable supply chain and
alleviates some of the strain on supplies of zinc, manganese, nickel, and phosphoric acid,
which are used by other industries such as farming and steel. It can be used in existing equip-
ment and is sate tor the conventional waste treatment systems in most manufacturing facilities
following a simple pH adjustment.
Zircobond'" pretreatment provides manufacturers with a new, environmentally friendly op-
tion with greener chemicals and reaction conditions. It generates at least 80-percent less sludge
than do conventional processes; this translates to significant savings on waste disposal costs,
as well as fewer stage cleanings and boil-outs. In addition to savings on maintenance, PPG s
new chemistry operates in an ambient temperature bath that requires minimal agitation and
fewer water rinses than do current processes. The result is substantial operating savings from
reductions in energy use, water consumption, and wastewater treatment. Brownfield automo-
tive plants that have converted to Zircobond™ pretreatment demonstrate potential annual op-
erating savings of almost $600,000. The savings in greenfield facilities are more than double:
there, the smaller process footprint can save millions on new capital costs. In 2008, the first
commercial launch took place in Canada.
Chemical Conversion of Post-Consumer Recycled
Polyethylene Terephthalate Waste into Sustainable Valox
/Q™ andXenoy /Q™Engineering Thermoplastic Products
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin for soft drink bottles is made from virgin, petro-
leum-based terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG). After use, most PET bottles are
discarded as waste. U.S. consumers generate approximately five billion pounds of PET bottle
waste each year. Another resin typically made from virgin, petroleum-based TPA is polybu-
tylene terephthalate (PBT). PBT is an important engineering thermoplastic commonly used
in durable applications such as automotive components and electrical devices. PBT is usually
comingled with other polymers and is not practical for recycling. PET scrap, however, is a
good source of TPA for use in making polyesters such as PBT.
SAB 1C Innovative Plastics has developed a novel approach to chemically ''up-cycle" PET
waste into durable PBT-based products. The PET waste is chemically decomposed to oligom-
ers using excess ethylene glycol, a catalyst, and heat. The recovered TPA oligomers are trans-
esterified with butanediol and repolymerized; ethylene glycol, excess butanediol, and other
volatile components are recovered by distillation. The result is Valox iQ1™ PBT neat resin.
The Valox iQ™ PBT neat resins and the molding compositions containing them exhibit per-
formance equivalent to materials made by conventional methods. This chemical up-cycling
process converts single-use, nondurable PET objects like water bottles into molding composi-
tions containing Valox iQ"" PBT neat resins for durable applications.
SAB 1C has commercialized these environmentally sustainable products under the trade
names Valox iQ™ and Xenoy iQ™ resins. These resins have up to 65-percent carbon content
from recycled waste. The environmental benefits of Valox iQ™ and Xcnoy iQ™ resins in-
clude up to 55-75-percent reduction in both carbon dioxide emissions and process energy.
These benefits are accomplished without sacrificing the quality of the final product. During
2008, the first full year of commercialization, the materials were used successfully in more
than 20 applications, generating $3-5 million in sales.
SABIC Innowatiwe
Plastics
51
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The
Sherwin-Williams
Company
The
Sherwin-Williams
Company
High-Solids Hybrid Sucrose Ester Polymer Technology
In 2007, the U.S. paint market included approximately 500 million gallons of solvent-
borne paints and coatings. In general, these were solvent-rich, oil-based products containing
over 350 grams per liter of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Upcoming regulations in
the United States, however, are tightening the limits for VOCs in coatings, especially archi-
tectural and industrial coatings. As one example, EPA's VOC targets for 2010 are less than
100 grams per liter tor non-flat architectural coatings. These and other regulations have neces-
sitated a search for alternate, VOC-compliant products that feel and apply by brush, roller,
and spray like high-VOC coatings.
Sherwin-Williams developed its innovative, high-solids, hybrid sucrose ester polymer tech-
nology to address this urgent need. Sherwin-Williams's novel, high-solids, oxidative cross-
linking hybrid sucrose ester technology uses a modified sucrose ester technology from the
Procter and Gamble Company (P&G). At the request of Sherwin-Williams, P&G converted
its Sucrose Ester 7-75 (Sefose*1 7.75, which has no reactive groups) into a reactive Sucrose Ester
6.0 (Sefose*9 6.0) with two reactive hydroxyls available for further modification.
Sherwin-Williams then acrylated Sucrose Ester 6.0 with methacrylic anhydride in a sol-
ventless process to obtain a 100-percent-solids acrylated sucrose ester polymer. This ester
polymer was formulated, scaled-up, and commercialized into pigmented, oil-based coatings
with excellent performance and application features tor architectural and industrial mainte-
nance applications. A single coat of the higher-solids product gives the opacification desired
by customers. Subsequently, Sherwin-Williams replaced methacrylic anhydride with glycidyl
methacrylate for industrial applications; this second-generation technology was acrylated and
urethanated without generating waste byproducts via ring-opening of the epoxide.
This technology is enabling Sherwin-Williams to market the only compliant, oil-based,
pigmented coating in the United States with VOCs less than half of the current oil-based
coatings. In 2006 and 2007, Sherwin-Williams filed a patent application and commercialized
three products using this technology.
Waterborne Hybrid Cross-linking Dispersion
Technology
The recent record-high cost and uncertain availability of petroleum- and oil-based raw
materials makes complete dependence on synthetic raw materials questionable. Further, the
tightening of volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations by the Ozone Transport Com-
mission (OTC) and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) is ne-
cessitating VOC-compliant waterborne technologies that perform like solventborne coatings
in industrial and architectural applications. Current technologies are challenged to meet the
performance of the solventborne coatings that are being restricted by regulation.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is commonly used in beverage bottles; it is recyclable
but typically ends up in landfills. Sherwin-Williams has developed chemistry to use PET as
an inexpensive starting material. Sherwin-Williams depolymerized post-industrial, recycled,
or virgin PET with soy fatty acids and a tin catalyst and then added trimethylol ethane to
repolymerize it into a polyester. This soy—PET liquid polyester was grafted with hydrophobic
and hydrophilic acrylic monomers in the presence of soybean oil (a reactive diluent) instead of
solvent. The anionic prcpolymcr was dispersed in water using tricthylaminc under high-shear
conditions and then the resulting dispersion was formulated into a pigmented coating.
Sherwin-Williams's new coating performs as well as a typical oil-based coating, but contains
VOCs of less than 100 grams per liter. This technology takes advantage of the hardness of the
52
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polyester and the flexibility of soy oil to replace solvent and combine the durability of acryl-
ics with the dry times of alkyds. The resulting resin incorporates about 30-percent renewable
materials and 15-percent post-industrial PET. Sherwin-Williams is targeting its technology
as a protective finish over metal substrates and as an adhesion modifier and gloss enhancer
in combination with latex emulsions for architectural coatings. Sherwin-Williams scaled up
its synthesis and performed testing and validation of its high-gloss coatings during 2008 in
anticipation of commercial launch in early 2009-
An Environmentally Friendly Alternative for Cleaning
Surgical Instruments in Healthcare Facilities
Cleaning is the single most important step in processing surgical instruments for reuse. In-
struments must be cleaned effectively each and every time they are used. Instrument cleaning,
as defined by the Association for Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), is "the
removal, usually with detergent and water, of adherent visible soil, blood, protein substances,
and other debris from the surfaces, crevices, serrations, joints, and lumens of instruments, de-
vices, and equipment by a manual or mechanical process that prepares items for safe handling
and/or further decontamination." Any inorganic or organic soils that are not removed during
cleaning can interfere with subsequent disinfection and sterilization. Repeated exposure to
harsh chemicals can damage surgical instruments and shorten their useful life, increasing both
costs and wraste. Current, traditional cleaners are widely used but have several disadvantages:
poor substrate compatibility, ineffective cleaning performance, and ingredients that are not
environmentally friendly.
STERIS developed and introduced Prolystica*1 Ultra Concentrate cleaning chemistries in
2006. This product line includes a neutral pH enzymatic presoak and cleaner, a neutral de-
tergent, and an alkaline detergent with lower alkalinity. "Whereas many traditional cleaners
contain surfactants that are biodegradable, Prolystica8' Ultra Concentrate cleaning chemistries
also contain biodegradable corrosion inhibitors and chelating/sequestering agents. All three
formulations are free of phosphate, nonylphenol ethoxylates, and other such ingredients with
negative environmental impact. Therefore, the small amount of cleaning chemicals in the ef-
fluent after the wash cycle is expected to have minimal impact. These 10-fold concentrated
cleaning chemistries provide leading cleaning and protection for surgical instruments and are
also environmentally friendly. The smaller product containers of the Prolystica5" Ultra Con-
centrate products reduce the amount of waste generated for disposal and increase staff safety.
Overall, Prolystica® Ultra Concentrate products with biodegradable formulas reduce ship-
ment fuel costs, plastic packaging consumption, and chemicals used per wash cycle.
An Alternative to Aldehyde-Based Liquid Chemical
Sterilants High-Level Disinfectants for Reprocessing
Heat-Sensitive, Semi-Critical Medical Instruments
High-level disinfectants (HLDs) are used to decontaminate semi-critical medical instru-
ments. Currently, aldehyde-based HLD solutions such as glutaraldehyde and ortho-phthalal-
dehyde are widely used to reprocess heat-sensitive, semi-critical medical instruments, such as
flexible endoscopes and imaging probes, primarily because they are compatible, reusable up
to 14 days, and cost-effective. Aldehydes have a number of disadvantages, however; they are
skin and respiratory allergens, they are not easily rinsed from treated instruments, and some
organisms are resistant to them.
Resert™ XL HLD High Level Disinfectant is a 21-day, reusable liquid chemical ste-
rilant and high-level disinfectant for safely reprocessing heat-sensitive, compatible medical
STERIS Corporation
STERIS Corporation;
Virox Technologies
53
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Thermphos USA
Corp.
devices. STERIS developed Resert™ XL HLD solution from Virox's activated hydrogen per-
oxide (AHP'M) platform technology, a patented combination of 93-percent water, 2-percent
hydrogen peroxide, hydrotropes, pH buffering agents to maintain pH 2.4, and other inert
ingredients that optimize the hydrogen peroxide stability during storage and use. The rather
mild, nonreactive nature of the components in the mixture and the low levels at which they
are formulated make the solution ideal both for processing flexible medical devices and for
ensuring complete disinfection, even in the presence of organic matter.
The Resert™ solution overcomes all of the negative characteristics of aldehydes. It is cost-
effective, virtually odorless, clear, nonstaining, nontoxic, nonsensitizing, nonflammable, non-
combustible, and easily rinsed from instruments. Unlike aldehydes, it requires no treatment to
neutralize spent solution prior to disposal. Moreover, the Resert™ solution is very fast-acting,
achieving tuberculoddal activity in 8 minutes at 20 °C, as opposed to 12 minutes for ortho-
phthalaldehyde and 45 minutes at 25 °C for most glutaraldehyde products.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared this technology for sale in the United
States and STERIS commercialized it under the brand name, Resert™ XL HLD High Level
Detergent during 2008.
Dequesf*'PB Carboxymethyl Inulin: A Versatile Scale
Inhibitor Made from the Roots of Chicory
Fouling of surfaces by mineral salts is a major problem in water-bearing systems. Scal-
ing reduces the efficiency of heat transfer and interferes with the operational performance of
industrial processes. Similarly, hardness ions hinder the efficiency of detergents and cleaning
processes. Scale inhibitors are used to prevent the deposition of inorganic scales on surfaces.
Previously, scale inhibitors were either products with poor biodcgradability and moderate tox-
icity but good performance or biodegradable products with limited applicability Previous
products did not use renewable resources.
Carboxymethyl inulin (CMI) is based on inulin, an oligosaccharide harvested from the
roots of chicory. Although CMI is a biotic material, it does not compete with the production
of food crops. CMI provides an environmentally friendly, cost-effective, safe, and versatile
alternative to traditional threshold scale inhibitors that are used in a wide variety of industrial
applications. Moreover, CMI has interesting chelation properties (especially for calcium and
magnesium) and has excellent dispersant properties, which make it an attractive ingredient for
household detergents.
Current commercial applications for CMI include household, industrial, and institutional
detergents and cleaners, secondary oil recovery, and pulp and paper processing. Because CMI
is stable in the presence of low levels of oxidizing agents like hydrogen peroxide, it can be used
as a co-builder and anti-redeposition aid in detergent formulations that contain bleach activa-
tor systems. CMI also is a suitable replacement for poorly biodegradable scale inhibitors in wa-
ter and process water treatment, sugar refining applications, and other industrial applications.
CMI neither contains nor releases nitrogen or phosphorus. CMI is not a very strong chelant of
transition metals and, therefore, does not contribute to the mobilization of heavy metals.
Solutia developed CMI in collaboration with Royal Cosun. In 2007, Solutia transferred
the Dequest18 business, including this technology, to Thermphos. During 2008, a Thermphos
breakthrough in commercial detergent applications led to a ten-fold increase in U.S. sales.
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Vulkem 950NF: A Renewable, Polyol-Based,
High-Solids, Low-Odor, Ultra-Low-VOC,
"Neighbor-Friendly" Polyurethane Top Coat for Use in
Vehicular, Pedestrian, Specialty Applications
Polyurethane (PU) coatings have been the industry staple for several decades in water-
proofing, providing protection to parking garages, pedestrian walkways, and other specialty
applications. These coatings are traditionally solvent-based, derived from petroleum, odorous,
and high in volatile organic compounds (VOCs). They have a limited product life, especially
when exposed to abrasion and common household and institutional chemicals such as mo-
tor oil and bleach. In addition, most PU coatings also contain plasticizers such as phthalates,
fillers such as fumed silica and titanium dioxide, and catalysts such as organotin complexes
or amines. Although coatings across the market have been moving toward lower-odor, lower-
VOC, higher-performance versions, the petroleum base of PU chemistry has remained rela-
tively unchanged.
Tremco has developed Vulkem 950NF, a polyurethane top coat that replaces traditional
petroleum-based polyols with a proprietary polyol mixture based on castor oil. The replace-
ment polyols have a lower viscosity than others on the market and comprise approximately
45 percent of the Vulkem 950NF formulation. The strong cross-links and intermolecular
interactions within the polymeric matrix of Vulkem 950NF produce a harder-curing PU film
with unprecedented abrasion resistance. As a result, Vulkem 950NF has twice the lifespan of
traditional coatings, and Tremco now offers a ten-year warranty for it, which is double the
industry standard. Vulkem 950NF is also less dependent on solvent, allowing for an industry-
leading, "Neighbor Friendly", low-odor product that has a VOC content less than 20 grams
per liter, once thought theoretically impossible. Altogether, Vulkem 950NF has raised the
bar on an industry staple, providing better wear, very low VOCs, renewable technology, and
energy savings.
Tremco commercialized this technology in December 2005- During Tremco's most recent
fiscal year, sales of Vulkem 950.NF reached one million dollars. Because Vulkem 950NF per-
forms so well and has been such a financial success, Tremco is currently pursuing additional
enhancements to increase the sustainability of this product even more.
Diesel DeNOx Catalyst
By 2014, EPA will implement more stringent standards restricting emissions from heavy-
duty diesel vehicles. These standards are creating a market for products that reduce diesel
emissions.
Argonne National Laboratory has developed a technology to remove nitrogen oxides (NOx)
from diesel exhaust gases. The Argonne Diesel DeNOx Catalyst works by selective catalytic
reduction of NOx to N? using diesel fuel hydrocarbons as the reducing agent. The catalyst
formulation is based on copper zeolite formulations (Cu-ZSM-5) that can reduce NOx, but
are unstable. Argonne added a cerium oxide coating over the Cu-ZSM-5 formulation, which
improved both the catalyst's long-term stability and its activity at lower temperatures. This
catalyst is effective and economical when used with the ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel that is now
required for on-highway use. In contrast to other systems, Argonne's system performs better
in the presence of water vapor, making it ideal for automotive and truck exhaust systems,
which always contain water. The DeNOx system can be installed on both existing and new
vehicles.
Tremco
U.S. of
Energy,
Laboratory
55
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Argonne's Diesel DeNOx Catalyst is a totally passive, easy-to-use system that converts
95-100 percent of NOx to atmospheric nitrogen (NTz) and meets EPA's standards. It is ex-
pected to have lower manufacturing and installation costs than competing technologies. The
materials used to produce the system are relatively inexpensive and nontoxic. The catalyst is
expected to have a long lifetime.
Integrated Fuels Technology (IFT) is collaborating with Argonne to develop this tech-
nology. By combining its own fuel-saving technologies with Argonne's DeNOx formu-
lation, IFT expects to advance its integrated approach to emissions control and achieve
substantial NOx reduction without adversely affecting other performance-enhancing or
emission-reducing technologies. Currently, IFT is refining the design and manufacturing
methods for the product. Promising future markets include passenger vehicles and station-
ary sources including industrial diesel engines, coal-fired power plants, and methane-fueled
"peaker" powrer plants.
U.S.
of Energy,
Argonne
National
Laboratory
Resin Wafer Technology
Resin wafer technology enables electrodeionization (EDI) to be extended wrell beyond its
conventional applications in ultrapure water production to new processes in biobased chemi-
cal production, industrial water management, chemical production and purification, carbon
dioxide (CC>2) capture, and, potentially, hydrogen production. EDI is an electrically driven
process that separates dilute, charged species from process streams at higher efficiency than
electrodialysis, its lower-tech counterpart. Resin wafer technology replaces the loose ion ex-
change resins used for conventional EDI. The performance advantages of resin wafers include
(1) controlled porosity, which makes stream flow more efficient; (2) enhanced ion conduc-
tivity, which reduces power consumption; and (3) reduced leakage, which increases product
recovery and cuts loss to waste streams. Resin wafer technology provides new functionalities
not available with conventional EDI. These include direct immobilization of biocatalysts,
which allows integrated bioconversion and separations; modification of wafer composition
and format, which increases ion selectivity and direct pH control; and even in situ catalysis.
Resin wrafer technology also offers the following significant green chemistry benefits: It
reduces the cost of producing biobased chemicals, providing economic drivers for emerging
biorefineries to displace petrorefineries. It decreases the use of fresh water and the release of
wastewater in power plants. It reduces energy and chemical use during the production of or-
ganic adds, esters, and other chemicals. It enables CO2 capture from flue gases in coal power
plants, and it potentially enables enhanced hydrogen production from water.
Argonne has received technical and financial support from Archer Daniels Midland Com-
pany for biobased products, Nalco Company for water management, Carbozyme Inc. for
CO2 capture, and the Department of Energy for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and
fossil energy. During 2008, Argonne scaled up the technology and demonstrated it success-
fully on a pilot-plant scale. During the past 18 months, Argonne has been negotiating with
commercial entities to commercialize the technology.
Inc.
Renewable-Resource Industrial Products
Zep has developed and introduced into the marketplace two innovative, high-performance,
industry-oriented, chemical-specialty products that are safer for users and have reduced en-
vironmental impact. These products are Zep Shell Shock heavy-duty hand cleaner and
Zep 70 Liquid penetrating lubricant. Both products incorporate soy methyl ester solvent
(methyl soyate) derived from soybean oil, a renewable resource. Methyl soyatc is a 100-
56
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percent-biodegradable solvent that contains less than 50 grams per liter of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) and has a flash point above 300 °F, It can replace the nonrenewable,
petroleum-derived solvents that are typically used in these types of products.
Shell Shock contains over 87 percent of renewable ingredients. In addition to methyl soyate,
Shell Shock also contains sterilized walnut shell abrasive, which is a biodegradable, renewable-
resource material that facilitates the removal of heavy soils from the hands. The walnut shell
abrasive replaces nonrenewable pumice, which is typically used in heavy-duty industrial hand
soaps. Zep's Shell Shock is formulated as an oil-in-water microemulsion that leaves hands
clean, soft, and moisturized. Traditional petroleum solvent-based industrial hand cleaners with
pumice tend to leave hands dry and chapped, especially during the low-humidity, winter
months. The cost of Shell Shock is similar to that of traditional pumice and petroleum-based
products.
Zep 70 is a nontraditional, penetrating lubricant that is an excellent alternative to petro-
leum-based lubricants. It provides equal if not better penetration, corrosion inhibition, and
lubrication. It is formulated with more than 80-percent renewable ingredients, including soy
methyl esters.
Zep has marketed Shell Shock and Zep 70 for the last 3-5 years and has received com-
mendable feedback from its customers on the performance of both products. Since
2006, the Zep Shell Shock and Zep 70 formulations with soy methyl esters have displaced over
312,000 pounds of petroleum solvents.
-------
-------
with *.
3M
Reformulation of3M™ Neutral Cleaner and 3M™ General Purpose Cleaner for
the 3M™ Twist 'n Fill™ Chemical Management System Reduces Air Pollution and
Employee Health Hazards 33
Inc.
RegenSi™: Low-Carbon-Footprint Wafer Reclaim Solution Extends the Lifecycle of
Silicon Test Wafers 33
LLC
Replacement of Phosphates in Automatic Dishwashing Detergents with GLDA,
a Readily Biodegradable Chelating Agent Manufactured from a
Renewable Feedstock 34
Gill,
LabRATS, of California,
The University of California, Santa Barbara Green Chemistry Initiative 9
LLC
Inert Filler TB-1 34
A. S. Trust & Inc.
A Climate-Friendly Hydrocarbon Refrigerant for Safer, More-Efficient Cooling . . . 19
Pulp Mill Defoamers Based on Vegetable Oil 35
Inc.
Water-Eased Refractory Coatings with Wet/Dry Color Change Indication 35
E.
The Mcgyan Process: A Green Synthetic Route for Biodiesel Production. ......... 10
The
Innovative Industrial Process Using Hydrogen Peroxide to Synthesize
Propylene Oxide 41
Environmentally Friendly Biobased Plasticizers for Polyvinyl Chloride 36
LLC
AURA* Infusion Technology: A Green Method to Incorporate Color and
Performance Additives 37
IMPACT Technology: A Greener Poly ether Poly ol Process, ................... 37
Inc.
Spray-Dried Dispersions Based on Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose Acetate
Succinatefor Delivery of Low-Solubility Drugs 19
59
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*Carnegie
ChempolaMPS Resins and Sefose* Sucrose Esters Enable High-Performance
Low-VOCAlkydPaints and Coatings 3
*CEM
Innovative Analyzer Tags Proteins for Fast, Accurate Results without Hazardous
Chemicals or High Temperatures 6
Inc.
Lysine Phosphonate Scale Inhibitor: Improved Biodegradation While
Maintaining Performance over Traditional Phosphonates 38
Natular: Engineering Green Chemistry for Mosquito Control 38
The
GreenWorks™ Natural Cleaners from the Makers ofClorox: Home
Cleaning Products 39
Inc.
Greening Atorvastatin Manufacture: Replacing a Wasteful, Cryogenic Borohydride
Reduction with a Green-by-Design, More Economical Biocatalytic Reduction
for a Higher Quality Product. 20
Rapid Enablement of Gj'een, Economic Processes for Chiral Alcohols by the
Codex™ Panel of Recombinant, Robust, Divergent Evolvants of One
Ancestral Ketoreducta.se 21
Corporation;
Carbon Blacker™ Fly Ash Conditioning Treatment 24
Fluid Power LLC
Nitro-tuff Tubes: Eliminating Genotoxic Carcinogenic Waste in Cylinder Tubes . ... 21
*Cook The &
ChempolssMPS Resins and Sefose® Sucrose Esters Enable High-Performance
Low-VOC Alkyd Paints and Coatings 7
Corrosion-Control Chemicals Based on Sustainable Resources 22
Inc.
Socialite Scale Inhibitor 40
Inc.; TDA Inc.
Replacement for Solvent-Based, Chromate-Containing Primer 40
Jr., of
University of
Liquid but Nonvolatile Sulfonic Acids and Amines: Greener Chemicals for
Greening Processes 9
60
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Smart Release"" Technology: Intelligent, Green, Water Treatment.............. 22
Recycling Carbon Dioxide into Carbon-Neutral Liquid Fuels 23
The
Glycerin to Epichlorohydrin Process: How Green is my Epichlorohydrin?. ........ 40
The Company; AG
Innovative Industrial Process Using Hydrogen Peroxide to Synthesize
Propylene Oxide................................................. 41
DuPont; International, Inc.
Refrigerant for Automotive Air Conditioning with Low Global
Warming Potential 45
Chlorantraniliprole: Designing Green Chemistry for Insect Control 42
Inc.;
Uniwersity; Uniwersity of
EarthTec*: Green Water Treatment ................................... 15
A Solvent-Free Bio catalytic Process for Cosmetic and Personal Care Ingredients 5
Inc.
Wash 'n Walk™ Floor Care System 42
Eli Lilly
New Manufacturing Route for Arzoxifene Hydrochloride 43
Ltd.;
Carbon Blacker'" Fly Ash Conditioning Treatment 24
Inc.
Ecomate®: An Environmentally Benign Blowing Agent for Polyurethane Foams . . . 43
Inc.
Openair™ Plasma Surface Treatment: Reducing Emissions of Volatile Organic
Compounds and Improving Environmentally Sensitive Paint Processes 49
Inc.
Chemical Treatment Modeling and Optimization Software: The French Creek
Software Calculation Engine........................................ 24
Genomatica
Sustainable Chemicals from Renewable Resources: A. Breakthrough for
Biomanufacturing. ............................................... 25
61
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Gill,
LabRATS, of California,
The University of California, Santa Barbara Green Chemistry Initiative 9
Novel, Solvent-Free, Fluoropolymer Coating Process 25
E.,
The Mcgyan Process: A Green Synthetic Route for Biodiesel Production 10
Aquence* Autodeposition Coating: The Smart Coating Solution ............... 44
Bonderite* TecTalis: Next-Generation Coating 44
Inc.; DuPont
Refrigerant for Automotive Air Conditioning with Low Global Warming Potential. .45
Manufacturing More Efficient Fuel Cells to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions . ... 46
IEQ, Inc.
Green Chemistry for Energy Conservation and Indoor Environmental Quality 26
Inc.; Virox
Development of Sustainable Disinfectants 46
of
for by
Green Process for Unfolding Soy Protein Polymers for Green Adhesives ........... 16
ICTIV1 of
University
Biodegradable, Chemically Modified Starch Polymers for Protective Foam
Packaging and Insulation Applications 13
Liao, C., of
of California,
Los
Biosynthesis of Higher Alcohols from Renewable Carbon Sources 10
H., of
of California,
LLC
Getting Organic Solvents Out of Organic Reactions 11
LS9f Inc.
MicrobialProduction of UltraClean'™Diesel ............................. 27
62
-------
IVIacGilliwray, R., of
of
Template-Controlled Reactivity in the Organic Solid State 12
of of
California,
High-Yield Conversion of Plant Biomass into a New Generation ofBiofueis. ..... 12
Chempol*MPS Resins andSefose* Sucrose Esters Enable High-Performance
Low-VOCAlkydPaints and Coatings .................................. 3
& Co.
Green Chemistry in Action: A Remarkably Efficient and Sustainable Synthesis
of the HIV Integra.se Inhibitor, Ra.ltegra.vir™ 47
Method Smarty Dish for Fish: An Environmentally Responsible and Effective
Cleaning Solution: No Phosphates, Acrylates, or Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid. . 27
University, of
Industries
Biodegradable, Chemically Modified Starch Polymers for Protective Foam
•locations. ................................ 13
Milliken & Company
TractionBack<&: Alternative Green Adhesives Solutions for Textile Composites
Used in Commercial Buildings 47
Revolutionizing Insect and Weed Control: Eollyard* Insect-Protected
o o
Cotton Technology and Bollgard II* Cotton with Roundup Ready* Flex for
HerbicideTolerance 48
of
iCTivi
Biodegradable, Chemically Modified Starch Polymers for Protective Foam
Packaging and Insulation Applications 13
of
Highly Efficient, Practical Monohydrolysis of Symmetric Diesters. ............. 13
University,
of Inc.
EarthTec*: Green Water Treatment................................... 15
63
-------
The Uniwersity, of Chemistry,
T. ¥.
Etbylene in Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis: A General Route to Profen
Drugs from Styrene Derivatives and a General Solution to the Exocyclic
Stereochemistry Problem 14
LLC
Cleaning and Disinfecting with Ozone: Making Green Chemistry with
WhiteWater™ Ozone. .............................................. 28
A Green, Energy-Efficient, Biocatalytic Process to Manufacture Pregabaiin. ...... .49
Inc.;
Openair"" Plasma Surface Treatment: Reducing Emissions of Volatile Organic
Compounds and Improving Environmentally Sensitive Paint Processes .......... 49
Inc.
Green Logic"": Chitosan-EnhancedPaint Detackifier 50
Zircobond™ Pretreatment 50
*The &
Chempol"'MPS Resins andSefose® Sucrose Esters Enable High-Performance
Low-VOC Alkyd Paints and Coatings ................................... 7
T. V. of The
Ethylene in Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis: A General Route to Profen
Drugs from Styrene Derivatives and a. General Solution to the Exocyclic
Stereochemistry Problem ............................................ 14
of
Inc.
EarthTec"': Green Water Treatment 15
Chemical Conversion of Post-Consumer Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate Waste
into Sustainable Valox /'Q™ andXenoy /Q™'Engineering Thermoplastic Products . . . 51
E.
The Me-gyan Process: A Green Synthetic Route for Biodiesei Production. .......... 10
Phillip E.,
Uniwersity of
Terephthalic Acid Synthesis at High Concentrations in High-Temperature
Liquid Water[[[ 15
-------
The
High-Solids Hybrid Sucrose Ester Polymer Technology...................... 52
Waterborne Hybrid Cross-linking Dispersion Technology 52
Inc.
Renewable Oil Production from Algae as a Replacement for Petroleum-Based
Products. [[[ 29
of A.
Wender
Green Chemistry through Function-Oriented Synthesis, Step Economy, and
Ideal Synthesis .................................................. 16
STERIS
An Environmentally Friendly Alternative for Cleaning Surgical Instruments in
Healthcare Facilities 53
STERIS Corporation; Virox
An Alternative to Aldehyde-Based Liquid Chemical Sterilants and
High-level Disinfectants for Reprocessing Heat-Sensitive, Semi-Critical
Medical Instruments 55
Sun, of
for by
Uniwersity
Green Process for Unfolding Soy Protein Polymers for Green Adhesives 16
TDA Inc.; Inc.
Replacement for Solvent-Based, Chromate-Containing Primer. ............... 29
Uniwersitf, of Chemistry
Highly Efficient, Practical Mono hydrolysis of Symmetric Diesters 13
Corp.
Dequest9 PB Carboxymethyl Inulin: A Versatile Scale Inhibitor Made from the
Roots of Chicory ................................................. 54
Vulkem 950NF: A Renewable, Polyol-Based, High-Solids, Low-Odor,
Ultra-Low-VOC, "Neighbor-Friendly" Polyurethane Top Coat for Use in
Vehicular, Pedestrian, and Specialty Applications 55
U.S. of
Diesel DeNOX Catalyst ........................................... 55
Resin Wafer Technology 56
University of California, Dawis, of Chemistry,
High-Yield Conversion of Plant Biomass into a New Generation ofBiofuels. ..... 12
-------
of California, Los of
Chemical C.
Biosynthesis of Higher Alcohols from Renewable Carbon Sources ................ 10
of California, of
H. LLC
Getting Organic Solvents Out of Organic Reactions ......................... 11
of California,
Gill
The University of California, Santa Barbara Green Chemistry Initiative 9
of
(ACRES) for
P.
Biobased Polymers and Composites 17
Uniwersity of of Chemistry, R.
MacGillivray
Template-Controlled Reactivity in the Organic Solid State. .................... 12
of
Phillip E.
Terephthalic Acid Synthesis at High Concentrations in High-Temperature
Liquid Water 15
University of Missouri, Uniwersity,
Inc.
EarthTec®: Green Water Treatment ..................................... 15
of of Chemistry,
Jr.
Liquid but Nonvolatile Sulfonic Acids and Amines: Greener Chemicals for
Greening Processes 9
¥eruTEIC Inc.
Green Synthesis ofNanometal Catalysts and Plant Surfactant-Based, In Situ
Chemical Oxidation for Sustainable Treatment and Remediation ............... .30
*Virerrt Inc.
BioForming® Process: Catalytic Conversion of Plant Sugars into Liquid
Hydrocarbon Fuels 4
Inc.
Development of Sustainable Disinfectants. ................................ 46
STE1IS
An Alternative to Aldehyde-Eased Liquid Chemical Sterilants and High-Level
Disinfectants for Reprocessing Heat-Sensitive, Semi-Critical Medical Instruments ... 53
66
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Inc.
Sustainable, Natural Green Chemistry for Cooling Water Treatment 31
A., of
Uniwersitf
Green Chemistry through Function-Oriented Synthesis, Step Economy, and
Ideal Synthesis 16
Wool, P.,
(ACRES) for
of
Biobased Polymers and Composites 17
Inc.
Cellulose-Based Fuels and Intermediate Chemicals 31
Inc.
Renewable-Resource Industrial Products 56
LLC; H. of
of California,
Getting Organic Solvents Out of Organic Reactions 11
-------
w
Printed on 100% recycled/recyclable paper with a minimum 50% post-consumer waste using vegetable inks.
Office of Pollution 744K09001
Prevention and June 2009
\^tnr\ Toxics (7406M) www.epa.gov
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