News & Events

Current issues in green chemistry are covered in the Green Chemistry Network Newsletter

Jobs

Project Manager, Green Chemistry

McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) in Charlottesville, VA, is seeking candidates to fill the position of Project Manager, Green Chemistry.

Whorrod Research Fellowship in Sustainable Chemical Technologies

Fixed term post for 5 years, University of Bath, Bath, UK
Salary: Starting from £36,862, rising to £44,016
Closing Date: Monday 20 February 2012
http://www.bath.ac.uk/jobs/Vacancy.aspx?ref=JK866

News

How Companies Are Committing to Reduce Toxic Footprints

Companies need to move towards using greener chemicals because the principal drivers demanding such change -- science, regulation, and B2B environmentally preferable purchasing programs -- are surging and will intensify.
Date: November 30, 2009
Source: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/11/30/how-companies-are-committing-reduce-toxic-footprint

What's Better for Green Design: Glass or Ceramic?

One of our designers here at LUNAR was recently working on a project that required a material with a cold, smooth, high-quality feel, and she asked me which was a more sustainable material, ceramic or glass.
Source: http://www.greenerdesign.com/blog/2009/11/16/whats-better-green-design-glass-or-ceramic
Date: November 16, 2009

Car Makers Losing Fight Against EU Chemicals Ban

Automakers look set to fail in their attempts to delay an agreed 2011 European ban on climate-damaging chemicals in the air conditioners of new car models, a letter from the EU's industry chief shows. Automakers say they will need to invest an extra €40-200 (£35-172) per vehicle to meet the refrigerant standards, which would be difficult to pass on to consumers in the current tough economic climate.
Source: http://planetark.org/wen/53709
Date: 10-Jul-09/h2>

Huge Potential for Bioplastics

It almost sounds too good to be true - turning cow pats into plastic. But the unlikely-looking liquid in the flask Dr Steven Pratt holds is the key ingredient to an environmentally friendlier drink bottle.
Source: http://www.physorg.com/news72362504.html
Date: July 17

The Next Generation of Fireworks May All Be Green

Despite being a centrepiece of celebrations the world over, fireworks displays often release toxic chemicals into the environment, from heavy metals to perchlorate.An article published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology in 2009 found that, following a fireworks display, the amount of perchlorate in nearby bodies of water could increase by anywhere from 24 to 1,068 times the amount present before the fireworks, and that it takes 20 to 80 days for the chemical levels to subside.
Source: http://www.greenerdesign.com/news/2009/07/02/next-generation-fireworks-may-all-be-green
Date: July 02, 2009

New Race Car Made of Potatoes, Carrots and Powered by Chocolate

The University of Warwick's Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre have developed a race car, WorldFirst, which incorporates a wide range of green technologies including a steering wheel derived from carrots, a foam racing seat that uses flax fibre and soybean oil, a bib made from flax fibre, lubricants based on plant oils, and an "emission-destroying catalyst." The vehicle even runs on green materials boasting a biodiesel engine that has been designed to take fuel made from waste chocolate and vegetable oil.
Source: http://www.greenerdesign.com/news/2009/04/09/race-car-potatoes-carrots-chocolate
Date: April 09, 2009

Natureworks Finds Bioplastic Can be Sorted Out of Recycling Streams

One of the barriers to widespread adoption of bioplastic in food and drink packaging is that there are few systems for collection and disposing of bioplastic in compost facilities. In a survey of equipment manufacturers conducted by Natureworks, maker of polylactic acid-based Ingeo bioplastic, it was found that manufacturers had the potential to sort bioplastic from other plastics like PET, HDPE and PVC using infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray, colour identification and laser sorting with accuracy matching that of other sorting streams.
Source: http://www.greenerdesign.com/news/2009/02/23/natureworks-finds-bioplastic-can-be-sorted-out-recycling-streams
Date: February 23, 2009

Article in RSC Policy Bulletin: Greener Pharmaceutical Products

In a report commissioned by the RSC and AstraZeneca, the Green Chemistry Network looked at the issues surrounding the adoption of green chemistry techniques in drug design. Researchers and industrial chemists involved in all stages of drug design discussed the opportunities and barriers for lowering the environmental impact of drug synthesis.
To view the full article: http://www.rsc.org/images/Bulletin11_tcm18-143334.pdf
Date: February 2009

PET Project: Coke's Big Recycling Plant

The Coca-Cola Co. stages a grand opening for the world's largest bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in Spartanburg, S.C. Coke has said that it ultimately wants to recycle or reuse all of its plastic bottles and cans. The plant will have the capacity, when fully operational, to produce 100 million pounds of recycled PET plastic chips—enough to produce 2 billion 20-ounce bottles of Coke or Dasani or whatever.
Source: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/01/14/pet-project-coke-recycling
Date : January 14, 2009

Events

3rd Annual Next generation Bio-Based Chemicals

23-26 January 2012, San Diego, California, USA
http://informationforecastnet.com/index.php/conference/biobased12

Minnesota Green Chemistry Conference 2012: Strategies for Growth

26 January 2012, Minneapolis, USA
http://www.iatp.org/event/minnesota-green-chemistry-conference-2012-strategies-for-growth

2nd MUSC (Manufacturing Using Sustainable Chemistry) Meeting on Microwave Technology

16 February 2012, Biocentre, York Science Park
www.musc-network.co.uk/events.html

Bio-based Chemicals

13-14 March 2012, Rotterdam, Netherlands
www.worldbiofuelsmarkets.com/biochem

BioPower Generation

13-14 March, Rotterdam, Netherlands
www.worldbiofuelsmarkets.com/biopower

World Biofuels Market 2012

13-15 March 2012, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
http://www.worldbiofuelsmarkets.com/

Bio Based Chemicals 2012

13-14 March, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Bio Power Generation 2012

13-14 March, Rotterdam, Netherlands

World Biofuels Markets 2012

13-15 March, Rotterdam, Netherlands

www.greenpowerconferences.com

Green Polymer Chemistry 2012

International industry conference on the production of polymers and additives from sustainable sources. 20-22 March 2012, Maritim Hotel, Cologne, Germany
http://www2.amiplastics.com/Events

Environmental Microbiology & Biotechnology Conference

10-12 April 2012, Bologna, Italy
http://www.suschem.org/en/_event/emb-2012-10-12-april-bologna

SusChem’s 10th Annual Stakeholder Event

17-18 April 2012, Brussels, Belgium
http://www.suschem.org/en/_event/suschems-10th-annual-stakeholder-event

Biopolymer World Congress

23-24 April 2012, Mestre-Venice, Italy
http://www.biopolymerworld.com/

ACSEE 2012: The Asian Conference on Sustainability, Energy & the Environment

3-6 May 2012, Osaka, Japan
http://acsee.iafor.org/

7th Annual Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3) Innovators Roundtable

9-11 May 2012, Ann Arbor, Michigan
http://www.greenchemistryandcommerce.org/events.upcoming.php

Royal Society of Chemistry Symposium 2012: Not Costing the Earth – Profit from Green and Sustainable Chemistry

13-14 June 2012, Barcelona, Spain
http://www.rsc.org/ConferencesAndEvents/conference/alldetails.cfm?evid=108490

16th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference

18-20 June 2012, Washington, D.C., USA
http://acswebcontent.acs.org/gcande/

International Symposium on ‘Catalysis for Clean Energy and Sustainable Chemistry’, CCESC 2012

27-29 June, Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain
http://www.ccesc2012.net/index.html

4th International Eco Summit

30 September – 5 October 2012, Columbus, Ohio, USA
http://www.ecosummit2012.org/index.htm

All of the events listed have at least one session on green or environmental chemistry. If you know of other events which should be included, then please email us.