ABSTRACT
Green chemistry (environmentally benign chemistry) involves the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture, and application of chemical products (Kidwai and Mohan, 2005). In practice, green chemistry covers a much broader range of issues than the de nition suggests (Lancaster, 2000). In addition to using and producing better chemicals with less waste, green chemistry also involves reducing other associated environmental impacts, including a reduction in the amount of energy used in chemical processes (Kidwai and Mohan, 2005). Green chemistry is not different from traditional chemistry inasmuch as it embraces the same creativity and innovation that has always been central to classical chemistry. However, there is a crucial difference in that, historically, synthetic chemists have not been seen to rank the environment very high in their priorities (Kidwai and Mohan, 2005). However with an increased awareness for environmental protection, environmental pollution prevention, safer industrial ecology, and cleaner production technologies worldwide, there is a heightened interest and almost a grand challenge for chemists to develop new products, processes, and services that achieve the necessary social, economical, and environmental objectives. Since the types of chemicals and the types of transformations are very varied in the chemical industry and chemical research world, so are the green chemistry solutions that have been proposed. Anastas and Warner (1998) brilliantly developed “The twelve principles of green chemistry,” which are valuable benchmark guidelines for practicing chemists and engineers in developing and assessing how green a synthesis, compound, process, or technology is.
