Sustainable Solvents

Solvents are ubiquitous throughout the chemical industry and are found in many consumer products. As a result, interest in solvents and their environmental impact has been steadily increasing. However, in order to achieve maximum integration of new green solvents into the relevant chemical sectors, clarification of the social, economic, and environmental implications of solvent substitution are needed. This book explores the solvent life cycle, highlighting the challenges faced at various points, from production, through the supply-chain and downstream use to end-of-life treatment. It also discusses the potential benefits that a green chemistry and bio-based economy approach could bring. The current state-of-the-art of green solvents is evaluated along these lines, in addition to reviewing their applications with an appreciation of sustainability criteria. Providing a critical assessment on emerging solvents and featuring case studies and perspectives from different sectors, this is an important reference for academics and industrialists working with solvents, as well as policy-makers involved in bio-based initiatives.

James H Clark is Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, The University of York, UK. He has led the green chemistry movement in Europe for the last 15 years and was the first scientific editor of the journal Green Chemistry and is Editor-in-chief of the RSC Green Chemistry book series.

Andrew J. Hunt is the Scientific Leader of the alternative solvent technology platform at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, the University of York, UK. His research interests include elemental sustainability, solvents, supercritical fluids, waste utilisation and biorefineries.

James Sherwood is a Research Associate at the University of York, UK, where he works at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence. In addition to his work on solvent effects in organic synthesis, he is now conducting research on sustainability assessments for bio-based products.

Corrado Topi is a Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute Research Centre at the University of York, UK, where he focuses on sustainability, resilience and change in a context of integrated social, economic and environmental systems.

Giulia Paggiola is a Scientist within the Green Chemistry team at GlaxoSmithKline, UK. Prior to this, she was investigating the applicability of green solvents in biocatalysed processes and studied the potential for their uptake in the pharmaceutical industry.