Green chemistry: a tool for the sustainable development of the chemical industry

Mostmanufacturedproducts involve one or more chemical processes. We cannot imagine what our life will be like without the products produced by the chemical industry. However, on average, only a small proportion of the resources we take from the Earth is converted into the desired products in current chemical processes, and large amounts of wastes and hazardous materials are generated. How to supply humanity with enough food, energy, chemicals and materials sustainably, without damaging our planet, is an unavoidable issue. Green chemistry, which was established about two decades ago, has attracted much attention [1–3]. It reflects the efforts of academia and industry to address the challenges related to sustainable development of the chemical industry, and continuous progress is being made, both in academia and industry. Briefly, green chemistry is the utilization of a set of principles to reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and applications of chemical products [4]. Green chemistry is a multidisciplinary field and covers areas such as synthesis, solvents, catalysis, rawmaterials, products and efficient processes, as shown in Fig. 1.