Issue 5, 2023
From the journal:

Green Chemistry

The E factor at 30: a passion for pollution prevention

Roger Arthur Sheldon ORCID logo ab  

a Molecular Sciences Institute, School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
E-mail: roger.sheldon@wits.ac.za

b Biocatalysis & Organic Chemistry, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BL Delft, Netherlands
E-mail: r.a.sheldon@.tudelft.nl

Abstract

The introduction of the E Factor in 1992 focussed attention on the problem of waste generation, defined as everything but the desired product, in chemicals manufacture and gave rise to a paradigm shift in our concept of efficiency in chemical processes, from one based solely on chemical yield to one that assigns value to eliminating waste. Thirty years later, it has become clear that waste is the underlying cause of the major global environmental problems, from climate change to plastic pollution and that the solution to this ubiquitous waste problem is pollution prevention at source enabled by green and sustainable chemistry. The role played by (bio)catalysis, alternative solvents, the emergence of a carbon neutral circular economy based on renewable resources and the electrification of chemicals manufacture based on renewable energy in the drive towards pollution prevention and sustainable industries is delineated.

Graphical abstract: The E factor at 30: a passion for pollution prevention

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2GC04747K
Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
13 Dec 2022
Accepted
16 Jan 2023
First published
17 Jan 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Green Chem., 2023,25, 1704-1728

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The E factor at 30: a passion for pollution prevention

R. A. Sheldon, Green Chem., 2023, 25, 1704 DOI: 10.1039/D2GC04747K

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