Green Chemistry Approaches for Environmental Pollution Mitigation

Abstract

The problem of environmental pollution nowadays is one of the most acute issues on the planet in the 21 st century, and it considerably poses a threat to the ecosystem, the health of people and economic development. Despite the fact that industrialisation and the development of technology has led to increase in economic growth, it has contributed to the pollution in an increased extent through the heavy exploitation of hazardous chemicals, fossil raw material and also through the energy consuming processes. In the traditional approach, chemical production usually causes toxic by-products, heavy metal, and persistent organic pollutants to enter the atmosphere, water and land, thus causing an irreversible environmental degradation. It is in this environment that Green Chemistry provides a paradigm that attempts to re-innerverse chemical processes and products in the effort to avoid pollution at its origin. Green chemistry was pioneered by Paul Anastas and John Warner, who initially proposed green chemistry in the 1990s, emphasizing the use of safer reagents, minimisation of waste, use of renewable resources and ensuring that all aspects of the life cycle of a chemical product are energy-efficient. This is a critical review of the many green chemistry approaches that have resulted in the minimization of pollution such as solvents innovation, catalytic processes, renewable feeds, as well as environmentally friendliness technologies to air, water and soil treatment. The technologies discussed in the paper are nanotechnology-driven green processes, AI-enhanced chemical design, and the models of a circular economy that encourage the efficiency in the use of resources. A number of case studies demonstrate how industries have managed to adopt these practices in order to have less environmental footprint. Also, the review concerns the matters of the policy implementation, cost structure, and scalability. Finally, it gives a prognosis on how green chemistry might be anchored as a pillar of sustainable development, which will result in a healthier planet, and scientific innovation and competitiveness in industries.