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The new green chemistry - a less toxic world
by JANE BOGNER
SUNDAY, February 20, 2005

We hear in the news, more often than we like, reports of toxic spills and leaks. In response, ‘green’ chemists are starting to pay attention to the full environmental life of the products that they invent. Green chemistry is evolving in this century, not because of legislation, but because of the costs of waste and environmental disposal as well as the costs of cleaning up chemical messes. 

The Green Chemistry Institute of the American Chemical Society is helping out by encouraging the rethinking of chemical design from the ground up. Engelhard Organic Pigments created environmentally friendly pigments which do not contain heavy metals. They also developed a water-based manufacturing process in place of using organic solvents that are usually associated with the creation of pigments.

When I first started volunteering at VALCORE Recycling, we had to tear out and discard all windows and adhesive backed labels from envelopes and junk mail. Adhesives, coatings, plastics, and other materials can produce spots and holes in the new paper. Called "stickies," they cost the industry $500 million annually.

Buckman Laboratories International developed a new enzyme to turn stickies into a water-soluble, non-sticky material. The enzyme is produced by a bacteria and is completely biodegradable. Since 2002, more than 40 paper mills have converted to the enzyme. Typically, Teflon is manufactured in water with a particularly nasty chemical called PFOA. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill researchers found a way to do it in carbon dioxide (the fizz in your soda).

Carbon dioxide works so much better that no PFOA is required. DuPont has invested $275 million in a North Carolina plant that makes one form of Teflon using this PFOA-free method, possibly saving a fortune in long-term cleanup costs. Cargill Dow is using corn rather than petroleum to make a food-grade plastic-like film. NatureWorks uses bacteria to ferment sugars from the corn to produce lactic acid that is then purified and turned into the film.

The process uses up to 50 percent less energy than comparable plastics and is biodegradable. Cargill has one plant running in Nebraska and they are experimenting with other grains such as wheat and rice. Out of Australia comes a fascinating process of detergent-free cleaning. Researchers at the Australian National University in Canberra say that oil and grease can be washed away with nothing but pure water. They have shown that water is much better at dispersing oily substances if it is degassed. Water can be degassed cheaply and efficiently by pumping it through a porous membrane. It is then sprayed on surfaces and fabrics. In effect, air bubbles act like a glue that prevents oily substances from breaking up. This makes it harder for an oil droplet to detach from a greasy stain and become dispersed in water. But if the tiny bubbles are removed, that happens more easily. 

Using degassed waster could reduce the use of detergents which can create environmental problems when flushed into the water system.

Vallejo Earth Day, April 23, 2005 

In addition to our celebration downtown, there will also be an Electronics and Tire Recycling event held at Vallejo Garbage Service from 8 am to 3 pm. Stay tuned for details. 

VALCORE Recycling Vice President Jane Bogner's "A Sorted Affair" is published every other week in the Times-Herald, Community Outlook Section. For recycling information call Genie Kaggerud, VALCORE Recycling manager at 645-8258 or visit www.VALCORErecycling.org.

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