Third industrial revolution to drive green chemistry adoption

Global manufacturing industry is witnessing a change which is fast and universal. In fact, many believe that we are already witnessing the third wave of industrial revolution in which Internet-based communication technology is converging with renewable resources. Just like during first and second industrial revolutions, chemistry is again expected to play a pivotal role in ushering third industrial revolution, as the world makes a transition from the fossil-age to the renewable-based economy.
 
“The third industrial revolution is already taking place in front of us; indeed we are living historical moments today. Additionally, the third industrial revolution is all about ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ chemistry. Green chemistry is all about our license to operate, while sustainable chemistry is all about to become the new leaders of the future. No industry, or company will be able to operate without a clear mastering of the key principles of green chemistry,” said Rafael Cayuela of STYRON Europe, and Author of the book, ‘Future of chemical industry by 2050’, who was in Mumbai in December last year to attend the Industrial Green Chemistry Workshop (IGCW).
 
He believes that the need of the world to live with just 4,000 gms of carbon dioxide (CO2) per capita and per day in 2050 will create massive opportunities and incentives for the chemical industry. “The future leaders of our industry will be the ones excelling on the management of the principles of sustainable chemistry; and the ones able to create innovative and collaborative solutions that reduce emissions and energy,” added Cayuela.
 
Relevance for India
So, what is the relevance of green chemistry to developing countries like India? Cayuela feels that green chemistry will become a ‘must’ for the chemical industry, independently of the degree of economic development. India is expected to multiple its GDP per capita by more than 10 times in the next decades, creating massive opportunities for the chemical industry. However, India will need to address these massive changes in small steps; as conditions in the country vary from region to region, from state to state.
 
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“Certain parts of the industry as well as society are already at the top of the world, others will require more time. For instance, industries already largely exposed to the international market, like the Indian tyre and automotive industry are already largely using and applying ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ chemistry, others are still lagging well behind. India will need to develop further these advanced ‘cluster’ or ‘industries’ while start growing gradually on those lagging behind,” observed Cayuela.
 
Work in progress
Many pharmaceutical companies in India have now started exploring green chemistry based routes of synthesis right during the initial phase of development of the molecule. For example, Dr Reddy’s Labs claims to be the first generic pharmaceutical company to become a member of the Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) of American Chemical Society (ACS), which aims to catalyse and enable the implementation of green chemistry and engineering throughout the global chemical enterprise.
 
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Similarly, companies such as PI Industries Ltd are working on energy-efficient processes which use safe and less-toxic raw materials, and generate minimum or no waste. “With a guiding philosophy of 3R’s - reduce, recycle & reuse, PI Industries has always been on the forefront in building and implementing environment-friendly and sustainable processes. From synthesising greener process routes at the R&D laboratory to using low-carbon materials at the manufacturing plants, PI has always facilitated sustainable growth,” claimed Rajnish Sarna, Executive Director, PI Industries Ltd.
 
Affordable for SMEs?
Global chemical industry and users of chemicals operate in a highly interconnected supply chain network spread across various countries. The global manufacturing set up has shifted from developed economy to developing and emerging markets, where small and medium scale manufacturers play a big role. Hence, incorporating sustainable philosophy into manufacturing processes has become critical for SMEs in India.
 
Prof James Clark, Director, The Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence for Industry, University of York, UK, opined, “SMEs are likely to have customers who are very concerned about the environmental profile of their chemicals, and including the carbon/environmental footprint of their manufacture. Companies such as P&G and Unilever are committed to dramatically lower the impacts of their products and as they contribute very little to those impacts (they only formulate, pack and distribute) they will look to their supply chains to make the biggest reductions. SMEs can also lead the greener product revolution such as manufacturing bio-based chemicals.”
 
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Expecting SMEs to invest in time-consuming research program to develop green processes in a big ask. But, experts claim that well-planned, practical-solutions can be formulated for SMEs to make their manufacturing more sustainable and eco-friendly. “Certain myths about green chemistry prevailing around us are also a barrier in its implementation. There are myths such as green chemistry is good theory but practically not feasible, it is difficult and complex, it is not viable for SMEs, it requires huge resources, etc. At Newreka, we have commercialised green chemistry based solutions, even for small & mid-sized pharma and fine chemical companies, involving hardly any capital investment and breakeven period of sometimes as low as three months,” observed Nitesh Mehta is the Founder-Director of Newreka Green Synth Technologies Pvt Ltd.
 
In fact, by improving the overall resource efficiency, green chemistry can provide financial benefits to chemical companies from lower material usage, energy and capital expenditure costs in addition to environmental benefits. “PI has consequently seen an improvement in the yield, reduction in raw material consumption, improvement in solvent recovery and reduction of waste generation. This was achieved through seamless collaboration among R&D, process development, technology absorption, supply chain and operations teams,” said Sarna.
 
According to a recent report by Pike Research, the green chemistry market is estimated to grow from $ 2.8 billion in 2011 to $ 98.5 billion by 2020, while green chemicals are expected to save industry about $ 65.5 billion by 2020. This presents huge opportunities for Indian companies, especially those using renewables resources and green principles to produce chemicals.