VOLKER HESSEL*, TIMOTHY NOËL
Laboratory of Chemical Reactor Engineering/Micro Flow Chemistry and Process Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
*Member of Chimica Oggi – Chemistry Today Scientific Advisory Board

Chemical industry considers “cradle to grave” as a holistic, innovative approach to provide Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) compliance and tracking inventory across the whole supply chain from manufacture to disposal for their future chemical products. One prominent example here is BASF’s Sustainability, Eco-Efficiency and Traceability (SET) Initiative (1). Green Chemistry is often said to be a ‘cradle to grave’ approach (2), although some statements go more far and ask for a ‘cradle to cradle’ strategy.

With such concept, much emphasis has to be given on the sustainability of the chemical reaction itself as the central and decisive element in the whole value chain. Resource efficiency and consequently avoidance of waste is then the utmost key. Closed value added chains need to be established between the processes (Verbund) to make maximal use of non-reacted and reacted materials as well as of energy. The space of such consideration first of all is the whole chemical factory or Chempark - thus, even already at a gate-to-gate level considerable impact on sustainability is still achievable.

In this mindset, selectivity (first) and activit ...