Sustainable Development – Flow Chemistry and the UN
On November 2 (2016) Dr Oliver Hutt presented our work at the United Nations’ Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) Seventh Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific. particularly noting the economic opportunities accessible through flow chemistry by improving resource efficiency and reducing waste.
The paper seeks to highlight the importance of academic, governmental and industry collaboration to implement sustainable chemical manufacturing practices.
Flow chemistry is presented as a potential technological solution to addressing many of Sustainable Development Goals by dramatically improving a range of processing parameters, including:
- better processes and less waste generation;
- better scalability due to compact, efficient and modular reactor design;
- smaller physical footprint resulting in reduced capital, operating and maintenance costs; and
- superior inherent safety.
Two cases from the fine chemical manufacturing industry are presented in detail, which demonstrate these benefits.
Waste reduction table comparing batch with flow chemistry.
Background paper (Caution: Management speak!) doi:10.4225/08/58557e1497fd6
Contact: Oliver Hutt, Research Group Leader