The American Chemistry Council (ACC) applauds three of its members — BASF Corp., Dow, and Merck & Co., Inc. — for winning 2010 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards, which recognize innovations that incorporate the principles of “green chemistry” into the design, manufacture and use of products for pollution prevention, or, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains: “cleaner, cheaper, smarter chemistry.”
Established in 1995, the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Program is led by EPA’s Office and Pollution Prevention and Toxics, which works with other federal agencies, members of the chemical industry, trade associations, scientific organizations, and academia.
Dow and BASF won the Greener Synthetic Pathways Award for jointly developing a route that uses hydrogen peroxide to make propylene oxide, greatly reducing the waste, as well as the water and energy used in manufacturing propylene oxide. One of the world’s highest volume industrial chemicals, propylene oxide is a chemical building block for a vast array of products, including detergents, polyurethanes, de-icers, food additives, and personal care items.
ACC member company Merck & Co. worked with Codexis to develop a second-generation synthesis of an ingredient in Type 2 diabetes medicine. The enzymatic process reduces waste, improves yield and safety, and eliminates the need for a metal catalyst. EPA notes that early research has shown that these new biocatalysts may prove useful in manufacturing other medicines. Together, Merck and Codexis received the Greener Reaction Conditions Award.
For more information, visit: www.americanchemistry.com.
