Tandem Reactions Based on the Cyclization of Carbon Dioxide and Propargylic Alcohols: Derivative Applications of α-Alkylidene Carbonates

As a well-known greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) has attracted increasing levels of attention in areas of energy, environment, climate, etc. Notably, CO2 is an abundant, nonflammable, and renewable C1 feedstock in view of chemistry. Therefore, the transformation of CO2 into organic compounds is an extremely attractive research topic in modern green and sustainable chemistry. Among the numerous CO2 utilization methods, carboxylative cycloaddition of CO2 into propargylic alcohols is an ideal route due to the corresponding products, α-alkylidene cyclic carbonates, which are a series of highly functionalized compounds that supply numerous potential methods for the construction of various synthetically and biologically valuable agents. This cyclization reaction has been intensively studied and systematically summarized, in the past years. Therefore, attention has been gradually transferred to produce more derivative compounds. Herein, the tandem reactions of this cyclization with hydration, amination, alcoholysis, and isomerization to synthesize α-hydroxyl ketones, oxazolidinones, carbamates, unsymmetrical carbonates, tetronic acids, ethylene carbonates, etc. were systematically reviewed.

A kind of self-healing and recyclable poly(urea-imine) thermoset synthesized from CO2

The synthesis of self-healing and recyclable polymeric materials from renewable CO2 is of great importance in the fields of functional materials and sustainable chemistry. In this work, mechanical robust poly(urea-imine)...

Role of green chemistry in pharmaceutical industry: a review

Sustainability is the ability to nurture or support a process for an extended period without compromising the needs of the future generation. Sustainable chemistry is a term that refers to the creation of chemical products and processes that decreases or remove the use and production of hazardous substances. Even though sustainable and green technologies have evolved in other scientific fields, their use in the pharmaceutical industry is still initial stage. Therefore, we need to work in green chemistry to ensure its growth in the pharmaceutical industry. Thus, the current review aimed to highlight the need for green chemistry or sustainable chemistry and its principles and its application in the pharmaceutical industry to practice environment-friendly production of pharmaceutical products and reduce or stop the production of harmful intermediates and products during the synthesis process.

Development of Sustainable Chemistry in Madagascar: Example of the Valuation of CNSL and the Use of Chromones as an Attractant for Mosquitoes

This article describes a part of the results obtained from the cooperation between the University of Lyon1 (France) and the University of Antananarivo (Madagascar). It shows (among others) that useful research can be carried out in developing countries of the tropics if their social, technical, and economic conditions are taken into account. The concepts and methods associated with so-called “green chemistry” are particularly appropriated for this purpose. To illustrate this approach, two examples are shown. The first deals with industrial ecology and concerns waste transformation from the production of cashew nut into an amphiphilic product, oxyacetic derivatives. This product was obtained with a high yield and in a single step reaction. It exhibited an important surfactant property similar to those of the main fossil-based ones but with a much lower ecological impact. The second talks about chemical ecology as an alternative to insecticides and used to control dangerous mosquito populations. New substituted chromones were synthesized and showed biological activities toward Aedes albopictus mosquito species. Strong repellent properties were recorded for some alkoxylated products if others had a significant attractant effect (Kairomone) depending on their stereochemistry and the length of the alkyl chain.

A Review on Current Trends in Heavy Metal Removal from Water between 2000-2021

Recent fiscal growth has necessitated diverse industrial processes to meet the growing demands around the world. Toxic chemicals such as micro-pollutants, personal care products, pesticides contaminate the effluents of these industries and find their way into the environment leaving dangerous levels of heavy metals in the aquatic ecosystem. These heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium, lead, mercury, cadmium and nickel bio-accumulate and are very harmful to humans. Several water treatment methods were reviewed from 111 published articles covering a period between 2000-2021 on the progress of Heavy Metal removal from waste water including the use of low cost agro based activated carbon and Bentonite clay as part of “green and sustainable chemistry”.

Technospheric Mining of Mine Wastes: A Review of Applications and Challenges

The concept of mining or extracting valuable metals and minerals from technospheric stocks is referred to as technospheric mining. As potential secondary sources of valuable materials, mining these technospheric stocks can offer solutions to minimise the waste for final disposal and augment metals’ or minerals’ supply, and to abate environmental legacies brought by minerals’ extraction. Indeed, waste streams produced by the mining and mineral processing industry can cause long-term negative environmental legacies if not managed properly. There are thus strong incentives/drivers for the mining industry to recover and repurpose mine and mineral wastes since they contain valuable metals and materials that can generate different applications and new products. In this paper, technospheric mining of mine wastes and its application are reviewed, and the challenges that technospheric mining is facing as a newly suggested concept are presented. Unification of standards and policies on mine wastes and tailings as part of governance, along with the importance of research and development, data management, and effective communication between the industry and academia, are identified as necessary to progress technospheric mining to the next level. This review attempts to link technospheric mining to the promotion of environmental sustainability practices in the mining industry by incorporating green technology, sustainable chemistry, and eco-efficiency. We argue that developing environmentally friendly processes and green technology can ensure positive legacies from the mining industry. By presenting specific examples of the mine wastes, we show how the valuable metals or minerals they contain can be recovered using various metallurgical and mineral processing techniques to close the loop on waste in favour of a circular economy.