Process efficiency index:

The implementation of this efficiency measure was based on various factors like operations, chemistry, safety and environmental effects. The factors were assigned different weights in the overall measure based on their varying importance. A part of the measurement of the ‘atom economy’ indicated the amount of waste produced at every stage of the product being developed. The lower the waste, the higher the atom economy. Green chemistry minimized the production of waste material while maximizing the output of the desired product, leading to a higher atom economy. For every product, penalty points were assigned at every production stage, based on the nature of waste obtained. At the end of the production, the sum of the accumulated points was deducted from 100 to obtain the atom economy of the product. The implementation of the process efficiency index has made it easier to define improvement areas with a need for striking a balance between costs and ecofriendliness.

Resin based technologies:

We have achieved significant success in reducing solvent usage, solid waste generation, and effluent generation through the use of resin based technology. These include:

• Purification of compounds with resins.
• Use of resin bound reagents like acids or bases.
• Use of scavenger resins for removal of impurities with specific functions

Catalysis:

Good progress has been made in the development of alternate catalysts by replacing toxic and unsafe catalysts like Osmium tetroxide, Raney Nickle etc. Other examples include avoiding the use of Bromine by using a green process of Allylic Bromination. Apart from being safe, such initiatives also improve reaction efficiency and minimize effluents.

Other environmental protection initiatives

• Alternative treatment methods for effluents: Working with an external organization, we are using alternative and innovative technologies to treat effluent with very high COD using electrolysis. If successful, this will result in small sized effluent treatment plants that can handle huge volumes of effluents.
• Biodesel production to control greenhouse gases: We are working on ways to use carbon dioxide from boiler stack gases for the growth of algae, which can be used in bio-diesel production and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.We are trying to extract lipids from activated sludge of ETPs to be converted to bio-diesel, which will counter the problem related to activated sludge disposal.