Sustainability in the Chemical Industry : Grand Challenges and Research Needs

Through innovative design, creation, processing, use, and disposal of substances, the chemical industry plays a major role in advancing applications to support sustainability in a way that will allow humanity to meet current environmental, economic, and societal needs without compromising the progress and success of future generations.

Based on a workshop held in February 2005 that brought together a broad cross section of disciplines and organizations in the chemical industry, this report identifies a set of overarching Grand Challenges for Sustainability research in chemistry and chemical engineering to assist the chemical industry in defining a sustainability agenda.

These Grand Challenges include life cycle analysis, renewable chemical feedstocks, and education, among others. Table of ContentsFront MatterExecutive Summary1. Introduction2. Enabling Science and Technology That Drives the Application ofSustainable Chemistry3.

New Chemistries and Processes That Lead to Commercially ViableAlternative Feedstocks to Fossil Fuels4.

Addressing the Energy Intensity of the Chemical and AlliedProcess Industry5.

Sustainability Science Literacy and Education That Enables theAdoption of More Sustainable Practices in the Chemical Industry6.

Conclusions and RecommendationsAppendix A. Statement of TaskAppendix B. Committee BiosketchesAppendix C. Workshop AgendaAppendix D. Workshop SummaryAppendix E. Summary of Workshop Breakout SessionsAppendix F. Workshop Speaker BiographiesAppendix G. List of Workshop Participants