Green Chemistry and Sustainable Technology

Depleting fossil fuels and environmental concerns force us to change the way we produce our goods. The transition of the chemical industry to becoming sustainable represents one of the major challenges to be faced in the 21st century. Catalytic reactions will increasingly substitute the existing energy- and resource-intensive production procedures; hence reducing or preventing toxic pollutants. Biotechnology will play a major role in this transition and complement advanced chemical production technologies.

This course will highlight the emerging role of catalysis in the chemical industry. A major focus will lie on biotechnological production of chemicals (fermentation processes, isolated enzymes). These methods will be related to their chemocatalytic counterparts. Thus, ample examples including the underlying mechanistic principles - of bio- and chemocatalytic processes will be discussed. Finally, the emerging field of renewable feedstocks will be discussed not only from a chemical standpoint, but also on socioeconomical and ecological grounds. The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry will serve as guideline to assess the scope and limitations of the examples discussed.