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What is Green Chemistry?

Is Green Chemistry more than a marketing term? Probably so. Green Chemistry may lead to a renunciation of the traditional production processes in chemical industry. But what is behind this concept?

Christmas time is cookie time. Of course, cookies should taste of vanilla. There are two possibilities for this purpose: The use of natural vanilla, which is very expensive, or the use of artificial vanilla, which is manufactured from crude oil by chemical industry. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a method to produce vanilla in an eco-friendly, but simple way?

This is an example for what green chemistry is supposed to accomplish. It deals with the question how modern chemical production processes can be designed sustainably.

The unsolved question of the month is: How can this be achieved? What has already been attempted?

Detektor.fm asked Thomas Jagau, editor of the Journal of Unsolved Questions, for an answer.

You can listen to the podcast here.