Book Review pubs.acs.org/OPRD
Chemistry for Sustainable Technologies: A Foundation into the university world). The book is much the better for this approach since there is an emphasis on practicality. The subject of measurement (and metrics) begins with a quote from Albert Einstein, “Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted”politicians and CEOs of companies please note!! The chapter is up-to-date (to 2011) and covers the recent work of Andraos published in Organic Process Research & Development (Org. Process Res. Dev. 2013, 17, 175−192 or Org. Process Res. Dev. 2012, 16, 1482−1506 or Org. Process Res. Dev. 2009, 13, 161−185). The book forms the basis for a superb training course on sustainability from a chemist’s point of view, and a wonderful introduction to the subject for an undergraduates and postgraduates. Process chemists will also enjoy the wider discussions, the insight of the author into topics of importance to all citizens, and the approach to green chemistry, catalysis, and manufacture. The book is well-referenced, including not only peer-reviewed research but also Internet sources in a “webiography” at the end of each chapter. In conclusion this unique book is highly recommended reading for all chemists.
Neil Winterton. RSC Publishing: London, 2011, 480 + xiii pp. £62.99. ISBN 987-1-84755-813-8.
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here have been a number of reviews of books in the general area of “green chemistry” in this journal, but this particular work, unusually, does not use the word green in its title or chapter headings. It covers the much wider, and multidisciplinary issue of sustainability, but retains a chemistry focus throughout. So it is an ideal basis for teaching a foundation course in chemistry in relation to the environment and the world we live in and also could form part of a green chemistry course. The author invites the reader to think widely about the media focus on climate change and other environmental challenges and to critically evaluate the evidence, rather than to accept statements at face value. Thus, the book is valuable in teaching young chemists the scientific method and to think clearly and not be “duped” by sound bites. The scope of the book is to explain the concept of sustainability, to highlight the role of science and technology in moving towards sustainable development, and to use examples of new approaches to chemistry to meet these needs. Metrics is given a central role in the discussions. The coverage includes issues such as: • Impact of climate change • Role of science • Environmental chemistry • Waste and its minimisation • Metrics, life cycle analysis, and chemical technology • Green chemistry, principles and pitfalls • Catalysis • Renewable feedstocks • Energy production, prospects, and time scales. Thus, the author has set himself an ambitious challenge to cover all these issues in a single volume of under 500 pages. He has achieved this admirably! Not only has he met his objective, but he has also written a highly readable book that all chemists should examine since it places chemistry in a central role in solving long-term world issues. It also provides useful background information on topics discussed in the media, but with hard facts and well-reasoned discussion of pro’s and con’s. An introduction to “Green Chemistry” is provided in a chapter intriguingly entitled “Chemistry: Necessary but not Sufficient”. In addition to the well-known 12 principles of green chemistry elucidated by Anastas and Warner (Green Chemistry: Principles and Practice; Oxford University Press: New York, 1998), Neil Winterton has emphasised his own, previously published, additional 12 green chemistry principles, most of which will resonate with process chemists who, unconsciously, use these principles in order to produce an efficient process. The central chapters in the book cover chemistry in more detail with titles such as “Chemical Processing”, “Catalysis”, “Chemicals from Biomass”; each is covered from the viewpoint of an industrial rather than an academic chemist (the author worked for ICI for most of his professional life before moving © XXXX American Chemical Society
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Trevor Laird, Editor AUTHOR INFORMATION
Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/op400163e | Org. Process Res. Dev. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
