Book Review pubs.acs.org/OPRD
Scalable Green Chemistry
■
Scalable Green Chemistry. Edited by Stefan G. Koenig. Pan Stanford Publishing: Singapore. 2013. 368 + xvii pp. $149.95. ISBN: 978-981-4316-49-1
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
A
t last a book has been published which discusses Green Chemistry from a process chemistry/engineering/manufacturing viewpoint. Stefan Koenig, the editor, has collected together a unique set of case studies from the pharmaceutical industry, each of which gives insight into the process development of a particular drug and which focuses usually on redesign of the synthesis/process to minimise waste from the process. For the process R&D chemist the book is an excellent readmany of the case studies described are well-known, and several are based on Organic Process Research & Development publications. However, the book chapter format allows much more discussion of the reasoning behind the decisions taken, for example, that concerning change of synthetic route. The early chapters are devoted to examples where a change of synthetic route has brought economic advantages as well as environmental waste reduction. A chapter on “selective nitration under GMP conditions” discusses a continuous process, and includes wider discussions on GMP and quality issues in continuous processes as well as environmental and safety issues. The following chapter on combining real-time analytics and process automation is also wide ranging in its discussion of the “greening” of batch processing and, in particular, downstream processes such as crystallisation. What is not discussed in detail (except in one chapter where block diagrams are given) is the design of the workup of the process. Surely this is one of the most important areas where waste streams are generated. A chapter covering this topic would have really enhanced the book. In the modern world, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are discovered not only by large multinationals but also by smaller pharmaceutical companies, often mis-named “biotechs”. Many of these companies have no development groups, and the development and manufacture is outsourced. I would have liked to see a chapter discussing green chemistry from the viewpoint of a small company outsourcing its kilo manufacture. Perhaps it was difficult to find such an example. I know that green issues in these companies may not always be high on the priority list, and it can be left to the outsource partner to focus on waste minimisation as part of the optimisation process. In summary, this is a unique book, which should be useful to all process chemists and engineers. It is hoped that it will be of value to those teaching green chemistry courses where the examples from the book chapters can provide evidence that the pharmaceutical industry is embracing green concepts today and will do so increasingly in the future. This is highly recommended reading!
Trevor Laird, Editor
Published: November 18, 2013 © 2013 American Chemical Society
1618
dx.doi.org/10.1021/op400320m | Org. Process Res. Dev. 2013, 17, 1618−1618
