Any strong literature, would be appreciated that defends the use of these solvents.
Can you clarify what are the counter arguments for greener solvents? Presumably you don't reject the general notion that chemicals should be 'greener'. Do you mean specific solvents that people once claimed are green yet evidence has later shown this is not the case?
You don't need to defend the use of non-toxic solvents, which have generally high boiling points to minimize emission, against hazardous solvents. This belongs to the basic principles of green chemistry. However, it also belongs to these principles, that even better to avoid the use of any solvents at all if you can. (For example, water as non-toxic solvent can do more damage by spilling out to the ground, when it contains a poisonous catalyst, reagent etc., than a solution of the condemned benzene because the latter is not soluble in ground water and can partially be regained.) Anyway, the accent lies on the elimination (minimization) of solvent emission with the possibility of damage to health and nature. If there is a controversy that goes about the term 'green chemistry' (solvent), which is frequently misused as a public relation label only, instead of a way of thinking and inventing waste-free technologies based on the use of non-hazardous chemicals as it meant to be.
Most would agree that we do not need to contribute to the misconceptions that various special interests have greated with regard to chemicals as a whole; however, there are undeniable benefits for focusing on the use of "green" solvents for several obvious reasons including (but not limited to): use of renewable resource materials, better biodegradability, lower toxicity, etc. In many cases, proper (or improved) methods of application help to achieve the reduction of volume of solvents as a whole. We should never stop innovation towards optimal use of chemicals (especially the "greener" ones) to achieve key objectives that they facilitate as well as innovations towards minimizing negative impacts of using these materials, all the while refining our planning and engineering of their use to minimize health and environmental risks.
Green Chem. 2014, 16, 4546
This just appeared article is very useful in relation with the question made
thank you everyone, what i meant by not so green-green solvents, includes the fact that they might be from a sustainable source, however the story is different when one considers there use for large scale industrial proceses.
There is no "green" solvent but water! One can however consider non-toxic and recyclable solvents as environmentally benign.
Water is the best green solvent being non-toxic. Similarly non-volatile alcohols like ethylene glycol & its ether derivatives are also green solvent.
- Badges
- Science topic