When the world became aware of the damaging effect that CFC’s (chlorofluorocarbons; commonly used as a refrigerant) were causing to the ozone layer, it was chemists who developed a replacement product HFC’s (hydrofluorocarbons). Neonicotinoids are currently being studied for the possible negative effects that these effective pesticides have on bee populations. It is chemistry that is at the heart of this study, and it is chemistry that will find an improved ‘pollinator friendly’ pesticide.
A few years ago in the UK, a woman in her twenties died in her tent whilst she slept. The evening before her death, she and her boyfriend cooked food on a barbeque. They then brought the barbeque inside the tent to protect it from rain and thieves. As her boyfriend recounted to the BBC, “The barbecue was cold to the touch. There was no smoke coming off it, no glowing, it seemed to be completely inactive.”
But it was still emitting unseen fumes. The woman died that night of carbon monoxide poisoning. The boyfriend was lucky to survive.
Carbon monoxide is a deadly chemical. She was killed by chemicals – so it still sounds like chemistry is to blame.
Technically it was, but then it was also chemistry that allowed the transfer of oxygen from the air in her lungs and into her blood stream that kept her alive in the first place. Hooray for chemistry, it brings life to all living creatures! Not quite, as I imagine the story was read by people as, “Chemicals kill another innocent person.”
To avoid this negative publicity, perhaps the chemical industry should collectively take on the role of spreading the good news of its work. Focusing news stories less on the problems that chemicals cause, and more on the positive that it does in the world. Making our planet a healthier place to live, whilst at the same time creating jobs and developing businesses.
Take for example the story of a sushi box, that Philipp Moeller, who at the time was business manager at Clarifoil, a uk producer of cellulose acetate, wrote about in a blog on the IHS Chemweek blog page (http://www.chemweek.com/chem_ideas/Guest-Author/By-rethinking-old-ways-the-chemical-industry-can-change-the-world_47952.html). Here he described a problem caused by a Styrofoam box, that was used to package sushi.
The box was not really good enough for the task in hand, as the sushi was rather damaged in transit from the shop to office. It was used only once and then thrown away, quite possibly ending its days slowly decomposing in a landfill site.
According to data from Duke University, “Approximately 55% of 220 million tons of waste generated each year in the United States ends up in one of the over 3,500 landfills.”
This is a bad result for almost everyone, but as the styrofoam container was made by the chemicals/polymer industry, most of the blame falls on them. Not the food industry for using an ineffective, one time user container, not the purchaser, or the shop that sold the sushi, not the waste collection service for using landfill instead of recycling, but the chemicals industry that had developed a product as un-earth friendly as Styrofoam.
Most people at this point would feel a degree of self-loathing at being part of the landfill problem through a personal desire for takeaway sushi, but not so Philipp Moeller. He brought in the engineers and designers from his place of work and they went through a useful thought process, knowing that chemicals could produce a better packaging solution for sushi.
As he explains, “One of the eco-friendly solutions (was) recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or RPET. RPET ticks a green initiative box for many companies; however, RPET products still contain virgin PET and are only up to one-third recycled material. This recycled material comes from manufacturers’ waste rather than plastic bottles consumers place in recycling bins. Also, RPET has a finite lifetime since it can only be recycled a limited number of times and will ultimately end up in landfills.”
So the search for a better solution continued, leading the team to try out a diacetate film that could be thermoformed into the shape of a sushi box. As Moeller explains, this was a better outcome on many levels. “Not only is the cellulose diacetate raw material sourced from sustainably managed forests, the standard film can also be composted according to American and European standards (EN13432 and ASTM D6400). Cellulose diacetate is also 100% biodegradable so it doesn’t stack up in landfills. It is also approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”
His team had created a product that was, “… clearer and higher quality than PET, RPET and polylactic acid (PLA) that today are the industry standard.” Thus whilst chemistry was the cause of the original problem, it also became part of the solution.
As Professor Herbert Ipser, of the University of Vienna and President of the GÖCH (Austrian Chemical Society) said in a recent interview, “…a good part of our standard of living is due to the achievements of chemistry.” A message that needs to be spread wider, not only to the public, but also among the industry itself.
The further development of our understanding and application of chemicals can solve the entire planet’s problems. From hydrogen engines to solar panels, from non-toxic food preservatives to fire suppressants and retardants, chemistry has it all.
By thinking a little outside the box (sushi or otherwise), you never know when and how you can use your products to create a new market, find a new purpose and not only profit from it, but also help the good name of chemistry look slightly better.