SOLVENT REPLACEMENT FOR GREEN PROCESSING

The implementation of the Montreal Protocol, the Clean Air Act, and th e Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 has resulted in increased awareness of organic solvent use in chemical processing. The advances made in t he search to find ''green'' replacements for traditional solvents are reviewed, With reference to solvent alternatives for cleaning, coating s, and chemical reaction and separation processes. The development of solvent databases and computational methods that aid in the selection and/or design of feasible or optimal environmentally benign solvent al ternatives for specific applications is also discussed.