TOWARD CATALYSIS IN THE 21ST-CENTURY CHEMICAL-INDUSTRY

The general public is becoming much more concerned over environmental issues, and decisions are being made that are not necessarily based on science. For the chemical industry it is becoming increasingly diffic ult to obtain permits, eliminate waste, construct incinerators and rec eive and ship toxic materials. The effect will clearly increase the re lative importance of environmental vs. variable costs for current and future plants. As a result, the following will become increasingly imp ortant: processes with 100% yield (by whatever process); catalyst reco very, regeneration and recycle; heterogenization of homogeneous cataly sts; increasing importance of chiral pharmaceutical and agrichemicals; polymer recycle and environmentally safer processes. Several of these aspects, from DuPont R&D will be highlighted in this paper.