Key Elements of Green Chemistry

Reviewed by Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Assistant Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 12/22/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book presents the major concepts of green chemistry in six chapters.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate and to the point.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

All the materials presented in this book are updated.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written in simple language that should be helpful for the readers to understand the topic.

Consistency rating: 4

The six chapters are well-aligned, and the whole concept of green chemistry has been thoughtfully presented in this book.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course. Under each chapter, there are several headings sections and subsections. The text is not overly self-referential and should be quickly reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting much disruption to the reader.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

In each chapter, their sections and sub-sections have been organized stepwise.

Interface rating: 4

The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There are no significant grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

Comments

Although the book's target readers are green chemists, it is an excellent reference book also for toxicologists, chemical engineers, pharmacologists, and biochemists. The author has successfully correlated the green chemistry parameters with the real world. For example, the author included the incidents of burning oil and debris that collected on the surface of the Cuyahoga River (Cleveland), the thalidomide issue etc. The discussion on the LCA software, the globally harmonized system (GHS) that attempts to categorize the general types of threats in society, specifically, is fascinating. The concept of different hazards such as carcinogens, mutagens, teratogens, tumor promoters, corrosives, neurotoxins, lachrymators has added special value to this book. The lethal dose of everyday things like water to Vit C provides real-world examples. The author has brilliantly correlated the chemistry world with the business world by the dual meaning of ‘solvent’. Discussion on alternative solvents like green biobased solvent methyl soyate, eutectic mixture, microemulsion, etc., are fascinating. Combinatorial chemistry and organic reaction mechanism part will undoubtedly draw attention to the organic chemistry students. In the last chapter, the classification of organic reactions and their correlation with green chemistry is eloquent. The images are significant. The author referenced each image so that curious readers could go more over it. At the end of each chapter, the review questions will insist the readers rethink the subject matter. A little comicalness throughout the book will keep the readers smiling.