GREEN CHEMISTRY XXXXXX
Other developments include solvent reduction or substitution, electrified reaction pathways and improved separation technologies. Each of these innovations contributes to lowering the environmental footprint of chemical production.
However, many of these advances focus primarily on reducing the emissions associated with manufacturing rather than fundamentally altering the origin of the carbon used in chemical products. Even where processes become cleaner and more efficient, the carbon atoms incorporated into molecules often still originate from fossil sources. This distinction highlights the need for additional approaches that address the carbon feedstock itself.
The feedstock question
Several alternatives to fossil carbon are already under consideration. Biomass-derived feedstocks offer one possible pathway, particularly for chemicals that can be synthesised from sugars, oils or lignocellulosic materials. Waste streams from agricultural or industrial processes can also serve as sources of renewable carbon.
These options, however, come with practical limitations. Biomass availability is constrained by land use considerations and competition with food production. Waste streams, while valuable, often exist in limited quantities and may require complex processing before they can be used in chemical manufacturing.
This leads to a third option that is attracting growing interest: carbon capture and utilisation( CCU). Instead of treating CO 2 solely as an emission to be stored or avoided, it can also be considered as a raw material for new chemical transformations. For an industry built on carbon chemistry, the idea is both logical and disruptive.
Seeing CO 2 differently
For much of the past half-century,
CO 2 has primarily been viewed through the lens of environmental management. It is widely recognised as a greenhouse gas and therefore something to be reduced, captured or stored. Technologies for carbon capture and storage have been developed with the aim of preventing
CO 2 from entering the atmosphere. From a chemical perspective, however, CO 2 is more than an emission. It is also a carboncontaining molecule that can, under the right conditions, serve as a starting point for the synthesis of other compounds.
The challenge lies in the molecule’ s stability. CO 2 sits in a relatively low-energy state and is therefore less reactive than many traditional petrochemical intermediates. Converting it into useful products typically requires catalysts capable of activating the molecule and enabling reactions to proceed under practical conditions.
Advances in catalysis and reaction engineering are beginning to make this possible. Researchers have developed catalytic systems that allow CO 2 to participate in the formation of carbonates, polyols and other intermediates relevant to industrial chemistry.
This principle is central to Viridi’ s work. Our catalyst technology enables captured CO 2 to be converted into useful chemical intermediates, demonstrating how emissions can be transformed into viable feedstocks for industry. These developments highlight the potential for treating emissions not only as a problem to be managed, but also as a resource that can support more sustainable chemical production.
Laboratory at Viridi
MAY / JUN 2026 SPECCHEMONLINE. COM
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