PapersFlow Research Brief
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Research Guide
What is Chemistry and Chemical Engineering?
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering is the interdisciplinary field encompassing the principles of green chemistry, sustainable chemistry, solvent selection, green engineering, metrics for assessing greenness, catalysis, life cycle assessment, circular economy, process mass intensity, medicinal chemistry, and environmental impact in research, development, and manufacturing across pharmaceutical and chemical industries.
This field includes 129,529 works focused on incorporating green chemistry into processes. Key areas cover sustainable chemistry, solvent selection, and green engineering. Applications span catalysis, life cycle assessment, and metrics like process mass intensity.
Topic Hierarchy
Research Sub-Topics
Green Chemistry Principles and Metrics
This sub-topic develops and applies the 12 principles of green chemistry alongside quantitative metrics like atom economy and process mass intensity. Researchers evaluate reaction efficiency and waste prevention in synthetic design across chemical sectors.
Sustainable Solvent Selection
This sub-topic assesses greener alternatives to toxic solvents using tools like the GSK solvent selection guide and Hansen solubility parameters. Researchers study solvent effects on reaction rates, selectivity, and environmental impact in organic synthesis.
Green Catalysis and Catalysts
This sub-topic explores heterogeneous, biocatalytic, and organocatalytic systems to minimize catalyst loading and enable recyclability. Researchers design ligands and supports for efficient, selective transformations under mild conditions.
Life Cycle Assessment in Chemical Processes
This sub-topic applies LCA methodologies to compare cradle-to-grave environmental impacts of chemical syntheses and manufacturing routes. Researchers integrate techno-economic analysis to optimize sustainable process design.
Circular Economy in Chemical Engineering
This sub-topic investigates recycling, upcycling, and bio-based feedstocks to close material loops in chemical production. Researchers develop processes for polymer depolymerization and waste valorization aligned with circular principles.
Why It Matters
Green chemistry principles from "Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice" by Paul T. Anastas and John C. Warner (1998) guide safer chemical design and reduced environmental impact in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Solvent effects detailed in "Solvents and Solvent Effects in Organic Chemistry" by C. L. Reichardt (2002) inform selection for lower toxicity in industrial processes. Recent developments include SOLVE Chemistry raising £4 million to accelerate sustainable product development for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, and Twogee Biotech securing over €2 million for enzyme solutions converting biomass into raw materials.
Reading Guide
Where to Start
"Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice" by Paul T. Anastas and John C. Warner (1998) serves as the starting point because it directly defines green chemistry principles, tools, and evaluations essential for understanding sustainable practices in chemistry and chemical engineering.
Key Papers Explained
"Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice" by Anastas and Warner (1998) establishes foundational principles that build on fundamental kinetics from "Reaction Kinetics in Differential Thermal Analysis" by Kissinger (1957) and enzyme methods in "The Determination of Enzyme Dissociation Constants" by Lineweaver and Burk (1934). Solvent insights from "Solvents and Solvent Effects in Organic Chemistry" by Reichardt (2002) apply these to green selections, while "Supramolecular Chemistry" by Lehn (1995) extends to molecular recognition for advanced designs.
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Recent preprints in Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data focus on solvents, thermodynamic activity, and electrolyte solutions. Chemical Engineering Journal emphasizes catalysis, environmental chemical engineering, and green science. Startups like SOLVE Chemistry integrate AI for synthesis planning.
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reaction Kinetics in Differential Thermal Analysis | 1957 | Analytical Chemistry | 12.8K | ✕ |
| 2 | The Determination of Enzyme Dissociation Constants | 1934 | Journal of the America... | 12.0K | ✕ |
| 3 | Supramolecular Chemistry | 1995 | — | 9.8K | ✕ |
| 4 | THE CONSTITUTION AND FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS AND LIQU... | 1916 | Journal of the America... | 9.7K | ✕ |
| 5 | Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice | 1998 | — | 8.6K | ✕ |
| 6 | Principles of Polymerization | 2004 | — | 7.0K | ✕ |
| 7 | The path of chemical reactions - the IRC approach | 1981 | Accounts of Chemical R... | 6.3K | ✕ |
| 8 | Comprehensive organic synthesis | 2014 | Elsevier eBooks | 6.2K | ✕ |
| 9 | Official methods and recommended practices of the American Oil... | 1990 | American Oil Chemists'... | 6.0K | ✕ |
| 10 | Solvents and Solvent Effects in Organic Chemistry | 2002 | — | 5.8K | ✕ |
In the News
London-based SOLVE Chemistry secures £4m to ...
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Recent Preprints
Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data - ACS Publications
- Physical chemistry - Solution chemistry - Solvents (3430) - Thermodynamic activity (653) - Solvates (461) - Ionic strength (193) - Osmotic coefficient (111) - Electrolyte solutions ...
Chemical engineering - Latest research and news
Chemical engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with the processes (production, transformation, transportation and usage) necessary to produce useful materials and energy. Chemical engin...
Chemical Engineering Journal
The*Chemical Engineering Journal*focuses upon**seven**aspects of**Chemical Engineering**: Applied Biomaterials and Biotechnologies, Catalysis, Chemical Reaction Engineering, Computational Chemical ...
ChemEngineering | An Open Access Journal from MDPI
Submit to ChemEngineering * 3.4 Impact Factor * 4.9 CiteScore * 33 days Time to First Decision Journal Menu # ChemEngineering ChemEngineering is an international, peer-reviewed , open access j...
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering: Articles
Indexes over 9,000 journals, patents, conferences, books, technical reports and dissertations related to chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science and the biomedical sciences. Relates to t...
Latest Developments
Recent developments in chemistry and chemical engineering research include the recognition of the 2025 Nobel Prize winners for creating metal–organic frameworks with large cavities for applications like CO2 capture and water harvesting (NobelPrize.org), the identification of the 2024 top emerging technologies such as neural network potentials and nanofluidic iontronics (IUPAC), advancements in AI-driven experimental protocols like Yale's MOSAIC platform to accelerate chemical discovery (Yale News), and innovative materials for CO2 capture, including covalent organic frameworks and reversible photobases (Nature Chemistry, Nature Sustainability). As of February 2026, these highlight the ongoing progress in sustainable chemistry, materials science, and the integration of AI in chemical research.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the core principles of green chemistry?
"Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice" by Paul T. Anastas and John C. Warner (1998) outlines principles including waste prevention, atom economy, and safer solvents. These principles evaluate feedstocks, reaction types, and methods for designing safer chemicals. The book provides tools for assessing chemistry impacts across development stages.
How is reaction kinetics analyzed in thermal methods?
"Reaction Kinetics in Differential Thermal Analysis" by H.E. Kissinger (1957) describes methods for determining activation energies from thermal curves. The approach uses peak temperature variations with heating rates. It applies to solid-state reactions in chemical engineering processes.
What role do solvents play in organic chemistry?
"Solvents and Solvent Effects in Organic Chemistry" by C. L. Reichardt (2002) classifies solvents by constitution and physical properties like polarity. It covers solute-solvent interactions including solvation and micellar effects. These inform green solvent selection for sustainable processes.
How are enzyme dissociation constants determined?
"The Determination of Enzyme Dissociation Constants" by Hans Lineweaver and Dean Burk (1934) introduces the Lineweaver-Burk plot for analyzing enzyme kinetics. The double-reciprocal plot linearizes Michaelis-Menten data to find Km and Vmax. This method supports biocatalysis in green chemistry.
What metrics assess greenness in chemical processes?
Metrics for assessing greenness include process mass intensity and life cycle assessment as emphasized in the field's focus areas. "Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice" (1998) evaluates impacts of chemistry on feedstocks and reactions. These tools quantify environmental footprints in manufacturing.
Open Research Questions
- ? How can AI-driven tools like those from SOLVE Chemistry optimize solvent selection and green metrics in real-time pharmaceutical manufacturing?
- ? What improvements in enzyme engineering from startups like Twogee Biotech can enhance biomass conversion efficiency for circular economy applications?
- ? How do recent advances in electrolyte solutions and azeotropes from Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data impact scalable green engineering processes?
- ? In what ways can collective intelligence approaches address the challenge of synthesizing from hundreds of thousands of annual chemical reactions?
- ? How might materials like CoMe-MFU-4l scale for industrial gas purification while maintaining low environmental impact?
Recent Trends
Preprints highlight solvents (3430 mentions), thermodynamic activity (653), and electrolyte solutions (107) in Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data.
Chemical Engineering Journal covers applied biomaterials, catalysis, and sustainable engineering.
Funding trends include SOLVE Chemistry's £4 million for AI-driven sustainable manufacturing and Twogee Biotech's €2 million for biomass enzymes.
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