Chemical to lower pollution developed

CHANDIGARH: Ironically, good health apparently comes at the cost of safe environment. This premise is based on the fact that while preparing medicines, solvents used get seeped in large quantities in underground water and air, causing toxicity. Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have around 700 such manufacturing plants which have been adding drug effluents to portable underground water.A scientist working on green chemistry, that focuses on reduction of environment pollution, at National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), has developed chemicals which can reduce this substantially.
Prof Asit K Chakraborti, head, department of medicinal chemistry, has come up with usage of ionic liquids as organo-catalysts, that speeds up chemical reactions, thereby reducing pollution and associated toxicity in manufacture of drugs and paints. Ionic liquids are chemical salts in liquid state and are touted as green alternatives to volatile organic solvents, conventionally used in chemical manufacturing process.
���Of late, however, perception considering ionic liquids as being environment-friendly is being challenged by new evidence of their combustibility, toxicity and lack of biodegradability, that has made scientists rethink their enthusiasm for considering ionic liquids as green solvents of the future,��� he noted.
In any drug-manufacturing process, volatile organic solvents which cause environmental pollution, account for more than 85% of the total mass utilization. Thus, huge amounts of solvents are required in such chemical processes. ���In Europe alone, the yearly requirement of solvents is more than 40,000 metric tonne. These solvents are released to the atmosphere as gas or to the ground water as waste. These pollute environment,��� Chakraborti said.
There have been striking discoveries in international laboratories that some ionic liquids are combustible. A study by NIPER, published in the journal ���Nature��� points out that long-time exposure to ionic liquids in large amounts may be associated with their accumulation in the body.
Studies have shown that ionic liquids have an effect on aquatic ecosystems. ���For instance, they decrease the zebra musselsa freshwater mollusc-feeding rate. These liquids are non-biodegradable and thus accumulate in soil and ground water,��� the scientist added.