Green Polymer Chemistry
Biobased Materials and Biocatalysis
ACS Symposium Series

Green chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. Green polymer chemistry is an extension of green chemistry to polymer science and engineering. Developments in this area have been stimulated by health and environmental concerns, interest in sustainability, desire to decrease the dependence on petroleum, and opportunities to design and produce "green" products and processes. Major advances include new uses of biobased feedstock, green reactions, green processing methodologies, and green polymeric products. A current feature of green polymer chemistry is that it is both global and multidisciplinary. Thus, publications in this field are spread out over different journals in different countries. Moreover, a successful research effort may involve collaborations of people in various disciplines, such as organic chemistry, polymer chemistry, material science, chemical engineering, biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, enzymology, toxicology, environmental science, and analytical chemistry. This book combines the major interdisciplinary research in this field and is targeted for scientists, engineers, and students, who are involved or interested in green polymer chemistry. These may include chemists, biochemists, material scientists, chemical engineers, microbiologists, molecular biologists, enzymologists, toxicologists, environmental scientists, and analytical chemists. It can be a textbook for a course on green chemistry and also a reference book for people who need information on specific topics involving biocatalysis and biobased materials.

H. N. Cheng (Ph.D., University of Illinois) is currently a research chemist at the Southern Regional Research Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in New Orleans, where he works on projects involving improved utilization of commodity agricultural materials, green chemistry, and polymer reactions. Over the years, his research interests have included green polymer chemistry, biocatalysis and enzymatic reactions, pulp and paper chemistry, functional foods, polymer characterization, and NMR spectroscopy. He is an ACS Fellow and a POLY Fellow and has authored or co-authored 192 papers, 25 patent publications, coedited 11 books, and organized or co-organized 25 symposia at national ACS meetings since 2003. Richard A. Gross (Ph.D., Polytechnic University) holds the Constellation Chaired Professorship at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and is also a member of RPI's Departments of Chemistry and Biology as well as Biomedical Engineering. Previously, he was on the faculty of University of Massachusetts (Lowell) (1988?1998) and occupied the Herman F. Mark Chair Professorship at Polytechnic University (1998-2013). He has over 400 publications in peer-reviewed journals with approximately 7,000 citations, has edited six books, and has been granted or filed 26 patents. He has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Green Chemistry Award in the academic category (2003). He also founded SyntheZyme, LLC, (where he serves as Chief Technology Officer) in 2009 to commercialize technologies developed in his laboratory. Patrick B. Smith (Ph.D, Michigan State University) currently serves as a research scientist at Michigan Molecular Institute. He had a productive and distinguished career at The Dow Chemical Company, rising to the rank of Fellow prior to his retirement in 2007. He was elected as an ACS Fellow in 2013. He has co-authored nearly 500 Dow technical reports, over 75 publications, and has been granted two patents.