Energy futures and green chemistry: competing for carbon

Abstract

Global energy demand is expected to increase from the current 400 ExaJ per year to as much as 700–1,000 ExaJ per year by the middle of this century. If fossil carbon resources continue to make up the bulk of the energy supply, not only will atmospheric carbon dioxide increase to levels not seen for the past 30–35 million years, but depleting fossil carbon resources will become increasingly less available for other purposes, particularly the production of chemicals on which society now depends. The chemical process industries are heavily dependent on the availability of low-price petroleum as a feedstock. Recent life-cycle analyses suggest that pursuing both strategies of renewable energy sources and renewable feedstocks (i.e. biomass) will be required to meet these competing demands. Reducing the global use of both energy and manufactured chemicals will be a challenge for sustainable development. Education of the next generation of chemists and chemical engineers will have to change significantly from its current emphasis on petrochemical-based manufacturing to include a much greater emphasis on renewable resources and bio-based processes.