Action D29 aimed to develop sustainable industrial chemicals and chemical based consumer products utilising sustainable and environmentally friendly processes, by means of (1) providing a mechanism to establish a common understanding of the current status and the future research, development, and educational needs of Sustainable/Green Chemistry and Chemical Technology for Europe; (2) establishing and managing a selection process for identifying potential industrial chemicals and chemical based consumer products that could be considered sustainable/green according to information available at the time of the selection; and (3) co-ordinating new joint research efforts for designing and developing environmentally friendly processes for the production of such sustainable/green products. Among many topics, Action D29 has been focusing on: * The application of soluble supporting polymers in organic syntheses and how they can contribute to the development of sustainable methods in chemistry. * The use of room temperature ionic liquids as alternative green reaction media in place of organic solvents commonly used, notably in electroreductive synthetic processes. * Reaching new advanced uses for hemicelluloses, an important group of renewable polymers. * The study of aqueous organometallic catalysis, the basis of several industrial processes, which can be regarded green due to the elimination of organic solvents, efficient catalyst recycle, high selectivity, and low energy demand. * The use of photocatalysis as a viable method for sustainable synthesis. * The development of new fluorous media and processes for cleaner and safer chemistry. * Hydrogen production and reduction of carbon dioxide by linear chain transition metal complexes. * The use of zeolitic catalysts for activation of CO2 and of organic carbonates to obtain fine chemicals. * The study of sustainable methods of the synthesis of biologically active compounds * The design of novel sustainable products and processes for catalytic oxidations. Action D29 comprised teams from 26 COST countries. In addition, groups from Russia, Ukraine and Ethiopia have participated in the network. The achievements of this Action have been disseminated through Action workshops and Working Group meetings, presentations in international conferences and the publication of many research articles in peer-reviewed journals.
