Kira Matus

Sustainability Science ProgramHarvard University

13th Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference

June 23, 2009

Survey of Green Chemistry in Chinese Academia

•Chinese Green Chemistry Network:•Founded in …

•> 12 Green Chemistry Research Centers

•Courses at undergraduate, masters level

•Green Chemistry PhD program

•International Conferences•Green Chemistry•Green Energy•Ionic Liquids and Green processes

Green Chemistry in Chinese Education

Green Chemistry courses at multiple levels in chemistry, chemical engineering

UndergraduateMasters

⇒ Largely elective coursesCourses, research available at top programs“Green” integrated through‐out curriculum

Exposure for chemists, other engineers and scientistsExposure for non‐majors

Green Chemistry Research in Chinese Universities

Student Attitudes:GC important for future of ChinaGC interesting, cutting‐edgeSome exposure from courses (usually masters, sometimes undergraduate); More often during research 

History of GC in Chinese Universities

Number of well‐established GC Research groupsTsinghua UniversityChinese Academy of Sciences Southern China University of TechnologyUSTCTianjin UniversityBeijing University of Chemical Technology

Many of these predate “Green Chemistry” Often closely associated with domestic industry

Key Areas of GC Research• Energy Efficiency• Biofuels

– Biorefineries• Greener production processes

– Alternative Solvents– Process Intensification– Catalysis– Emissions reduction, treatment– Integrated production processes

• Materials from CO2 feedstocks (capture)• Alternative feedstocks

Policies & Drivers• National Policy: 11th Five‐Year Plan (2007‐2011)

– Energy: 20% Improvement in energy efficiency per unit GDP (tons coal/10000 rmb)

– Emissions:• COD*: reduce from 14 million tons/year to 12 milliiontons/year

• SO2: 25 million tons/year to 23 million tons/year

– Targets allocated to provinces• Local officials have hard targets• Other targets (i.e. employment) less rigid

• Circular Economy

Policies & Drivers• Funding Policy‐ National Science Foundation of China

• Overall NSFC increasing 20% per year – currently <10% of US NSF budget, ~ 64 billion rmb/yr

• Energy efficiency  and CO2 emissions are main foci• Environmental chemistry

– Formerly focused on end‐of‐pipe– Now looking at green chemistry approach

• Green Chemistry funding in a variety of sections– Chemical Engineering: 25‐30%– Organic Chemistry: 25%– Physical Chemistry: 40+%⇒ Many professors now mention GC in their proposals

GC Research Growing QuicklyGC Centers in >12 Chinese Universities and Institutes

Established at a variety of levelsMunicipalProvincialNational

Examples of inter‐university cooperationNankai & Tianjin

Academic/Government/Industrial cooperation

GC Research in Chinese Universities

Cooperation with IndustryFundingJoint venturesResearch on pilot, industrial scaleUse of graduate students in industrial contexts

Innovation System: Classic View

Basic Research Applied Research

Pilot Production

Commercializa‐tion

Research Development

•Academia•Government (Public) Funding

•Industry•Private Funding

Innovation System: China

Basic Research Applied Research

Pilot Production

Commercializa‐tion

Research Development

•Academia•Government (Public) Funding

•Industry•Private Funding

Innovation System:Funding

40% of funding from governmentNationalProvincialLocal

60 % of funding from industry

Innovation System:Funding

Industrial Funding Type I:Small projectsProblem specificLimited time, scope“Contract Research”Longstanding practiceCompensate for lack of human capitalPopular with smaller, domestic firms

Innovation Infrastructure:Funding

Industrial Funding Type II:Research CentersIssue specificMore long‐termLarger firmsGeneral applicationsMay involve government funding/matching

Trends in FundingMovement towards Type II: Drivers

Greater human capitalGovernment policy focus on large problems (i.e. CO2)

Public contributions (up to matching in some cases)

Patents for university partners

StrengthsFormal policy to support green chemistryExistence of hard environmental targets (drivers)Connections between industry and academiaInclusion of “green” at all curriculum levels, including non‐majorsSpeed of research and application

Challenges– Narrow focus of environmental policy & GC research

• Emissions and energy• Still problems of toxics, carcinogens, exposure, etc…• End‐of‐pipe

– Low levels of overall funding• Dependence on industrial funding shapes research agenda

– Richest sectors (ie oil) exert large influence on topics, direction• Impacts ability  to conduct cutting edge research

– Limited funding for basic research– Lack of incentives, opportunities for transformational research

ChallengesMaintain communication between industry and academia‐ but without industry wielding too much powerBuilding infrastructure (basic research, human capital, facilities, institutions) needed for radical, transformational innovationContinue environmental focus even in face of economic downturn

ConclusionsGC growing rapidly in ChinaResearch funding expanding (though still low for basic work)Expanding into curriculum (elective) across universitiesPopular with studentsMoving into implementation through joint‐ventures, other cooperative industry‐university activities

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• Dr. William Clark

• Dr. Paul Anastas

• Dr. Suojiang Zhang

• Dr. Xin Xiao

• ACS Green Chemistry Institute

• CAS Institute for Process Engineering

• Vicki Norberg‐Bohm Fellowship

• Yale Center for Green Chemistry and 

Engineering

• Giorgio Ruffolo Sustainability Science 

Fellowship

• EPA Star Fellowship

• ACS PRF Grant

• Sustainability Science Program at 

Harvard University

• Christopher Doss, Kai Itameri‐Kinter, 

Jason Blackstock

• Fu Chao

• Jonathan Halpert

Acknowledgements