“Go Green” with nanotechnology

As products made with nanometer-scale materials and devices spread to more industries and markets, there is a growing opportunity and responsibility to leverage nanotechnology to reduce pollution, conserve resources and, ultimately, build a “clean” economy, advises a new report from the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.

Nanotechnology is the ability to measure, see, manipulate and manufacture things usually between 1 and 100 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter; a human hair is roughly 100,000 nanometers wide. More than $30 billion in products incorporating nanotechnology were sold globally in 2005. By 2014, Lux Research estimates this figure will grow to $2.6 trillion.

A “strong marriage” between nanotechnology and the principles and practices of green chemistry and green engineering “holds the key to building an environmentally sustainable society in the 21st century,” concludes Green Nanotechnology: It’s Easier Than You Think. Summarizing proceedings at a national American Chemical Society symposium and four workshops held in 2006, the new report was authored by science writer Karen Schmidt for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, an initiative of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

The report explores potentially beneficial links between nanotechnology – essentially, science and engineering practiced on the molecular scale – and green chemistry and engineering, which aim to minimize environmental impacts through resource-conserving and waste-eliminating improvements in processes and products. It concludes with recommendations for proactive federal policy measures to help the fast developing field of nanotechnology to “grow up” green.

The report cites examples of research progress toward using nanotechnology to accomplish environmental goals in combination with commercial or other objectives. “With greater ability to manipulate matter and tailor properties, it should be possible to make products and processes with reduced toxicity, increased durability and improved energy efficiency,” according to the report.

For example, James Hutchison, a University of Oregon chemist, uses DNA molecules in a novel process that holds promise for building nano scale patterns on silicon chips and other surfaces. The experimental method saves materials and requires less water and solvent than the traditional printing – or lithography – techniques used in the deceptively resource-intensive electronics industry. Other researchers are investigating nanoscale approaches to replace lead and other toxic materials in electronics manufacturing.

Chemist Vicki Colvin and her Rice University colleagues have discovered that 12-nanometer magnetic nanoparticles can remove better than 99 percent of the arsenic in a solution, while their counterparts at Oklahoma State University have engineered nanoscale sensors that can detect pollutants at the level of parts per billion.

Nanotechnology has opened promising new routes for making inexpensive solar cells as well as improving the performance and lowering the cost of fuel cells, eyed as the energy source for cars and trucks of the future. At the same time, work at the nanoscale is leading toward tools for removing toxic materials and cleaning up hazardous waste sites.

“Nanotechnology potentially is a ‘doubly green dream.’ It offers us the opportunity to make products and processes ‘green’ from the beginning,” explained Barbara Karn, an environmental scientist who helped organize the green nanotechnology programs while with the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. “It also allows us to substitute more environmentally-friendly chemicals, materials and manufacturing processes for older, more polluting ones.”

“We think the United States is on track to be a global leader in green nanotech,” said David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. “The country’s research and development portfolio should be directed toward this goal. We believe green nanotechnology can not only help protect the environment but also be a source of American jobs and company profits in the future.”

Looking ahead, beyond legacy environmental problems of today, the report suggests that the most effective approach to protecting the environment would be to “develop green nano policies that actively promote pollution prevention.”

Ranging from developing metrics for evaluating bottom-line environmental impacts to using federal procurement to foster demand for green nanoproducts, the recommended policy steps outlined in the report would help to ensure that the $8.3 billion taxpayer investment in nanotechnology, since the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative was established in 2001, pays off for the country and the environment.

“We are on an unsustainable path,” said Paul Anastasia, director of the American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Institute. “It is not as though nanotechnology will be an option; it is going to be essential for coming up with sustainable technologies.”

The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies is an initiative launched by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts in 2005. It is dedicated to helping business, government and the public anticipate and manage possible health and environmental implications of nanotechnology

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the living, national memorial to President Wilson established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds and engaged in the study of national and international affairs.