This article from Science Daily is about how chemists in Spain are using hydrocarbons (byproducts from oil production) which are inexpensive to create more complex and useful molecules. By having the hydrocarbons react with the byproducts of gold, silver, and copper production, the process of creating these new molecules can be accelerated so that they can be constructed in a efficient process. One such reaction using benzine produced an anti inflammatory agent similar to ibuprofen, other products have characteristics akin to insecticide and adhesives. While I'm a little concerned that using oil byproducts would not be ecologically sound the article does state that the process is done in a way in which the reacting substances can be used repeatedly and on multiple items. Overall this process of converting otherwise useless byproducts into useful materials, rather than disposing them really appeals to me as a way to be more ecological and efficient.
Posted by Anthony Burger
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