Green chemistry for fuel synthesis and processing

This themed issue contains peer-reviewed papers presented at the Symposium on Green Chemistry for Fuel Synthesis and Processing as a part of the 232nd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) held in San Francisco during September 10–14, 2006. The guest editors are grateful to the Division of Fuel Chemistry of ACS for the sponsorship.

Syntheses, processing and consumption of fuels represent many local and global environmental and safety challenges. The major issues in green chemistry for fuel synthesis and processing include eliminating waste from the production and consumption of fuels, utilizing alternative feedstocks to the depleting petroleum-based feedstocks (in the short term) or other fossil-based feedstocks (in the long term), developing novel catalysts and processes, using clean fuels, improving energy efficiency, and identifying renewable energy resources for future applications. Green chemistry for fuel synthesis and processing will remain a great challenge and also a tremendous opportunity to chemists and engineers worldwide.

This themed issue is the first one on fuel in the Green Chemistry journal. The papers in this issue present the very recent progresses in this very important field. They cover most of the important topics as responses to the above-mentioned challenges. The contents include alternative feedstocks (mostly methane-based feedstocks and biomass), Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, novel catalysts, new environmentally benign technologies, new energy materials, as well as CO₂ separation and utilization, which are immediately needed for the current demanding energy and environmental situations. Several new concepts presented in this issue, such as the development of an economically viable bio-refinery for the production of fine chemicals, sorption-enhanced steam reforming of methane for hydrogen production with CO₂ capture, etc., will become important technologies for future fuel syntheses and processing.

Another upcoming symposium in this series will be held in 2008 during the 235th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans, USA. The focus will be on “Green Chemistry for Sustainable Energy Supply and Conversion”. We are convinced that we will see more significant progress in this important field of research and application.

We acknowledge all authors for their contributions to the success of the symposium and this themed issue. Thanks are also due to all of the referees. It is their careful review of the creative work that makes this issue possible. We also owe special appreciation to the managing editor of Green Chemistry, Sarah Ruthven, for her interest and support for this topic.

Chang-jun Liu, Tianjin University, China, (ughg_cjl@yahoo.com), Ben W.-L. Jang, Texas A&M Univeristy-Commerce, USA, (Ben_Jang@tamu-commerce.edu) and Roger Glaeser, University of Stuttgart, Germany, (roger.glaeser@itc.uni-stuttgart.de).

---