Chemical production breakthrough could make £9bn industry greener and cleaner

Researchers at a Scottish university have found a greener, cleaner way to produce a common chemical relied on by multibillion-dollar industries. In a new paper published today in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science , researchers from the University of Glasgow demonstrate a new method of creating anilines - chemicals commonly used in the manufacture of products including dyes, plastics and insulation, and pharmaceuticals like paracetamol. For decades, industrial chemical plants have created anilines by reacting organic compounds called nitrobenzenes with hydrogen at high temperatures and pressures. The reactions often involve catalysts made from precious metals. These processes, which often produce tons of anilines at once, are energy-intensive, frequently inefficient, and can create chemical waste by-products which can be harmful to the environment. The hydrogen used in the reactions is often derived from unsustainable sources including fossil fuels. The Glasgow team have developed a method of aniline production which works at room temperature and pressure, and which uses protons and electrons created by the electrolysis of water to drive the process of reducing the nitrobenzenes to anilines.