The Mistra SafeChem toolbox is now launched

A central part of Mistra SafeChem’s work is to develop and disseminate tools that facilitate the transition to a safe, sustainable and green chemistry. Now, after four years of work, we can proudly present our toolbox. It is well filled, but not full.

The vision for Mistra SafeChem is to enable and promote the expansion of a safe, sustainable and green chemical industry in Sweden. The central parts of this interdisciplinary program are to develop new processes for the industry and to develop a toolbox of models and methods to support safe and sustainable production and use of chemicals.

– It's a fantastic job by all Mistra SafeChem's researchers and PhD students, who have contributed to these tools for a greener chemical industry, says work package leader Anneli Julander, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, who has been responsible for compiling all the methods and processes into a toolbox.

37 tools and processes developed – so far

The Mistra SafeChem toolbox includes new chemical processes, developed to contribute to a sustainable development, analytical methods, methods for prediction and testing of human toxicity and ecotoxicity, and methods for life cycle assessment including process safety and chemical footprint.

To date, 37 different tools and processes are included in the programme’s toolbox.

– The work is still ongoing and we plan to update the toolbox gradually as new tools are developed and tested, says programme manager Hanna Holmquist, IVL.

Tools for three areas

The Mistra SafeChem toolbox is divided into three "compartments":

• Hazard and exposure screening – where the focus is on safety.
• Process design and optimization – obviously focusing on processes.
• Life cycle assessments – where sustainability is the main task.

The toolbox has its own webpage with a subpage for each of these groups.

See the Mistra SafeChem toolbox here.