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• Eliminating waste from our chemical production processes

Case Study

In Verona, Italy, we have developed a process which reduces the environmental impact of producing a chemical which is being tested to help treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

Originally, the method for synthesising the chemical required very low temperatures and produced significant quantities of waste by-products. It also required the use of triphosgene - a toxic reagent which must be specially transported, managed and handled. The original process was designed for producing small quantities of the chemical. It was scaled up several times to produce larger quantities for clinical trials, but the process remained unchanged.

In 2003, researchers set out to create a more efficient process suitable for commercial production if the clinical trials were successful. The innovative new process eliminated the need for extremely low temperatures, saving energy.

A number of hazardous substances were removed from the process, including triphosgene, chlorinated solvents and silica treatments. This helped to reduce waste by 75% and the cost of raw materials by over 50%.

This innovative development won first place in the green chemistry/technology category of our internal awards scheme - the Chief Executive Officer’s Environment, Health and Safety Excellence Awards.

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