Towards greener-by-design fine chemicals : Synthetic frontiers

Gazis, Theodore A. (author), Wuyts, Jonas (author), Moutsiou, Areti (author), Volpin, Giulio (author), Ford, Mark J. (author), Teixeira, Rodolfo I. (author), Wheelhouse, Katherine M. P. (author), Natho, Philipp (author), Žnidaršič Plazl, Polona (author), Jost, Sonja (author), Luisi, Renzo (author), Benyahia, Brahim (author), Maes, Bert U. W. (author), Vilé, Gianvito (author)

In the face of intensifying market needs and mounting environmental pressures, the pharmaceutical and agrochemical sectors must revisit core aspects of process design. This review proposes a forward-looking framework for “greener-by-design” manufacturing, emphasizing the integration of sustainability from the earliest stages of synthetic planning through to industrial implementation. We focus on four interdependent levers that collectively enable this transformation: (i) solvent choice, with an emphasis on minimization, substitution, or complete elimination; (ii) substrate sourcing, favoring renewable and biomass-derived feedstocks to reduce fossil dependency; (iii) catalyst development, exploring the use of base metals, novel heterogeneous systems, and biocatalysts; and (iv) continuous-flow processing, which enhances safety, scalability, and process control. These strategies are not meant to be applied in isolation but rather in a synergistic, end-to-end manner that accounts for the full lifecycle of chemical products. By aligning synthetic efficiency with environmental responsibility, this review outlines a practical and actionable roadmap for the sustainable production of high-value fine chemicals. The convergence of synthetic chemistry with process engineering, data science, and life cycle thinking will be critical to realizing this vision, ultimately enabling more robust, circular, and future-proof manufacturing paradigms.

• Language: English
• Keywords: process design, catalysis, biocatalysis, sustainable production, fine chemicals
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: FKKT - Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 619-674
• Numbering: Vol. 55, iss. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-182244
• UDC: 66.011.097
• ISSN on article: 1460-4744
• DOI: 10.1039/d5cs00929d
• COBISS.SI-ID: 257931779
• Publication date in RUL: 05.05.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Chemical Society reviews
• Shortened title: Chem. Soc. rev.
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• ISSN: 1460-4744
• COBISS.SI-ID: 519832857

Licences

• License: CC BY 3.0, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
• Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
• Description: You are free to reproduce and redistribute the material in any medium or format. You are free to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: načrtovanje procesov, kataliza, biokataliza, trajnostna proizvodnja, fine kemikalije