The evolution of US pollution prevention, 1976-2001: a unique chemical engineering contribution to the environment - a review

The importance of pollution prevention or cleaner production has been substantial in changing the environmental approach within advanced industrialized countries. Since the critical factors for pollution prevention success relate to fundamental understanding of diverse industrial processes, chemical engineering has had a major and unique role in this environmental field. Expanding this new and evolutionary topic into the undergraduate curriculum of chemical engineering has also been vital to improving the sustainability of cleaner production. This article describes the fundamental concepts that led to active pollution prevention progress and then the historical progress toward this new paradigm. (C) 2002 Society of Chemical Industry.