Green engineering approaches the design of products and processes by applying financially and technologically feasible principles to achieve one or more of the following goals: (1) decrease in the amount of pollution that is generated by a construction or operation of a facility, (2) minimization of human population exposure to potential hazards (including reducing toxicity), (3) improved uses of matter and energy throughout the life cycle of the product and processes, and (4) maintaining economic efficiency and viability.
The concept of green engineering began between 1966 and 1970 during the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development under the name: "The Ten Ecological Commandments for Earth Citizens".
Green engineering is a part of a larger push for sustainable practices in the creation of products such as chemical compounds.
[11] Green engineering involves four basic approaches to improve processes and products to make them more efficient from an environmental standpoint.
Green engineers are concerned with space, the sense of place, viewing the site map as a set of fluxes across the boundary, and considering the combinations of these systems over larger regions, e.g. urban areas.
The life cycle analysis is an important green engineering tool, which provides a holistic view of the entirety of a product, process or activity, encompassing raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, use, maintenance, recycling, and final disposal.
Once the quantities of various components of such a flow are known, the important functions and impacts of each step in the production, manufacture, use, and recovery/disposal are estimated.
Traditional solvents are composed of oils or synthetic compounds, like fluorocarbons which, when airborne, can act as a greenhouse gas.
Ionic liquids are nonvolatile and have high thermal stability and, as Lei states, "They present a “greener” alternative to standard solvents".
[15] Ionic liquids can also be used for carbon dioxide capture or as a component in bioethanol production in the gasification process.