Turning diesel emissions into water vapour, carbon monoxide and pine trees into bio-fuels, or honey into a healing solution are some of the magic processes highlighted at the Green Chemistry Expo.

Expo organiser Gavin Cherrie admits the words ‘green' and ‘chemistry' are not usually found in the same sentence, but, he believes the expo will correct the misconceptions often held about the industry's activities, and put Tauranga on the map for UNESCO's International Year of Chemistry.

John Thornhill and Kelly Moselen at the RCN e-Cycle display at the Green Chemistry Expo on at the Sebel hotel.

'I realised nothing had been planned in Tauranga for IYC2011,” says Gavin.

'Given the large base of chemistry focused companies here, this seemed unfortunate.

'The work done by many of these companies is very cutting edge and far from the misconception of chemical companies being abusers of the environment.”
Gavin is himself a chemical engineer who advises industry on redesigning processes to imitate the systems seen in nature, with the goal of creating a manufacturing industry that is safe, profitable and restorative.

He is hoping the expo on at the Sebel Trinity Wharf Hotel will highlight the new responsibilities or ‘12 principles' that underscore modern chemical companies.
'The 12 principles of green chemistry, which guide scientists to design safe products and processes, are increasingly a part of many companies' R&D efforts.

'It is a ‘benign by design' aim that encourages processes that don't create waste, or return waste as a valuable input to the process.”

Cherrie has put a strong education emphasis around the interactive displays in the expo with multiple slots for school groups to attend and the opportunity for schools to go in the draw for valuable class resources.

'It seems chemistry is growing in popularity. Kids have become more aware of the role it plays in industry, often thanks to television and – dare I say it – CSI type crime programmes.”

He is a strong advocate for compulsory courses in universities on toxicology and green chemistry, and hopes the expo opens students' eyes to a field that offers far more than identifying criminals through an imaginary one minute test.