Synthesizing, transforming, and manufacturing of raw materials into the desired chemical products requires the input of energy to drive the reaction. The form of this energy, in addition to the amount, has a significant impact of the environmental cost of carrying out the reaction. There have been recent advances to reduce the overall energy demand, and subsequent environmental and economic impacts, of chemical production by exploring different means of energy delivery including mechano-, electro-, photo-, and electromagnetic chemical driven transformations.

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The synthesis, transformation and manufacture of chemical products almost always involves separations in the form of removal of contaminants (purification), retrieving the desired molecules (isolation), removal of extraneous/undesirable materials (cleaning), or breaking a complex mixture into its components, including the removal of water (separations).