Presence and impact of the group formed by some academicians of the chemistry commission of the Mexican academy of sciences, arts, technology and humanities.

The group of academics who originally collaborated in the Environmental Chemical Engineering and Environmental Chemistry Program, PIQAyQA, at UNAM, in cooperation with their peers from different national and foreign institutions, has stood out for its teaching and research activities since the creation of this Program in 1989 with the international support of the German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ, for its acronym in German) and that of the university authorities (Rector's Offices, university departments) and governmental authorities. Currently, both the Mexican Academy of Sciences, Arts, Technology and Humanities and thematic networks (International Network of Environmental Sciences, RedICA, the Network for the Analysis of Environmental Quality in Mexico, RACAM, the Network for the Analysis of Environmental Quality in Latin America, RACAL, and the Network of Environment and Sustainability, ReMAS) has allowed maintaining the cohesion of this academic group, whose activities have been directed primarily to the training of human resources of excellence, within the framework of scientific and technological research projects, to improve environmental conditions and reduce the impact caused by human activities. This group, since its formation, has cultivated interdisciplinarity, always with the objective of applying the principles of green chemistry when interacting with researchers in the area of environmental protection. Throughout all these years the group has trained highly qualified personnel at the bachelor, bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels and some academics from other institutions have made post-doctoral and updating stays. Patents and technological developments useful for the industrial sector at all levels have been generated. The academics of this group provide consulting services to the productive, social, educational and governmental sectors and, through consulting projects, use scientific foundations (through bachelor's, master's and doctoral theses), which serve as a basis for the development of novel applications in these sectors. To give just one example of the multidisciplinary research developed, we mention the sugar cane agroindustry, with which a series of projects have been carried out, seeking the incorporation of cleaner technologies in this very important agroindustrial sector, especially now that renewable energy sources are being sought. The academic group, with collaborators in national and foreign institutions, has allowed the exchange of master's and doctoral students and research stays for young people with bachelor's degrees aimed at developing specific projects that benefit all participating institutions and the international academic community as a whole, in addition to generating knowledge for the productive, social and service sectors. From October 1995 to March 1998 and from 2000 to date, ten master's degree students from Germany, Cuba, France, Holland and Austria have been in its laboratories for academic stays within the framework of environmental projects (wastewater treatment, treatment of soils contaminated with hydrocarbons, treatment of soils contaminated with hydrocarbons, etc.), treatment of soils contaminated with hydrocarbons and recovery of vanadium from ashes of thermoelectric plants) and nine young Mexican professionals, former students of ours, have been in Austria, Germany, Holland and Sweden, to continue with these projects, in addition to the academic stays of our professors there and of the Austrian professors and other nationalities in our laboratories. Among their most recent contributions is the application of novel methods to reuse agro-industrial lignocellulosic waste to produce "synthesis gas" (hydrogen) that can revolutionize "combustion" by producing water instead of carbon dioxide. producing water instead of carbon dioxide, based on the patent of Dr. Stanley E. Manahan (ChemChar??), a close collaborator of the Laboratories, which is applicable to the sugar agroindustry and, in general, to the integral use of cellulosic residues from the Mexican countryside, improving the quality of life of this sector of our society that has been marginalized for many decades. In this last topic, Dr. Durán, as dean of this group, recently led a research project to corroborate what has appeared in the scientific literature in recent years on the health benefits of sugar, as the main product of sugar cane, compared to fructose and the artificial sweeteners that have been so popular in recent years. All projects always lead to a component of the use of green chemistry for the benefit of society.