Green Chemistry Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Introduction, Atom Economy, Principles of Green Chemistry, UN Sustainable Development Goals

• The chapter introduces the topic of Atom Economy and Green Chemistry concepts
• UN Sustainable Development Goals are mentioned as part of this context
• Dr. Waseem Abu Oun is the presenter

Introduction to Green Chemistry principles

• Green Chemistry aims to promote innovative chemical technologies to reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture, and use of chemical products
• Green Chemistry is about reducing waste, materials, hazard, risk, energy, and cost

Goals of Green Chemistry

• Reduce adverse environmental impact through the appropriate and innovative choice of material and their chemical transformations
• Develop processes based on renewable raw materials rather than non-renewable ones
• Develop processes less prone to chemical release (fires and explosions)
• Minimize by-products in chemical transformations through redesign of reactions and reaction sequences
• Develop less toxic products
• Develop products that degrade readily in the environment compared to existing products
• Reduce the need for hazardous solvents & extractants
• Improve energy efficiency through low temperature & pressure processes, using new catalysts
• Develop efficient and reliable methods for monitoring processes for better control

The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry

• Waste prevention is superior to waste treatment
• Atom economy should be maximized
• Hazardous chemicals should be designed to be less hazardous
• Safer solvents and auxiliaries should be used wherever possible
• Design safer chemical syntheses
• Design energy efficient chemical processes
• Use renewable feedstocks whenever possible
• Reduce chemical derivatizations
• Use catalysts, not stoichiometric amounts of reagents
• Design chemical syntheses to maximize degradation after their useful life
• Hazard analysis should be conducted prior to the process
• Inherently safer chemistry for accident prevention (choose materials and forms that minimize potential for accidents)

Atom Economy

• A measure of how many atoms of reactants end up in the final product and how many end up as byproducts or waste in a chemical process.
• Calculated as (Relative Formula Mass of desired product × 100)/ (Relative Formula Mass of all reactants)
• Atom economy is useful in reaction planning stage
• High atom economy means most atoms from reactants are used to make the desired product
• Low atom economy indicates more atoms in the reactants end up as a by-product or as waste

Types of Reactions (Economic vs Uneconomic Reactions)

• Atom Economic Reactions: Rearrangement, Addition, Diels-Alder
• Atom Uneconomic Reactions: Substitution, Elimination, Wittig, Grignard

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Defined as a plan of 17 interconnected goals to tackle the global challenges facing humanity, aiming for better health, economic, social, and environmental outcomes by 2030.
• Examples of goals included within the list include: ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, promoting gender equality and sustainable development.