Introduction to Green Chemistry Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Overview

• Chapter 1 covers introductions to Atom Economy, Principles of Green Chemistry, UN Development Goals.
• Dr. Waseem Abu Oun is the presenter.

Introduction to Twentieth-Century Chemistry

• Chemistry profoundly transformed daily life in the 20th century.
• Transportation: Fuel additives, catalytic converters, plastics were developed to improve efficiency and reduce emissions.
• Clothing: Synthetic fibers like rayon and nylon, dyes, and waterproofing chemicals were introduced.
• Sports: Composite materials were used for sports equipment, such as tennis rackets and cycle helmets.
• Safety: Improved materials provided advanced safety features like fire-retardant furniture and air bags.
• Food: Refrigerants, packaging, containers, and processing aids (like preservatives) became crucial.

Green Chemistry Focus

• Green chemistry promotes innovative chemical technologies. Specifically, it seeks to reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous substances in chemical processes.
• The core focus is reducing waste, materials, hazard, risk, energy and costs.

Goals of Green Chemistry

• Reduce negative environmental impacts by employing appropriate materials and processes.
• Develop processes using renewable sources instead of depleting resources.
• Develop processes that are less prone to hazardous chemical releases or explosions.
• Minimize chemical by-products and redesign reactions.
• Design products that are less toxic and degrade quickly in the environment.
• Improve energy efficiency through low-temperature and low-pressure processes with new catalysts.
• Develop efficient and reliable monitoring systems.

The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry

• 1. Waste Prevention: Preventing waste is better than cleaning it up.
• 2. Atom Economy: Maximize the incorporation of all starting materials into the final product reducing waste.
• 3. Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses: Use substances with low toxicity for both humans and the environment.
• 4. Designing Safer Chemicals: Design molecules to perform their function while minimizing toxicity risks.
• 5. Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries: Minimize the use of solvents; use environmentally benign substances for mixing, cleaning, etc.
• 6. Design for Energy Efficiency: Reduce energy demands of chemical processes.
• 7. Use of Renewable Feedstocks: Use abundant and renewable resources and avoid those that diminish essential resources
• 8. Reduce Derivatives: Avoid step-by-step chemical transformations
• 9. Catalytic Reagents: Use catalytic reagents as much as possible.
• 10. Design for Degradation: Design chemicals to break down at the end of their useful lifetime.
• 11. Pollution Prevention: Design methods to allow for real-time monitoring and control that prevent the creation of hazardous substances.
• 12. Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention: Design processes to avoid accidents, such as explosions and fires

Atom Economy Principles

• Atom economy measures how many reactant atoms end up as desired products. Byproducts of chemical processes are factored into the economic feasibility analysis
• High atom economy = good
• Low atom economy = not so good
• Atom economy is determined by calculating a percentage in which the relative molecular mass (Mr) of the desired products in the reaction are divided by the Mr of the reactants in the process.

Key Atom Economy Reactions

• Rearrangement reactions (Claisen rearrangement are given as examples) have high atom economy.
• Addition Reactions have high atom economy, while substitution and elimination reactions have lower atom economy.

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• The SDGs are a collection of 17 goals formed by the United Nations.
• The aims include ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
• The goals are broad, interconnected, and cover social, economic, and environmental issues. They are the responsibility of all.