Education Green Chemistry
Education Green Chemistry
Education Green Chemistry
Report
Many students today are profoundly interested in the In responding to the growing concern, governments intro-
sustainability of their world. With growing public concern duced regulations to limit pollution and exposure to hazard-
over global warming and greenhouse gases, students want to ous chemical and materials. Green chemistry represents a fun-
understand how human actions affect the health of our planet. damental shift from this model toward a pollution preven-
Students are deeply concerned about pollution. They prac- tion paradigm. Its premise is that a benign process and prod-
tice recycling. Moreover, they want to secure a healthy Earth uct presents no risk.
for future generations. As students of chemistry, they have a The importance of green chemistry as an alternative in
unique opportunity to start at the ground floor of the excit- the developing world cannot be overstressed. Sustainable de-
ing and expanding field of green chemistry. velopment depends on providing goods and services for a
growing population without sacrificing environmental qual-
The Emergence of Green Chemistry ity. Estimates from the United Nations put the world popu-
lation as high as 10.7 billion people by 2050 and this nearly
Green Chemistry has evolved from its roots in academic doubled population creates a huge demand for chemical goods
research to become a mainstream practice supported by and services in the near future. Much of the growth of the
academia, industry, and government. While Green Chemis- chemical industry is likely to take place in the developing
try encompasses human health and the environment, it is world, coincident with the rising population. However, many
guided by very specific principles of chemical practice. These of the global environmental impacts attributable to this popu-
principles are summarized as the Twelve Principles of Green lation growth have ties to chemical processes or products:1
Chemistry in the box on p 1544. The interest in using green
• loss of biological species in forests and in waters
chemistry and its practices has extended internationally to
become an alternative to traditional pollute-and-then-clean- • ozone depletion
up industrial practice in developing countries. This evolution
• downstream pollution from unsustainable agricultural
is marked by significant contributions from institutions with
practices
different goals that are being satisfied through a common
mechanism. • the pollution of fresh and marine waters, further de-
Green chemistry is the use of chemistry for pollution pleting food sources
prevention. More specifically, it is the design of chemical
• the introduction of persistent organic pollutants into
products and processes that are environmentally benign.
the ecosystem
Green chemistry encompasses all aspects and types of chemi-
cal processes that reduce negative impacts to human health • changing climate, causing as yet unpredictable changes
and the environment. At its best, green chemistry is envi- in the hydrologic cycle with manifestations in flood,
ronmentally benign, linking the design of chemical products drought, sea-level change, and the spread of infectious
and processes with their impacts on human health and the diseases
environment.
In the United States, the focus on Green Chemistry be- The Green Chemistry Institute
gan in earnest after the passage of the Pollution Prevention
Act of 1990. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency es- A major force in taking the concept and the practice of
tablished the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics green chemistry around the world has been the Green Chem-
(OPPT) to explore the idea of developing new or improving istry Institute (GCI). Created in 1997, the Institute flour-
existing chemical products and processes to make them less ished by promoting and fostering the furtherance of Green
hazardous to human health and the environment. The Of- Chemistry through research, education, conferences/delibera-
fice launched a research program called “Alternative Synthetic tive symposia/meetings, and information dissemination in-
Pathways for Pollution Prevention”. This program provided cluding public awareness. The organization itself is made up
unprecedented grants for research projects that include pol- of institutions from around the world that represent all as-
lution prevention in the design and synthesis of chemicals. pects of the chemical enterprise: industry, academia, non-gov-
ernmental organizations, and government.
Why Green Chemistry? At the 220th Meeting of the American Chemical Soci-
ety in August 2000, the Board of Directors unanimously ap-
There is no doubt that our lives have been enhanced by proved an alliance between ACS and the Green Chemistry
chemistry. That is something chemists and students need to Institute. A key objective of the ACS/GCI alliance is estab-
celebrate. However, environmental problems such DDT, lishing Green Chemistry as a national research priority by
ozone depletion, the Love Canal, Bhopal, and the Cuyahoga aligning the interests of policy makers, business leaders, and
River are all too familiar examples of chemistry gone wrong. the scientific community in new initiatives.
Report
Educational Materials and Resources health and the environment, they are merely the tip of the
iceberg when compared to the potential. To reach this full
One factor that is greatly speeding the incorporation of potential, greater awareness, adoption, and development of
pollution prevention into industrial manufacturing processes green chemistry practices are necessary.
is the development of green chemistry curriculum materials. Sustainable economic development depends on the
The chemical industry is discovering that when their chem- chemical industry to produce a vast array of products and
ists are knowledgeable about pollution-prevention concepts, processes. Yet despite years of impressive improvements in
they are able to identify, develop, and implement techniques
that reduce pollution and costs. To facilitate the inclusion of
green chemistry into the classroom, the ACS Division of Edu-
cation and International Activities and EPA-OPPT jointly
designed materials to provide succeeding generations of chem- Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry4
ists with the skills and knowledge to practice green chemis-
try. Some of these educational materials are listed on p 1546. Prevention: It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean
While the primary audience of these materials is undergradu- up waste after it has been created.
ate and graduate chemistry students, the audience may also Atom Economy: Synthetic methods should be designed to
include professional chemists, K–12 students, and the gen- maximize the incorporation of all materials used in the pro-
eral public. cess into the final product.
Additional key educational tools in shaping interest in Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses: Wherever prac-
Green Chemistry are dedicated fellowships, scholarships, and ticable, synthetic methods should be designed to use and gen-
research grants. These funds allow students and faculty to erate substances that possess little or no toxicity to human
focus sustained attention on specific research tasks (see p 1547 health and the environment.
and p 1554). Similarly, attending workshops, symposia, and Designing Safer Chemicals: Chemical products should
conferences allows students, teachers, and researchers alike be designed to effect their desired function while minimizing
to gain an in-depth understanding of green chemistry. A list- their toxicity.
ing of upcoming conferences is available at http://www.acs.org/ Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries: The use of auxiliary sub-
education/greenchem/resources.html#conferences and at http:// stances (solvents, separation agents, etc.) should be made
www.lanl.gov/greenchemistry/conf.html. unnecessary wherever possible and innocuous when used.
ACS and GCI in partnership with the International Design for Energy Efficiency: Energy requirements of
Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) will spon- chemical processes should be recognized for their environ-
sor the CHEMRAWN XIV World Conference on Green mental and economic impacts and should be minimized. If
Chemistry, “Toward Environmentally Benign Processes and possible, synthetic methods should be conducted at ambient
Products”.2 The Conference, which will be held in Boulder, temperature and pressure.
Colorado, July 9–13, 2001, will bring together leaders from Use of Renewable Feedstocks: A raw material or feed-
governments, industry, and academia. The purpose is to for- stock should be renewable rather than depleting whenever
mulate a path for sustainable development where upstream technically and economically practicable.
pollution prevention is used to create a balance between eco- Reduce Derivatives: Unnecessary derivatization (use of
nomic development and environmental protection. The meet- blocking groups, protection/deprotection, temporary modifi-
ing is open to the public, and a strong student program makes cation of physical/chemical processes) should be minimized
CHEMRAWN XIV a powerful educational and networking or avoided if possible, because such steps require additional
opportunity. reagents and can generate waste.
The GCI also disseminates information through a Web Catalysis: Catalytic reagents (as selective as possible) are
site and email list-server.3 The Web site provides informa- superior to stoichiometric reagents.
tion on GCI; Green Chemistry activities worldwide; and links Design for Degradation: Chemical products should be
to government, industry, and academic Web sites with related designed so that at the end of their function they break down
information. The email list-server links more than 300 par- into innocuous degradation products and do not persist in
ticipants in a common system, allowing rapid dissemination the environment.
of information such as job openings and upcoming confer- Real-Time Analysis for Pollution Prevention: Analyti-
ences as well as a venue through which to pose questions to cal methodologies need to be further developed to allow for
subject-matter experts. real-time, in-process monitoring and control prior to the for-
mation of hazardous substances.
The Future Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention:
Substances and the form of a substance used in a chemical
There is no doubt that the emerging area of green chem- process should be chosen to minimize the potential for chemi-
istry has identified scientific principles, approaches, and meth- cal accidents, including releases, explosions, and fires.
odologies that have demonstrated the most positive aspects
of chemistry. While the successes of green chemistry thus far Reprinted with permission of Oxford University Press.
seem quite large in terms of quantitative benefit to human
B&W
Web Assign
Chemical Education Today
Real-World Cases in Green Chemistry by Michael C. Cann and Bringing State-of-the-Art, Applied, Novel, Green Chemistry to the
Marc E. Connelly (published 2000). This 72-page book is de- Classroom by Employing the Presidential Green Chemistry Chal-
signed to be used in a variety of undergraduate courses or as a lenge Awards, Michael C. Cann, J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76,
resource of specific examples of redesigning chemical products 1639.
and processes. It contains descriptions of ten projects that have Microscale Chemistry and Green Chemistry: Complementary
won or been nominated for Presidential Green Chemistry Chal- Pedagogies, Mono M. Singh, Zvi Szafran, and Ronald M. Pike,
lenge awards. Also included are references and questions at J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, 1684.
the end of each case and a Notes to Instructors section at the
end of the text. Additional information is at http://www.acs.org/ Introducing Green Chemistry in Teaching and Research, Terrence
education/greenchem/cases.html. J. Collins, J. Chem. Educ. 1995, 72, 96.
Joe Breen Memorial Fund. The Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) and the
American Chemical Society (ACS) have established the Joseph Breen Memo-
rial Fund, which sponsors the participation of a young international Green
Chemistry scholar in a Green Chemistry technical meeting, conference, or
training program. “Young” is defined as above high school but below assis-
tant professor. One or more fellowships will be awarded each year. This fund
commemorates Joe Breen’s commitment to and accomplishments for the ad-
vancement of Green Chemistry. See p 1553 for available details.