Green Chemistry

By Rebecca Gill

What is Green Chemistry?

Green Chemistry is designed to develop processes and products to reduce or get rid of hazardous substances and chemicals. Also it is designed to prevent environmental impact and to help prevent pollution. Green Chemistry relies on the 12 principles to help come up with ways to prevent pollution and environmental impacts.

12 Principles

Prevent waste – it is better to prevent creating waste in the first place than to clean it up afterwards.

Design safer chemicals – chemicals should be designed so they are still effective but are less toxic to the environment.

Find safer ways to make synthetic products – find ways to make synthetic products that are less toxic to human health and the environment.

Maximise atom economy – methods produced to design products that contain all the reactants used, with little left over.

Use safer solvents – we should be aiming to use solvents that pose little or no threat to the environment and human health.

Use renewable reactants - don’t use reactants that aren’t renewable

12 Principles contd.

Maximise energy efficiency – recognise the environmental and economic impacts and try to minimize them.

Avoid chemical derivatives – should be minimized or avoided as it requires additional reagents and it can produce unnecessary waste.

Use catalysts whenever possible - Catalytic reagents are better than stoichiometric reagents

Design biodegradable products – design products so that once they have been used they breakdown and do not harm the environment.

Use real-time analysis to prevent pollution – monitor the reactant so if you can detect when it is finished and if there is any products left over.

Minimise the potential for accidents – the chemicals should be chosen so that they minimize the potential for hazardous situations.

Case Study

PYROCOOL technologies developed a “fire extinguishing foam that is nontoxic and highly biodegradable”. They created a product that isn’t toxic to the environment or any living creature and it also breaks down after it has been used. The product doesn’t affect the ozone layer unlike other fire extinguisher products. It is a universal fire extinguisher and cooling agent. Pyrocool technologies are considerate of the environmental demands of the public which it aims to serve.

Case Study

The benefits to the company and environment from the Green Chemistry initiative is that they are able to fill a gap in the market and give customers something that doesn’t harm the environment. Not only do they give their customers what they want but what they need. The benefits to the environment are that people are now trying to find better ways to protect the environment from being destroyed. It has become a main priority so businesses look like they are concerned and doing something about but also trying to help.

Bibliography

Warner, J. C. "12 Principles of Green Chemistry." American Chemical Society - The World's Largest Scientific Society. N.p., 1998. Web. 02 Aug. 2012. <http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true>.

"The Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry." Green Chemistry Glossary. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Aug. 2012. <http://greenchem.uoregon.edu/Pages/GreenChemGlossary.php>.

"Green Chemistry Definition." About.com Chemistry. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Aug. 2012. <http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryglossary/g/green-chemistry-definition.htm>.

Rickard, Greg. Science Dimensions 4. Melbourne: Pearson Education, 2006. Print.

"About Us." PYROCOOLTECH. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Aug. 2012. <http://pyrocooltech.com/about%20pyrocooltech.html>.

http://www.pyrocoolfiresuppression.com/pdf/green_chemistry.pdf