General Principles of SGC Flashcards
What are some of the complications with moving to more eco-friendly policies?
Chemical industry built around fossil fuel feedstocks, rising energy demands, initial hesitancy to put down large amounts of money for restructure required
What factors impact availability of chemical resources?
General usage and spread over planet (e.g. precious metals), geopolitical tensions, demand for previous materials in feedstocks (e.g. isopropanol leading to acetone shortage)
What is the difference between sustainability and green chemistry?
Sustainability is the goal, and green chemistry is the means with which to achieve it.
What sorts of considerations are taken in a cradle-to-grave approach?
where do raw materials come from, where do they end up, what energy and materials are input and what waste is taken away from a process…consider transportation too!
What other life cycle analyses are used and what processes do they include/leave out?
cradle-to-cradle (closed loop, end of life disposal is recycling), cradle-to-gate (raw materials acquisition to product manufacture), gate-to-gate (only steps involved in product manufacture)
What are the 12 principles of green chemistry? Briefly overview.
Waste prevention, renewable materials, biodegradability, shorter synthetic methods, catalysis, mild conditions, safety and low toxicity
What do the letters in PRODUCTIVELY stand for?
P - prevent wastes
R - renewable materials
O - omit derivatisation steps
D - degradable chemical products
U - use of safe synthetic methods
C - catalytic reagents
T - temperature, pressure ambient
I - in process monitoring
V - very few auxiliary substrates
E - E-factor, maximise feed in product
L - low toxicity of chemical products
Y - yes, it is safe
What are the drivers for green chemistry?
Toxicity, cost, waste, impact on environment, materials (inc. plant) and energy requirements
What are the problems for cradle-to-gate analysis?
Ignores end of life considerations, and how the product may be used.
What are the problems for gate-to-gate analysis?
Ignores raw material acquisition and usage and disposal of the product
What is the importance of green chemistry?
Green chemistry is the implementation of technologies to improve the impact on the environment from the chemical industry - of course it’s fucking important!
Whose responsibility is it to implement the principles of green chemistry?
Chemical industry has responsibilities to the environment, public and shareholders!
