Midterm 2 Flashcards
Principle 1 Sustainability
Waste prevention likely involves reducing the use of materials or repurposing former waste products into a circular economy-type lifecycle
Principle 2 Sustainability
Prioritizing atom economical reactions means using more of all atoms in the start components and avoiding waste generation, which is sustainable
Principle 3 Sustainability
Less hazardous chemical synthesis means that the processes will be safer for both humans and the environment, making it less likely for us to damage either ourselves or the environment in a way that compromises future generations
Principle 4 Sustainability
Designing safer chemicals means that the chemicals will be safer for both humans and the environment, making it less likely for us to damage either ourselves or the environment in a way that compromises future generations
Principle 5 Sustainability
Safer solvents and auxiliaries means that the processes will be safer for both humans and the environment, making it less likely for us to damage either ourselves or the environment in a way that compromises future generations
Principle 6 Sustainability
By designing for energy efficiency, we can reduce our energy demand (and thus our natural resource demand), making it easier to conserve enough for the next generations to have as much as we do
Principle 7 Sustainability
The use of renewable feedstocks means that we are not depleting materials, and are instead using replenishing materials. These replenishing materials will still be available to future generations, while using depleting materials means less would be available to them. This is clearly sustainable
Principle 8 Sustainability
Reducing derivatives means that we have less waste production resulting from chemical processes, meaning that we are making more with the same amount and getting closer to a circular lifecycle
Principle 9 Sustainability
Catalysts reduce waste generation, resource consumption, and energy use, making them a very sustainable tool (when implemented carefully)
Principle 10 Sustainability
Designing for degradation means we are designing chemicals to integrate with, and not disrupt, natural nutrient and resource cycling processes. We are making what we use now available in the same way to future generations
Principle 11 Sustainability
Real-time analysis for pollution prevention helps us keep our environment healthy and running as it needs to in order to provide for future generations
Principle 12 Sustainability
Inherently safer chemistry for accident prevention means we are designing molecules to be less toxic, which almost always means making them more environmentally friendly as well. Environmentally friendly materials are less likely to compromise future generations’ wellbeing
What is sustainability?
Sustainability is the idea of using resources with regard to future generations and ensuring they have the same access we do now. It is often thought of as a triple bottom line: satisfying social, environmental, and economic criteria for success
What are UN SDG goals that have direct links to Green Chemistry?
Good health and wellbeing, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, industry innovation and infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action
What is life cycle thinking/life cycle assessment (LCA)?
LCA means assessing the environmental and human health impacts of a product by looking at the entire life cycle of product and all of its inputs and outputs
Major product lifecycle stages
Materials extraction, manufacturing, distribution, usage, and end-of-life
What is an LCA case study?
Proctor & Gamble, 2001, laundry detergent, found that the vast majority of environmental impacts were from warm water washing
At what stage of the product lifecycle can green chemistry have the most impact?
Manufacturing (also extraction/processing and end of life)
Why do companies perform an LCA?
Environmental performance, optimization of operations (efficiency), determining relevant environmental indicators, identifying areas for improvement, and as a marketing/PR technique
What is circular economy?
Circular economy is the idea of moving away from linear life cycles and making it so that there is no waste; materials and products are constantly recycled, reused, or regenerated instead of disposed
Renewable resource/feedstock
A raw material to supply a machine or industrial process that is replenished on a relevant (human) time scale
What makes a feedstock a viable renewable resource?
Replenishing on a relevant time scale, sustainable across the entire life cycle, functional, and economical
What are types of renewable feedstocks?
CO2 (functionalize it), biomass (lignin, algae, corn, switchgrass, poplar, willow, sorghum, bamboo, kelp), agricultural waste (manure)
Valorization
Process of reusing, recycling, or composting biomass waste materials into more useful materials, chemicals, fuels, or energy
Lignins
Rich source of aromatic carbon found in plant support tissues. Currently used in paper and bioethanol industries. Potential for use as a “drop-in “ chemical for phenols (typically petroleum based) in many products
Terpenes
Natural hydrocarbons of the form (C5H8)n where n >= 2. Often have a strong and pleasant odor. Currently used in biosolvents and bioplastics. Example: limonene degreaser product is safer, performs comparably, and smells better