UNIT 3 - MSE II
Course Name: Chemistry Course Code: Z5SCB25200
Unit III
Principles of Green Chemistry
What is Green Chemistry?
➢ Green Chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that
reduce or eliminate the use and/or generation of hazardous substances
Material &
Waste Energy
Green Chemistry
is all Risk Environmental
Reducing Impact
about………….
Cost
Accident
Hazard
12 Green
Principles Chemistry
of
1. Prevention
2. Atom Economy
3. Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses
4. Designing Safer Chemicals
5. Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries
6. Design for Energy Efficiency
7. Use of Renewable Feedstocks
8. Reduce Derivatives
9. Catalysis
10. Design for Degradation
11. Real-time Analysis for Pollution Prevention
12. Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention
Waste Prevention
It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it is
formed.
A+B P+W
W: Waste
Ways to prevent waste?
1. Avoid the generation of W.
2. Find alternatives to A & B to improve overall efficiency of a
reaction.
1. Incorporate better catalysts to push the reaction to full completion
Atom Economy (coined by Barry M. Trost)
More Simply…
• Ideally all atoms from the reagents are incorporated into a final product.
High Atom Economy Less Waste Production
• There are no co-products or byproducts in the reaction.
• The molecular waste is therefore reduced.
Atom Economy
Product?
A product is a substance that is present at the end of a
chemical reaction
Reagent or Reactant?
Reactants are the starting materials in a reaction that
undergo a chemical change to form a product
Case Study
Calculate atom economy for the formation of HCl
Total mass of reactants
2 × 58.44 + 98.09 = 214.97 g
Mass of desired product (HCl)
2 × 36.46 = 72.92 g
Mass of desired product
% Atom Economy =
Total mass of reactants × 100
72.92
% Atom Economy = × 100 ≈ 33.9%
214.97
Find the percentage atom economy for the production of Iron (Fe) from the reaction between Iron
(III) Oxide and Carbon. [given atomic weight of Fe = 55.45, O = 16, Cl = 35.5, C = 12]
3. Less Hazardous Chemical Synthesis
To make safer environment and human health it is always better to use less hazardous
chemical synthesis
Example: Synthesis of polystyrene foam
In the manufacture of polystyrene foam sheet packing material, chlorofluorocarbons were
used which contribute to O3 depletion.
Better avoid above method go for green synthesis as shown below
Alternative green synthesis method is
blowing agents recycled polystyrene with carbon dioxide (CO₂), a more environmentally
friendly alternative, to produce polystyrene foam sheets used in packaging
Alternative green synthesis method polystyrene foam
Principle 4. Designing safer chemicals
Chemical products should be designed in such a way that they are effective as well as less toxic
and has better safety
Example
Traditional firefighting Foam, uses long-chain fluorinated surfactants as active ingredients
though effective in smothering and cooling fires but Persistent in nature, Bioaccumulative, Toxic
to ecosystems.
Green alternative (EPA Award 2014): Solberg’s RE-HEALING Foam uses halogen-free
ingredients like hydrocarbon surfactants, sugars, and water.
These foams are safer and absorb more heat due to complex carbohydrates.
Principle 5. Safer solvent and auxiliaries
Solvents represent most important challenge for Green Chemistry. Instead of hazardous solvent
better to use safer solvents
Best safer solvent is water.
Problems associated with traditional organic solvents
Green solvents
Principle 6. Design for energy efficiency
Chemical processes should be designed to minimize energy use, ideally operating at ambient
temperature and pressure to reduce environmental impact.
Example
Using microwave-assisted synthesis instead of conventional heating reduces reaction time and
energy consumption.
Principle 7: Use of renewable materials
Prefer materials that are naturally replenishable, reducing reliance on non-renewable resources
and environmental harm.
Example
Using bamboo instead of hardwood for furniture bamboo grows quickly and is harvested
sustainably.
• Replacement of polymer based products with renewable materials.
• Example 1: Instead of petroleum based plastics, one can use plant or bacteria derived plastics.
• Examples of bioplastics are PLA, PGA etc
• Use of biomass for energy (eg. Biogas)
• Use of materials such as, cellulose, chitin, chitosan, lignin, etc
[Link]
CHEMISTRY 21
Principle 8: Reduce derivatives
• While preparing product, target so that one reaction gives one
product
• Derivatives should be minimized or avoided because derivatization
require additional reagents and can generate waste.
Principle 9. Catalysis
• Catalysis can improve the efficiency of a reaction by lowering the energy input
required, by avoiding the use of stoichiometric amount of reagents, and by
greater product selectivity.
• This implies less energy, less feedstock and less waste.
CHEMISTRY 23
Principle 10: Biodegradation
• Chemical products should be designed so that at the end of their function
they break down into innocuous degradation products and do not persist in
the environment.
Principle 11: Analysis (real time analysis for pollution prevention)
Principle 11 emphasizes the use of real-time monitoring and analytical techniques to detect
and prevent pollution at its source.
By continuously collecting and interpreting environmental data, industries can respond quickly
to potential issues, reduce harmful emissions, and improve compliance with regulations.
This proactive approach supports cleaner production, minimizes environmental impact, and
enhances overall efficiency
Principle 12: Accident prevention
Before finalizing the production of any materials, all types of hazards whether
it is toxicity, physical hazards such as explosivity or flammability, and global
hazards should be addressed in the design of chemicals and processes in
order to prevent accidents such as Bhopal or the Chernobyl incident.
CHEMISTRY 26
Accident prevention
Bhopal Tragedy
Love Canal incident
CHEMISTRY 27
Catalysts
Definition:
Acts as a Push
• A catalyst is a substance that increases to the
chemical
reaction
the rate of a chemical reaction without
being consumed in the process.
Catalyst
• Catalysis is the process by which a
Provides
catalyst increases the rate of a chemical Serves as
a
alternative
pathways for
facilitator
the reaction
reaction
Role of Catalysts
Types of catalysts
1. A homogeneous catalyst is present in the same phase as the reactants.
Example: An acid such as sulphuric acid as a catalyst in the hydrolysis of an
ester (both are in liquid phase)
2. A heterogeneous catalyst is present in a different phase from the
reactants
Example: Haber Process, production of ammonia from hydrogen and
nitrogen using Fe as the catalyst (reactant & catalyst in different phase)
Homogeneous catalysis vs Heterogeneous
Feature Homogeneous Catalysis catalyst
Heterogeneous Catalysis
Reactants and catalyst are in the same phase Reactants and catalyst are in different phases (e.g.,
Phase
(e.g., all gas or all liquid). solid catalyst and gaseous/liquid reactants).
The entire molecule of the catalyst acts as the The reaction occurs on the surface of the solid
Active Site
active site. catalyst at specific "active sites".
Difficult and often costly to separate the
Easy to separate the solid catalyst from the liquid or
Separation catalyst from the products, as they are in the
gas products, often by simple filtration.
same phase.
The reaction proceeds through a series of steps on
The reaction occurs throughout the volume of
Mechanism the catalyst's surface: adsorption, reaction, and
the reaction mixture.
desorption.
Catalyst recovery and recycling are often Catalyst is easily recovered and can often be reused
Reusability
challenging and expensive. multiple times.
Often provides high selectivity, which can be Generally, has lower selectivity compared to
Selectivity tuned by modifying the catalyst molecule. This homogeneous catalysis, as multiple reactions can
allows for specific products to be formed. occur on the surface.
Often requires higher temperatures and pressures to
Reaction Typically requires milder conditions (lower
overcome mass transfer limitations and promote
Conditions temperatures and pressures). 31
surface reactions.
Mechanism of heterogeneous catalysis: Surface adsorption theory
According to Surface adsorption theory heterogeneous catalysis has four stages
Stage 1: Diffusion of reactants to the surface of the catalyst.
Stage 2: Adsorption of reactant molecules on the surface of the catalyst.
Stage3:Occurrence of chemical reaction on the catalyst’s surface through formation of an inter
mediate compound
Stage 4: Desorption of reaction products from the catalyst surface
Example
Above mechanism can be explained taking following example of formation of SO3
Why is Heterogeneous Catalysis Important?
• Heterogeneous catalysis is crucial in producing the bulk and fine chemicals
used in modern chemical process development.
Advantages Heterogeneous catalysis
1. In the preparation of ammonia in Haber process
2. In the preparation of hydrocarbon products by the method of
Fischer - Tropsch process
3. In the preparation of sulfur trioxide by Contact process
4. It is easy to separate
5. It can be used multiple times