Course Syllabus and Informational Outline
Green Chemistry (Chemistry 442),Spring 2014
M, W & F: 11:00--- 11:50, Room S-216
Tuesday: 11:00---12:30, Lab----S-135
Course Code & Title: Chem-442 Green Chemistry
Credit Hours:
4
Pre-requisite:
Course Description:
To understand the environmental consequences of chemical manufacturing and
illustrate how these may be minimized.
Content
Application of innovative technology to established industrial processes,
environmentally improved routes to important products, design of new green chemicals
and materials, sustainable resources, biotechnology alternatives, evaluation of
environmental impact.
See drseemaljelani.wordpress.com course website for more information.
This course covers the most significant emerging field in modern chemistry, namely,
Green chemistry, the field which focuses upon the reinvention of chemistry such that
pollution can be avoided. The chemical nature and action of pollutants of the
atmosphere, land, and water sources will be presented along with prospects for their
minimization, and approaches for their eradication. Examples of successful green
chemistry developments will be highlighted. Themes woven throughout the course
include emerging concepts for guiding green chemistry, environmental toxicology, the
development of green oxidants, and an identification of toxins, especially persistent
toxins, where elimination will require new green chemistry. A significant effort has been
made to produce a course suitable for an interdisciplinary audience and recent classes
have come from diverse backgrounds throughout the university.
The course aims to:
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The ultimate aim of green chemistry is to entirely cut down the stream of
chemicals pouring into the environment
To think prospectively about how to change our education subjects to be
sustainable learning tools by Investigating examples of green chemistry
applications relevant to students
To understand the important role of the green chemistry and how to deal with it in
our practical life
Teach the fundamentals of greener chemical processes including the political
and environmental drivers that impact on the chemical industry.
Familiarize students with legislation and control of hazardous substances.
Provide students with the skills to propose a synthetic plan for any molecule
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Give the students the opportunity to perform research work as part of an active
research group within the Department.
Prepare students for employment as scientists in industry, academia or a
research institute by direct entry or following further study.
Microwave mediated reactions
Applications of photochemistry, electrochemistry, sonochemistry and other
alternative resources for greener applications (like fuel cells)
The applications of hydrogen peroxide as greener solvents
Student Learning Objectives:
1. Understand and identify structure/function relationships with respect to chemical
properties, biological activity, and product performance. Be able to rank
competing synthetic methods using the twelve principles of Green Chemistry
along with other technical metrics
2. To understand the environmental consequences of chemical manufacturing and
illustrate how these may be minimized
3. Introduce the 12 principles of green chemistry as well as the tools of green
chemistry including the use of alternative feedstocks or starting material
reagents, solvents, target molecules, and catalysts.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of green approaches to industrial scale chemical
processes.
5. Show knowledge of specific green alternatives including alternative solvents,
reactor design, atom efficient reactions, energy issues and full life cycle analysis.
6. Propose possible synthetic routes for almost any chemical.
7. Recognize and understand the major methods of separation, purification, and
characterization of compounds.
8. Use scientific skills in a research project on green chemistry.
9. Demonstrate transferable skills in oral presentation, report writing and the use of
information technology.
10. Students will understand how to assess the environmental impact of chemical
operations and understand the methods for their minimization and be able to
suggest alternative green methods to current processes.
Course Evaluation:
Weekly Assignments:
The assignments for the class will focus on developing good presentation skills and
developing the ability to critically evaluate the literature. Detailed descriptions of the
assignments will be posted on the course website.
Literature Summaries:
Every Monday, one quarter of the class will be expected to turn in a typed summary
of one of the journal articles assigned for the prior week and to lead the discussion
of the articles during Monday’s class. These summaries will follow an online
discussion outside of the classroom, using the Blackboard environment as a tool to
facilitate discussion during the previous week. Please refer to the handout
‘Everyone is expected to come to class prepared to discuss the journal articles
assigned for that week.
Midterm Paper:
Midterm paper critiquing a specific recent development in green chemistry will be
due at the end of the midterm week. Students are encouraged to refer to Real World
Cases in Green Chemistry for an example on how to structure the paper. The paper
can be written as if it were an additional chapter in the book. Topics are easily found
from other or more recent Presidential Green Chemistry Awards that are not
covered in the text.
Final Project:
The final project for the course will be a 15 minute in class presentation of your
critical evaluation of a green chemical process or procedure that was recently
developed. These critiques should closely follow the outline used in each Chapter of
Real World Cases in Green Chemistry. Homework assignments throughout the
course will be geared towards helping you to assemble and prepare this 15 minute
PowerPoint presentation.
Green Chemistry presentation rubric student performance will be on individual
basis
Green chemistry project rubric will be on individual basis
Green week
Green chemistry Wiki project: A Wiki is a self-made website. Students will be
researching an environmentally unfriendly product (conventional product) and
comparing it to its green, environmentally friendly, counterpart (innovative product).
They will be using www.wikispaces.com
COURSE EVALUATION
ACTIVITY TO BE ASSESSED
 Final Exams:
 Mid exams:
 Laboratory work and write ups:
 Class quizzes:
 Green Chemistry presentation
 Green chemistry project
 Green chemistry Wiki project
 Attendance:
Total
WEIGHTAGE (% AGE)
30%
15%
20%
07%
08%
08%
07%
05%
100%
Laboratory work:
1. 12 Principles of Green Chemistry and how to introduce and explain them
2. Educational Goal: To provide an understanding of the Environmental Impact
Factor (E-Factor) and how it is used in chemical processes and how it can be
applied to everyday life.
3. Essential Oil Extraction using Liquid CO2
4. Acetylation of primary amine (Preparation of acetanilide) Conventional
Procedure; Alternative Green Procedure
5. Recycling Polylactic Acid
6. Water based organic synthesis
7. PTC based transformations
8. Microwave radiated reactions
9. Synthetic route for different polymers using green resources
10. Reaction involving renewable resources
Office Hours
Monday
10:00-11:00 a.m
Wednesday
10:00-11:00 a.m
Friday
10:00-11:00 a.m and 14:00-15:00 p.m (For
Research students)
Important
The time schedule sheet for extra preparation will be given every month. Those
students who need extra time to understand certain topics can make
appointments according to their availability
CHEM-442 GREEN CHEMISTRY
1. INTRODUCTION AND PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE
CHEMISTRY
 Green chemistry and industry
 Waste minimization and atom economy
 Reduction of materials use,
 Reduction of non-renewable raw material use
 Reduction of energy requirement
 Inherently safe design
 Alternative solvents
1. GREEN CHEMISTRY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
 The Concept of Sustainability
AND
GREEN
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Green Chemistry and Sustainability Parameters
Sustainable use of chemical feedstock
Sustainable use of water
Sustainable use of energy
Environmental resilience
Life-cycle Assessment (As a Tool for Identification of More Sustainable Products
and Processes)
2. INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES USING CATALYSTS
 Zeolite-based solid acid catalysts
 Heteropolyacid-based solid acid catalysts
 Sulfated zirconia
 Ion-exchange resins
 Acidic and pillared clays
 Silica nanocomposite
 high-octane fuels
 Waste Minimization in Industry (by Means of purification, Choice of starting
material, Yields, Number and order of steps, Robustness, Solvents, Reagents,
Reaction temperature, Heavy metals, Endurance etc.)
3. POLYMER-SUPPORTED REAGENTS
 Polymeric tools for organic synthesis
 Copolymerisation with usual Monomers (Polystyrenes, Polyacrylates,
Polyvinylpyridines,
Polybenzimidazoles,
Polyphosphazenes,
Chlorofluoropolymers)
4. BIOCATALYSIS
 Chemical Production by Biocatalysis
 (Pharmaceuticals, Flavours and fragrance compounds, Carbohydrates)
 Biodesulfurisation
5. RECENT ADVANCES IN PHASE-TRANSFER CATALYSIS
 Progress in Classical PTC Reactions
 Nucleophilic aliphatic and aromatic substitutions
 Phase-transfer catalysis elimination and isomerisation reactions
 Base-promoted C, N, O and S alkylation and arylation reactions
 Inverse PTC
 Three Liquid Phases and Triphase Catalysis
 Asymmetric PTC
 Phase-transfer Catalysis in Polymerization Processes
 Applications of PTC in Analytical Chemistry
 Phase Transfer Combined with Metal Catalysis
 Phase transfer in homogeneous transition metal catalysis
 Hydrogen Peroxide and Other PTC Oxidations and Halogenations
 Supercritical and Ionic Liquid PTC
6. POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
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Manufacture of hydrogen peroxide
Uses of hydrogen peroxide
Peroxygen Systems and their Reactivity
Effect of acids and bases
Oxygen species
Per-acids and organic activation
Catalytic activation
Peroxo–metal systems
Enzymes
7. APPLICATIONS OF MICROWAVES FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN
SYNTHESES
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Background
Properties of Microwaves
Influence of Microwave Heating on Chemical Reactions
Rate Studies and Investigations into ‘Microwave Effects’
Approaches to Microwave assisted Organic Chemistry
Solvent-free methods
Methods with solvents
Advantages of the Pressurized Microwave Systems
Elevated temperature
Rapid heating
cooling and ease of use for high-temperature reactions
Control of heating
Exothermic reactions
differential heating and viscous reaction mixtures
Reaction vessels
Reactions with a distillation step
Flexible operation High-temperature Water as a Medium or Solvent for
Microwave-assisted Organic Synthesis
SPECIAL TOPICS
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Photochemistry
Electrochemistry
Fuel Cells for greener chemistry applications
CHEM-442 LAB ACTIVITIES
1. Water based organic synthesis
2. PTC based transformations
3. Microwave radiated reactions
4. Synthetic route for different polymers using green resources
5. Reaction involving renewable resources