What is green chemistry? Give its significance.

Green Chemistry is also called “Sustainable Chemistry”. This branch of Chemistry is used for designing
chemical products and methods that reduce hazardous chemical substances from being generated. This would
help us to design an efficient planet in which all living creatures can co -depend on each other to benefit
themselves.

Green chemistry is a newly emerging field to design, synthesize and implement chemical products by scientists
and engineers that would protect and benefit the economy, people, and our planet by finding creative and
innovative methods to reduce waste, conserve energy, and discover replacements for hazardous substances.

Importance/Significance of Green Chemistry

The main benefits of green chemistry relate to the reduced impact of chemical products and industrial processes on
the environment and human health. These benefits can also be gleaned from the 12 principles of green chemistry,
which was written in 1998 by Paul Anastas and John C. Warner.

The benefits of green chemistry can be divided into three categories based on the 12 principles – environmental,
human, and business benefits.

Environmental benefits

• Green chemistry reduces the hazardous chemical byproducts that are either intentionally (out of necessity or
inevitability) or unintentionally released into the environment. For example, agricultural pesticides are
intentionally sprayed onto large areas of farmland. However, they can accidentally get into aquifers and
pollute the drinking water.
• Green chemicals are biodegradable and non-harmful in the long term. Some can even be recovered and
reused.
• Chemicals are not biomagnified and do not become toxic in fauna and flora, meaning there's no disruption to
the ecological balance.
• Ecological problems, like global warming and ozone depletion, are significantly reduced.
• Sanitary landfills require less space because fewer toxic chemicals are produced.
Human benefits

• Cleaner air means city dwellers have a lower risk of developing respiratory diseases.
• Lower levels of chemical waste in water makes it safer for drinking and recreation.
• Safer workplace for those employed in the chemical industry as the chemical processes and products are less
hazardous. This also reduces the need for personal protective equipment and lowers the risk of catastrophic
accidents like fires and explosions.
• Consumers are less likely to be exposed to hazardous products, especially when using chemicallybased
household items such as cleaning agents. Medicines and food products are also safer.
• Lower risk of developing chronic diseases due to long-term exposure to hazardous chemicals.
Business benefits

• More efficient production because of the atom economy principle. This means raw materials are converted
efficiently into end products with zero or fewer waste byproducts.
• A reduction in the steps in chemical production makes the entire process faster and more costeffective. Less
energy, water, and other resources are used as a result.
• Less waste means lower expenditure on waste disposal and facility maintenance.
 • Increased efficiency and a lower carbon footprint may mean factories require less space and can downsize.
How does green chemistry help research and development?
The chemical industry and other manufacturing sectors benefit from green chemistry in many ways.
It makes more business sense to invest in green chemistry as cheaper and less harmful products are produced.
But it's not only a matter of cost-effectiveness and increased profits. The practice of green chemistry also adds value,
with consumers able to use and enjoy products without being exposed to hazardous chemicals.
As a tool for sustainable development, green chemistry is significantly lowering the cost of production and reducing
the need for fossil fuels. As a result, alternative sources of renewable energy are now being developed.
A vanguard in technology innovation, green chemistry is having a positive impact on various aspects of civilisation,
from energy production to consumer goods manufacturing.

What are some examples of applications of green chemistry.

There is an utmost need of green chemistry and promoting methods that would be eco -friendly
for chemical synthesis. Green Chemistry is applied to several fields like pharmace

uticals, industries, and households too for minimizing the use of harmful or haza rdous chemicals.
Some of the examples of green chemistry are as follows:

1. Green Solvents: As an alternative to petrochemical solvents, eco-friendly green solvents

or bio solvents such as water, alcohol, etc. are used in chemical synthesis.
2. Polystyrene (a petroleum product) is a good heat insulator used in food packaging. In the
past years, this packaging was expanded with tCFCs, but nowadays they are replaced by
carbon dioxide or cardboard containers.
3. Adipic Acid is widely used in the synthesis of Nylon. But this adipic acid is made from
carcinogenic benzene. Hence, scientists have developed genetically altered bacteria as a
catalyst to synthesize adipic acid from glucose.
4. For dry-cleaning of clothes, initially, kerosene or gasoline was used but now chlorinated
solvents are used for this purpose which is another very useful invention of green
chemistry.
5. Biodiesel is produced from renewable resources and is less dangerous than petrol and
diesel because it is less combustible.
6. New biocatalysts are developed using an enzymatic process for the treatment of type-
22 diabetes with equivalent potential as other drugs which reduce waste, improve yield,
and safe. This eliminates the necessity for a metal catalyst.
7. One of the most reliable discoveries in this field was the development of the metathesis of
olefin. This reaction was developed by Robert Grubbs, Richard Schrock, and Yves Chauvin,
who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 20052005.

Production of Hydrazine: Earlier hydrazine was produced by the Olin Raschig process, which
involved the use of ammonia and sodium hypochlorite. But this was replaced by the peroxide
process where ammonia was allowed to react with hydrogen peroxide. In this alternate method,
water is the only side product. Also, it does not require any auxiliary extracting solvents.
Enlist 12 principles of green chemistry
Explain 'Prevention of waste' principle in green chemistry. Or

Give an example to explain why it is beneficial to prevent waste formation in chemical

processes rather than treat waste?
It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it has been created.

Manufacturers try to generate as little waste as possible, through reaction choice, process design and recycling.
Industry aims to use chemical reactions and processes that make the most effective use of available resources and
generate the smallest possible amount of waste material.

But can prevention be assessed quantitatively?

One way of measuring the efficiency of a process is to calculate the yield, which compares the expected product
quantity with the actual amount obtained (although some potential product may be 'lost' as a result of competing
reactions).
A metric, known as the environmental factor (or E factor for short), was developed to gauge the amount of waste a
process created, and is calculated by simply dividing the mass of waste the production process produces by the
mass of product obtained, with a lower E factor being better.

Drug production processes historically had notoriously high E factors, but the application of some of the other green
chemistry principles can help to reduce this. Other methods of assessing amounts of waste, such as comparing the
mass of the raw materials to that of the product, are also used.

An example is the manufacture of phenol. It used to be made from benzene using sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide
in a multi-stage process, which, overall, can be expressed as:

The chemical equation shows that 1 mol of benzene (78 g) should yield 1 mol of phenol (94 g). In practice, the
quantity of phenol produced is found to be about 77 g, giving a yield of 82%, which may be regarded as quite good.
(Yield % = mass produced / mass expected x 100 %)
However, the calculation obscures the fact that the reaction also generates 1 mol (126 g) of sodium sulfite for each
mole of phenol produced. This may be acceptable if there is enough demand for sodium sulfite, but if not, it presents
a serious problem of waste management and adds significantly to costs, meaning that this may not be the most
suitable reaction for manufacturing phenol.
Explain ‘ Design for Energy Efficiency’ principle of Green Chemistry.
Energy-intensive processes are frowned upon in green chemistry. Where it is possible, it is better to minimise the
energy used to create a chemical product, by carrying out reactions at room temperature and pressure.
Considerations of reaction design also have to be made; removal of solvents, or processes to remove impurities, can
increase the energy required, and by association increase the process’s environmental impacts.

Good insulation and well-

maintained equipment will reduce
heat loss,
and any waste heat can be used
Maintenance
for warming offices and producing
and
hot water rather than being lost to
recovery
the atmosphere. In some cases
this heat may be shared with a
local community by piping hot
water from the site.
Reactions and catalysts that
operate at lower temperatures
may be chosen.
Reaction Most reactions based on
choice and biosynthesis work at relatively low
conditions temperatures; however this may
need balancing with the extra
energy often needed for product
separation.
Manufacturing sites often generate
their own electricity, rather than
buying from the grid. This is more
Combined efficient as it eliminates
heat and transmission losses, and the
power excess heat released during the
(CHP) generation process can be used
on site for many different purposes
from pre-heating reactants to
keeping offices warm.

All manufacturing processes need energy to convert raw materials into useful products. In the chemical industry it is
used to heat reactants and in processes such as distillation, product drying, electrolysis, and treatment of waste.
At present, the energy used still relies mainly on fossil fuels, but even so the use of these can be reduced in several
ways.( see above table)
Explain the principle “Inherently Safer Chemistry of Accident Prevention” in green chemistry
Inherently safer chemistry for accident prevention
Working with chemicals always carries a degree of risk. However, if hazards are managed well, the risk can be
minimised. This principle clearly links with a number of the other principles that discuss hazardous products or
reagents. Where possible, exposure to hazards should be eliminated from processes, and should be designed to
minimise the risks where elimination is not possible.
The impact of chemicals on human health and the environment can be the result of:

• routine or accidental emissions during production

• the use and disposal of a product.

It is not in the interest of any industry to waste resources or endanger its workforce, and this is as much an
incentive to reduce emissions as are the legal requirements placed upon manufacturers. Some processes of
necessity need the handling of dangerous materials but wherever possible industry is attempting make this
safer. One way is to alter the reagents used. For example, one process used in the manufacture of the most
widely used herbicide, glyphosate (sold a Roundup), uses the sodium salt of 2,2'-iminodiethanoic acid as one of
the intermediates. This is made in a series of reactions from ammonia, methanal (formaldehyde) and hydrogen
cyanide. Although hydrogen cyanide is a very useful reagent, it is extremely toxic. A recent innovation has been
the introduction of a new route to the sodium salt.
The starting materials are ammonia and epoxyethane, which, on reacting, form 2,2'-iminodiethanol, often named
diethanolamine. This is then converted to the sodium salt of 2,2'-iminodiethanoic acid:

Thus in the event of an accident, the consequences would not be as serious, and clean-up would be simpler.
A manufacturing site will also generate waste in the form of unwanted material from the production
processes; this may include solvents for reaction, extraction, purification and waste treatment. Solvents can
often be recycled or, where this is not feasible, may be used as fuel substitutes (see above). Other waste may
ultimately end up in landfill, and this is when the nature of the waste is important.
Many products are disposed of when they reach the end of their useful life. The ideal would be for all such
waste to be recycled, rather than it ending up in landfill, though this is more dependent on the willingness of
consumers to take responsibility. Products that are likely to go to landfill should be designed so they degrade
rapidly and safely.
Explain the concept of atom economy.
Explain the conventional and green route of manufacturing indigo dye. Mention the green
chemistry principles involved.
Explain conventional and Green chemistry route for production of Ibuprofen Highlight the green
chemistry principle involved.
Give the traditional and green synthesis of adipic acid and compare the starting materials used.
Explain conventional and Green route of manufacturing of Carbaryl. By this reaction which
principle of Green Chemistry is shown.
Explain conventional and Green route of manufacturing of Benzimidazole & Benzyl alcohol. By this
reaction which principle of Green Chemistry is shown.
 What is Biodiesel? Give the trans-esterification reaction of the preparation of Biodiesel and two
advantages of biodiesel.
Biodiesel is defined as long-chain fatty acid alkyl esters obtained from vegetable oils or animal fats by the
transesterification process.

What is Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is an alternative clean-burning renewable fuel similar to conventional diesel. It is produced using animal
fats, vegetable oils, and waste cooking oil. Due to its biodegradable nature, it is used as a replacement for fossil
diesel fuel. It can also be mixed with petroleum diesel fuel in any proportion.

The method being described here is for making FAMEs biodiesel. The reaction is called transesterification, and the
process takes place in four steps. The first step is to mix the alcohol for reaction with the catalyst, typically a
strong base such as NaOH or KOH. The alcohol/catalyst is then reacted with the fatty acid so that the
transesterification reaction takes place. Figure a shows the preparation of the catalyst with the alcohol, and Figure
b shows the transesterification reaction.

Figure a: Formation of methoxide

The catalyst is prepared by mixing methanol and a strong base such as sodium hydroxide or potassium
hydroxide. During the preparation, the NaOH breaks into ions of Na+ and OH-. The OH- abstracts the
hydrogen from methanol to form water and leaves the CH3O- available for reaction. Methanol should be as
dry as possible. When the OH- ion reacts with H+ ion, it reacts to form water. Water will increase the
possibility of a side reaction with free fatty acids (fatty acids that are not triglycerides) to form soap, an
unwanted reaction. Enzymatic processes can also be used (called lipases); alcohol is still needed and only
replaces the catalyst. Lipases are slower than chemical catalysts, are high in cost, and produce low yields.
 Figure b: Chemistry of biodiesel production.

Figure c shows a schematic of the process for making biodiesel. Glycerol is formed and has to be
separated from the biodiesel. Both glycerol and biodiesel need to have alcohol removed and recycled in
the process. Water is added to both the biodiesel and glycerol to remove unwanted side products,
particularly glycerol, that may remain in the biodiesel. The wash water is separated out similar to solvent
extraction (it contains some glycerol), and the trace water is evaporated out of the biodiesel. Acid is added
to the glycerol in order to provide neutralized glycerol.

Figure c: Schematic of the biodiesel process using transesterification.