green chemistry education - saci green chemistry education.pdf · include expertise in green...

American Chemical Society

Green Chemistry Education

Mary M. Kirchhoff

South African Chemical Institute

Conference

29 November 2015

American Chemical Society 2

Green Chemistry in the Curriculum

How can you introduce your students to green

chemistry?

Classroom

Laboratories

Topics

Projects

Education for a Sustainable Future

“Education for a sustainable

future enables people to

develop the knowledge,

values, and skills to

participate in

decisions…that will

improve the quality of life

now without damaging the

planet for the future…”

UNESCO, 2002



Sustainability in the Chemical Industry

National Research Council report

Based on outcomes of workshop held in

February 2005

Identifies eight grand challenges for

sustainability in chemistry and

chemical engineering

Highlights research needs

American Chemical Society 5 American Chemical Society 5

Challenges

New chemical transformations

Life cycle tools

Toxicological fate and effect

Chemicals from biomass

Fuels from renewable resources

Energy efficient technologies

CO2 management

Sustainability science literacy


Sustainability Education

Challenge

Improve sustainability science literacy at all

levels

Research

Offer professional development opportunities

Integrate sustainability concepts into

assessments and accreditations

Incorporate sustainability concepts into

curricula


Professional Development

Conferences

Workshops

Green Chemistry in Education Workshop

(University of Oregon)

Symposia at professional meetings

Summer Schools (ACS and EU)


2015 Summer School

Green Chemistry and Sustainable Energy

Colorado School of Mines

Primary sponsorship by the ACS PRF

60 grad students and postdocs from the U.S., Canada, and Latin America


Integrating Sustainability Concepts

Approval/Accreditation

ACS: “The curriculum should expose students

to the role of chemistry in contemporary

societal and global issues, including areas

such as sustainability and green chemistry”.

ABET: Students must attain “the broad

education necessary to understand the impact

of engineering solutions in a global, economic,

environmental, and societal context”


Incorporating Sustainability into Curricula

Research

Curriculum

Textbooks, labs, exams

Connect green chemistry with broader

sustainability concepts

Move beyond organic

Outreach

Approaches

Develop a new course

Incorporate green chemistry concepts into existing courses

Classroom

Laboratory experiments

Extracurricular activities

Student Chapters/ChemClubs



Chemistry in Context

Connect basic chemistry concepts to sustainability

General chemistry

Energy: enthalpy, entropy, energy sources, renewable energy

Reaction rates: stratospheric ozone depletion

Organic chemistry

Pharmaceutical examples

General Chemistry

Solids, liquids, and gases

Atmospheric gases

Phase diagrams

Ionic compounds

Mass balance

Coordination complexes

Transition metals


Solids, Liquids, and Gases

CO2 feedstock in polycarbonate synthesis

Improved Zn catalyst yields faster reaction, uses

milder reaction conditions Coates et al., Cornell University

14 American Chemical Society

O

+ CO2

500 C, 100 psi CO2

catalyst

O*

O *

O

n

N NZn

OAc

iPr

iPr

Pri

Pri

catalyst =

Phase Diagrams

CO2 phase diagram

Applications

Decaffeinating coffee

Dry cleaning


Ionic Compounds: Ionic Liquids

Advantages

Very low volatility

Variable composition (high design potential - can be

tailored for many applications)

Easily recycled

Disadvantages

Not necessarily innocuous

Manufacture costs uncertain

Ease of separation uncertain


Coordination Complexes

Chlorine-free wood pulp bleaching

TAML catalysts activate hydrogen peroxide

Eliminates formation of chlorinated organics Collins, Carnegie Mellon University


HO

H

N

N

N

N

O

O

FeIII

O

O

X

X

Cat+

_

Cat+ = Li+, [Me4N]+, [Et4N]+, [PPh4]+

X = Cl, H, OCH3

General Chemistry Labs

A Greener Approach for Measuring Colligative Properties

Uses safer starting materials: stearic, lauric, myristic, and palmitic acids

Many experiments use aromatic compounds

Converts waste stream (fatty acid mixture) to soap, biodiesel, or wax

McCarthy, S.M.; Gordon-Wylie, S.W. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 116.


Organic Chemistry

Oxidation

Carbonyl chemistry

Carbon-carbon bond formation

Electrophilic aromatic substitution

Multistep synthesis


Carbonyl Chemistry

Polycarbonate Synthesis: Phosgene process

Phosgene is toxic, corrosive

Requires large amount of CH2Cl2

Polycarbonate contaminated with Cl impurities


OH OH

Cl Cl

ONaOH

O O *

O

* n

Carbonyl Chemistry

Polycarbonate synthesis: Solid-state process

Diphenylcarbonate synthesized without phosgene

Eliminates use of CH2Cl2

Higher-quality polycarbonates Komiya et al., Asahi Chemical Industry Co.


OH OH

+ O O *

O

* n

O O

O

Organic Labs

Synthesis of hexyl benzoate

Solid acid catalyst

Microwave esterification


OH

O

+ HOH

+

O

O

+ H2O

Organic Labs

Synthesis of 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin

Solid acid catalysis

Simplifies separation


H OH

O

EtO O O OHOAmberlyst-15


Integrating Sustainability Concepts

Educational resources

Chemistry in the Community

Chemistry in Context

Journal of Chemical Education

Green Organic Chemistry: Strategies, Tools, and

Laboratory Experiments

GEMs database

GCEd Net

Outreach

Science festivals

National Chemistry Week

Chemists Celebrate Earth Day

Science cafés

Museums


American Chemical Society 26 American Chemical Society 26 American Chemical Society 26 American Chemical Society 26

Creative Future

Teach chemistry as a creative science rather than a collection of facts to be memorized

Chemists as molecular designers

Creativity

IQ scores rising,

creativity quotient

scores declining

Poll of 1500 CEOs

identified creativity as

the #1 skill for

leadership

competency



Chemistry and Creativity

“Chemists need to understand

that adding an environmental or

sustainability layer over research

is not a constraint on creativity but

rather is a challenge to creativity.”

John Carberry, DuPont

Industry’s Role

Include expertise in green

chemistry/engineering in job ads

Provide internships with a green

chemistry/sustainability focus

Offer speakers who can highlight greener

products and processes



Green Revolutions

Past: agriculture

Present: everything

Green buildings, fuels, consumer products, TV

shows

Future: education

Existing courses do not always reflect the current

practice of chemistry

Sustainability as a driver

Connection to societal issues appeals to students


Education for Sustainability

Develop well-informed

global citizens

Create a cadre of chemists

who can design greener

products and processes

Create awareness of the

role of science and

technology in solving global

challenges

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