Call for Case Studies: Integrating Sustainability and Green Chemistry in the Classroom

This in-class activity can be used in introductory green chemistry undergraduate courses to educate students on ethical decision-making while ensuring environmental justice and demonstrating how green chemistry principles can be applied to address environmental issues. This inclusive activity is suitable for even non-science major students who are interested in learning about green chemistry.

This easy-to-use template package is designed to help you create case studies using examples of real-world chemistry to teach students about green chemistry and sustainability. Most of the documents in this package come in pairs. One document in each pair is a workbook file while the other is a user guide. The workbook files include questions designed to help organize your thoughts and ideas as ...

Soy lecithin is a common ingredient in skincare products, including moisturizers, serums, and sunscreens. Typically derived from one of the world's most widely cultivated crops, it is often described as a natural, plant-derived material and is increasingly positioned within sustainability-focused formulation strategies. Its relevance, however, extends beyond marketing language. Soy lecithin is a ...

This is a multi-week case study from a large-enrollment organic chemistry laboratory course at Michigan State University. In small groups, students are expected to engage in various scientific and engineering practices to (1) construct explanations of the chemistry of polymerization, (2) identify problems with respect to different shareholders, and (3) evaluate different solutions at different ...

This case study explores the transesterification of triglycerides from soybean oil into a variety of vinyl monomers - soy-based acrylic monomers (SBAs). This transesterification uses commercially available N-(hydroxyethyl)acrylamide as a reactant, was carried out in one synthetic step, ran at room temperature (minimizing energy use), and used only a catalytic amount of sodium hydroxide. These ...

This case study discusses the history of birth control development, particularly progesterone synthesis. Students will learn about how progesterone was synthesized from stigmasterol, a component of soybean oil by Percy Lavon Julian and Carl Djerassi. They will also see how progesterone was made from yams via the Marker degradation. In the assignment, students will work in groups to compare and ...

This case study is based on the 2022 Greener Synthetic Pathways - Green Chemistry Challenge Award (GCCA) which was won by Merck for the synthesis of the COVID-19 antiviral molnupiravir (LAGEVRIO TM). This GCCA is a good example of designing and comparing the efficacy of multi-step syntheses. The revised, biocatalytic synthesis of molnupiravir dramatically reduces the production of waste compared ...

This case study based on the Chemetry eShuttle process that won a Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (Small Business) in 2018. This process results in the production of ethylene dichloride (EDC) with reduced energy use and less toxicity by eliminating production of elemental chlorine. This is a nice application of electrochemistry, which is covered at the end of the second semester of ...