GCTLC Library

Oxidations and reductions are among the most commonly performed reactions in organic chemistry. Consequently, it is vital that redox chemistry is taught in our undergraduate chemistry courses. Unfortunately, many oxidations are classically and currently performed with toxic, carcinogenic chromium (VI) metals and require time-consuming and wasteful aqueous work-up.

All of these abovementioned ...

This resource is part of the Royal Society for Chemistry's sustainability in chemistry series. It is for high school teachers to help them link their lessons about energy sources, water resources, nanochemistry, health, and climate change to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals of inclusive education and equality.

Green chemistry principles emphasize the importance of sustainability in chemical processes and aim to reduce the environmental impact of chemistry. One way to apply these principles is by using equilibrium experiments and Le Chatelier's Principle with environmentally friendly reagents that are minimally toxic. In the past, these principles have been demonstrated using chemicals that change color ...

Many fruits and vegetables contain essential oils, which are hydrophobic liquids responsible for their distinctive fragrance. These oils are commonly extracted for use in various industries such as perfume, cosmetics, food, medicine, and cleaning products. The traditional extraction involves steam distillation followed by liquid-liquid (solvent) extraction, which is energy-intensive and often ...

This study, conducted by Nicola L. B. Pohl, Jennifer M. Streff, and Steve Brokman at Iowa State University, presents a comparative laboratory experiment designed for undergraduate organic chemistry students. The experiment explores the saponification and transesterification of plant oils (soybean, rapeseed, and olive) to produce soap and biodiesel, respectively.

Key Learning Objectives & ...

In this lab, we will explore the fundamental principles of chemical reactions that either absorb or release heat. However, this lab is not just about understanding the science behind these reactions, but it's also about applying green chemistry principles to minimize the environmental impact of chemical reactions. Many teachers use the calcium chloride and ammonium nitrate reaction to show ...

This short communication explores using simple sustainability metrics to explore data from mass balances (e.g. amount of products, feedstocks, and wastes). It explores how educators and researchers can easily calculate three metrics (process mass intensity, recycled content, and e-factor) to discuss efficiency and circularity together.

Within the article, there is also a case study exploring how ...

The Drive for Greener Innovations case study module, consisting of six lesson units, is designed to highlight for students the interplay of chemical, environmental health, regulatory, and business considerations that dictate chemical processes and product design. Using the metal plating industry as a case study, the module also explores the chemistry and toxicology of hazardous chemicals ...

The authors report this easy-to-follow procedure for separating glow stick dyes from a cotton swab using liquid CO2 to illustrates several key chemical concepts, such as polarity, reaction rates, chemiluminescence, and the benefits of CO2 as a green solvent. This procedure is suitable for a diverse range of students. Due to the varying polarities of the dyes, some are preferentially dissolved in ...

This Fact Sheet offers suggestions for selection of solvents for use in chemical reactions, extractions, and purifications in chemical research labs, including dichoromethane.

Full citation: Fact Sheet: Solvent Alternatives. (2018). University of Pennsylvania Environmental Health & Radiation Safety. https://ehrs.upenn.edu/health-safety/lab-safety/chemical-hygiene-plan/f… ...

In this project, we engage in hands-on experimentation to simulate the production of ethanol, a process used in various industries, including biofuel production and beverage manufacturing. By exploring the fermentation of different fruit juice solutions, students connect their learning of organic chemistry to real-world applications in sustainable energy and food production.

This project ...

Hydrogen holds tremendous promise as a medium for storing energy generated by renewable sources such as wind and solar. However, storing hydrogen has traditionally involved very high pressures or very cold temperatures, methods that lead to cost and safety challenges.

In this episode of Green Chem Essential, with host James Rea, Dr. Tom Autrey and his fellow researchers at Pacific Northwest ...

The molar mass of an ideal gas is directly proportional to its density. This property has long been used in laboratory experiments in which a flask is filled with the vapor of a volatile liquid, and the mass, volume, temperature, and pressure of the vapor are used to find the molar mass of that vapor. In a related approach, the difference in the mass between a sample of carbon dioxide and a sample ...

Use this activity to connect students’ learning about energy and the carbon cycle to the UN’s Sustainable development goals and help them understand chemistry’s role in solving global issues.

Tofu, a traditional Chinese food, is widely consumed around the world, yet the chemistry behind its production is often overlooked. This study presents a simple demonstration designed for lower-level undergraduate courses in organic chemistry or biochemistry to elucidate the key principles involved in the tofu-making process. The research highlights the role of heat treatment in denaturing soy ...

Have you ever dreamed of a world where you could take the scraps from last night's dinner and toss them into your car's fuel tank and make gas? Well, we're not quite in "Back to the Future" yet, but in this energy science fair project, you'll discover that food scraps, dead plants, sawdust, and other decaying organic matter, called biomass are a rich source of energy. You can get energy out of ...

This article is to help teachers incorporate the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 8 in teaching green chemistry. Students will apply concepts from the biofuel industry to understand developments in the production of biofuels and how they are linked to Goal 8. Students will discuss environmental and ethical issues and manufacturing processes. The fermentation experiment is used to help students ...

This module is part of a collection of nine green chemistry teaching modules developed in the early 2000s by a team of faculty (Donna Narsavage-Heald, Trudy Dickneider, David Marx, Timothy Foley, Joan Wasilewski) led by Michael Cann at the University of Scranton and has been migrated to the GCTLC. The subjects of the modules are based on winners of the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. The modules ...

Tips and activties to help readers from all backgrounds learn about and address UN SDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Mowing the lawn is hard work, especially on a warm day. Not only do you have to mow the grass, but you also have to dispose of the clippings. Some people add the clippings to a compost pile in their yard, which is a great idea. But did you know that some grasses can be used as a source of energy? In this energy science fair project, you will learn more about a type of energy called biomass energy ...

Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.

New York has been transitioning to updated New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS), based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). As members of the Green Chemistry Professional Learning Team (GC-PLT), we have been developing curricula for our own use that reflect the updated standards and elements of instructional best practice, such as storylines, driving questions, and ...

The impacts of chemicals on humans and the environment are a critical consideration for green chemistry practices. The three lessons in this chapter provide opportunities for students to consider the potential impacts of chemicals in the products they use and are exposed to in their lives. The objective of the lessons in this chapter is to make these considerations explicit for students. In doing ...

Typical chemistry instruction engages students with a variety of chemicals to understand the structure of atoms and molecules. Our goal in this chapter is to provide three example lessons that illustrate how to engage students with concepts of structure through design, modeling, and phenomena that use less toxic chemicals and limit student and teacher exposure. Several of these lessons are good ...

The core of green chemistry principles is understanding how to make informed choices when designing chemical reactions that account for atom economy, human and environmental safety, and the life cycle of products. To engage students in learning about chemical reactions with a green chemistry perspective, we present the three lessons in this chapter intended to:
• Show how to actively engage ...

This chapter is meant to illustrate what a unit-level learning experience can look like as students engage in concepts related to structure and chemical reactions. While the prior chapters provided a set of lessons around a specific topic at different grade spans, this middle school unit illustrates how students can engage in a variety of investigations and modeling to explore the molecular nature ...

In this experiment, students investigate the electrochemical series by constructing electrochemical cells and measuring their voltages using the Go Direct Voltage Probe and Vernier Graphical Analysis. This hands-on activity helps students understand the reactivity of different metals and how they rank based on their tendencies to gain or lose electrons.

The experiment emphasizes the role of ...

The Green Chemistry and Toxicology Moment slides (slide set part A) are standalone slides that can be easily and seamlessly inserted into general chemistry and/or organic chemistry lectures. Most of the topics just have one slide but a few have two slides. There is a wide range of topics; from Vaping and Lung Injury to Safer Epoxidations. These slides are meant to engage the students ...

Gain insight exploring journal articles related to green chemistry and sustainability, community-uploaded manuscripts and reports, and peer-reviewed research categorized by U.N. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

This article describes a class/lab exercise that I have run several times with my students in a physical chemistry lab. I have found it works both in team or individual assignments. I allow students to choose their topic after introducing them to resources at Congress.gov to help them see current topics.

The new JV InvenTeam Green Chemistry Activity Guide will encourage students to use green chemistry principles to invent bioplastics. Students will learn how chemists can apply green chemistry principles to invent products and materials that reduce harmful impacts on humans and the environment. Educators and students will be led through a 7-part project to explore sustainable invention.

Topics ...

This laboratory exercise teaches students some of the principles of green chemistry while simultaneously introducing them to several traditional organic reactions. All the reagents used in the experiment are relatively safe and the avoidance of volatile organic solvents reduces cost, waste, and hazards. The ultimate pyridine product is reached in three steps. The first step is the solventless ...

This resource provides an overview of several resources with links to green chemistry starter labs for K-12 classes. Additional links are provided for green chemistry background information and teacher stories.

The goal of green chemistry is to be benign by design, and reduce or eliminate the hazards involved in processes and products. In the lab it’s important to be conscious of the materials ...

This is an open-access article from the Journal of Chemical Education about a model for advancing professional development for green chemistry high school teachers in New York State.

Green Chemistry Teacher Professional Development in New York State High Schools: A Model for Advancing Green Chemistry
Amy S. Cannon, Kate R. Anderson, Mollie C. Enright, Donia G. Kleinsasser, Ann R. Klotz, Natalie ...

Influencing and improving the environmental performance of a large multi-national pharmaceutical company can be achieved with the help of electronic education tools, backed up by site champions and strong site teams. This paper describes the development of two of those education tools.

Full citation: Alfonsi, K., Colberg, J., Dunn, P. J., Fevig, T., Jennings, S., Johnson, T. A., Kleine, H. P ...

The Yale-UNIDO University Curriculum is a semester long course developed in collaboration with Beyond Benign. This free course is designed for undergraduate students and teaches (i) how the principles of green chemistry can help resolve global human health and environmental issues, (ii) how green chemistry functions and (iii) how it is implemented. The curriculum was developed as part of the ...

In this lecture students will learn about the course requirements and the innovative capabilities of Green Chemistry which will be covered during next 14 weeks. Students will also learn that accidents can be reduced or prevented with a thoughtful design using Green Chemistry principles.

This course was developed and authored by:

Philip Coish
Kimberly Chapman
Paul Anastas
Seon Augusto Ferreira ...

In this class students will learn the definition of Green Chemistry and reflect on the last 25 years of Green Chemistry innovation. They will also explore the main drivers to implement Green Chemistry throughout the world and some of the latest Green Chemistry trends.

This course was developed and authored by:

Philip Coish
Kimberly Chapman
Paul Anastas
Seon Augusto Ferreira
Karolina Mellor
Amy ...

In this lecture students will learn about the 12 Green Chemistry Principles and explore industrial examples of implementing the principles.

This course was developed and authored by:

Philip Coish
Kimberly Chapman
Paul Anastas
Seon Augusto Ferreira
Karolina Mellor
Amy Cannon
Derrick Ward

In this lecture students will refresh their fundamental chemistry knowledge: periodic table and atoms. Knowing fundamentals is vital for understanding the Green Chemistry reactions which will be covered later in the semester.

This course was developed and authored by:

Philip Coish
Kimberly Chapman
Paul Anastas
Seon Augusto Ferreira
Karolina Mellor
Amy Cannon
Derrick Ward

In this lecture, students will be introduced to molecules and how to properly draw and assign nomenclature. This lecture will focus on the fundamental ways to identify molecules and extrapolate them to organic nomenclature. Since the majority of the content in later lectures will focus on organic molecules and their functional groups, it is important that students have the skills to name and draw ...

In this lecture, students will continue to build their chemistry fundamentals. They will practice balancing equations and different types of chemical reactions. Finally, they will learn about biomimicry – an inspiration from nature to build new molecules and products.

This course was developed and authored by:

Philip Coish
Kimberly Chapman
Paul Anastas
Seon Augusto Ferreira
Karolina Mellor
Amy ...

In this lecture, students will be introduced to the concepts of limiting reagents, yield, and atom economy. Building upon their working knowledge of balancing equations and stoichiometry, students will apply those core skills to determine the efficiency of reactions based on molecular factors. This lecture will focus on the fundamental ways molecules are evaluated on their efficacy and extrapolate ...

Exam 1 and Exam 1 Answer Key

This course was developed and authored by:

Philip Coish
Kimberly Chapman
Paul Anastas
Seon Augusto Ferreira
Karolina Mellor
Amy Cannon
Derrick Ward

In this lecture, students will learn about what Sustainability is and the common misconceptions among individuals today. The lecture covers the typical myths about Sustainability and provides evidence to justify them. Furthermore, the lecture will cover the importance of sustainability in business and the various methods in which green chemistry positively affects business operations.

This course ...

In this lecture, students will learn about Life Cycle Assessment. The lecture covers the standard framework, theory, and real examples of Life Cycle Assessment. LCA is a complex process and the purpose of this class is to introduce them to the importance and strengths of performing Life Cycle Assessments.

This course was developed and authored by:

Philip Coish
Kimberly Chapman
Paul Anastas
Seon ...

In this class, students will learn about renewable feedstocks. More specifically, the lecture will focus on what a renewable feedstock is and the criteria necessary to identify appropriate materials for future feedstock.

This course was developed and authored by:

Philip Coish
Kimberly Chapman
Paul Anastas
Seon Augusto Ferreira
Karolina Mellor
Amy Cannon
Derrick Ward

In this lecture students will learn about the role chemistry has in providing a sustainable future. The lecture covers the topic of energy and more sustainable approaches to energy consumption.

This course was developed and authored by:

Philip Coish
Kimberly Chapman
Paul Anastas
Seon Augusto Ferreira
Karolina Mellor
Amy Cannon
Derrick Ward