Chapter 15 - Principles of Green Chemistry ✓

Its better to prevent the waste than to treat or clean it up after it has been created.

Synthetic methods should be designed to maximise the incorporation of all material used in the process into the final product.

Atom economy is a measure of the efficiency of a chemical reaction.

Whenever possible, synthetic methods should be designed to use and generate substances that possess little or no toxicity to human health and the environment.

Chemical products should be designed to minimise their toxicity while still maintaining their efficiency.

The use of auxiliary substances should be made unnecessary whenever possible and innocuous (harmful) when used.

Energy requirements should be minimised and processes should be conducted at an ambient temperature and pressure whenever possible

Raw materials should be renewable whenever technically and economically feasible.

Unnecessary derivatisation should be minimised or avoided if possible because such steps require additional reagents and can generate waste.

Catalysts are effective in small amounts and can carry out a single reaction many times. They are preferable to stoichiometric reagents, which are used in excess and carry out a reaction only once.

Chemical products should be designed so that at the end of their functions, they break into innocuous (harmless) products and do not persist in the environment.

Analytical methodologies need to be developed to allow real-time, in progress monitoring and control prior to the formation of hazardous substances.

Substances and the form of a substance used in a chemical process should be chosen to minimise the potential for chemical accidents e.g. explosions, fires etc.