Visualizing waste: Green chemistry lecture demonstration of e-factor

CHED 160

Irvin J. Levy, irv.levy@gordon.edu, Department of Chemistry, Gordon College, 255 Grapevine Road, Wenham, MA 01984
Compelling classroom visualization methods make description of the “12 Principles of Green Chemistry” more concrete to novice students. One of the earliest principles discussed is often “Prevent waste” and it is not difficult to persuade students that this is a rational design goal. Nonetheless, it is important to quantify the success (or failure) that one experiences in the pursuit of this goal. Since its description by Roger Sheldon in 1992, “e-factor” has been used as a metric for waste production in chemical processes. While e-factor is simple to compute, students often fail to recognize the significance of these values. Here we describe several demonstrations that can be done during a lecture presentation to present concrete examples of the e-factor concept.
 

General Posters
7:30 PM-9:30 PM, Sunday, March 25, 2007 Hyatt Regency Chicago -- Riverside Center, Poster

Division of Chemical Education

The 233rd ACS National Meeting, Chicago, IL, March 25-29, 2007