International Journal of Research e-ISSN: 2348-6848 p-ISSN: 2348-795X Available at https://edupediapublications.org/journals Volume 05 Issue 12 April 2018

Inclusion of Green Chemistry as a Subject in National Education Program Manoj K. S. Chhangani Govt. Meera Girls’ College, Udaipur-(Raj.)INDIA e-mail: [email protected] Abstract Green chemistry is the scheme of chemical processes that minimize or almost exclude the 2. The Traditional Chemical Education consumption and creation of hazardous substances. In traditional education of chemistry, chemical The intention of green chemistry is to promote the transformations are achieved with little or no regard innovation in designing new chemicals so that they to hazard or consequence. Smartness in chemical improve human health and the environment. processes is rarely described in terms of atom Incorporating green chemistry in an undergraduate economy, step economy, hazard, amount of waste program is a effective method for teaching green generated or other impacts of the chemistry beyond chemistry. In addition to the basic issue of funding the effects on yield and purity of the target product. mechanisms, other difficulties for teaching green In customary pattern we have been trained to bear the chemistry acknowledged by the respondents included fact that handling of explosive, toxic and other risky lack of tools and resources and already crowded materials is simply part of the nature of the curricula. In this paper an attempt has been made to profession. Reducing risk, which is defined as a understand how green chemistry brings value to the function of both hazard and exposure, is almost chemistry curriculum. Software tools in green always achieved by minimizing exposure. In chemistry, including compelling industry examples teaching laboratories, this translates to reliance on that can be used as green chemistry teaching tools capital- and upkeep-intensive fume hoods, are also discussed. This paper seeks to provide an dependence on personal protective equipment, strict overview of the approaches to building Green safety training to avoid injury, and adoption of micro Chemistry into the chemistry curriculum by scale experiments to limit the amounts of dangerous highlighting some of the outstanding work in the reagents used. To students, the origin of chemical field. reagents is largely a mystery, and likewise, little Key-words thought is given to what happens to the materials Green Chemistry, Educational Curriculum, poured into the hazardous waste collection jars at the Traditional Chemical Education, Software tools end of every experiment. 1. Introduction Green pursues to enhance chemists' understanding of the impacts of their The education in chemistry must keep up with the design choices and experiments. Inclusion of the 12 latest innovations, discoveries, concepts and Principles of Green Chemistry in Curricula [1] techniques. The Green Chemistry is the scheme of shaped the field of chemistry in an entirely different chemical processes that minimize or almost exclude light. Hazard and waste become recognized as design the consumption and creation of toxic substances. flaws or, more positively, as opportunities for The path that the field of chemistry followed is innovation [2]. Experiments can be performed in without fully considering the consequences of either laboratories that are more comfortable and inviting as creation or the methods and processes. This is due to well as more economical to maintain. the fact that historically we have had little understanding of the effect of chemicals on health 3. Introduction of Green Chemistry as a and environment. In recent years, science has vividly Field increased our knowledge of the various types of The concept of green chemistry was introduced hostile consequences of chemicals and a molecular- as a response to the Pollution Prevention Act of level understanding of these consequences, thereby 1990, which declared that U.S. national policy allowing us to scheme our chemical products and should eliminate pollution by improved design transformation processes in order to minimize instead of treatment and disposal. The mid-to-late consequences. This is the base of the green chemistry 1990s saw an increase in the number of international effort, which has been bringing about a wide range of meetings at United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy innovations. devoted to green chemistry. In 1998 the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry were published, which provides

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the new field with a clear set of guidelines for further their daily lives. Courses in green chemistry and development [1]. The Royal Society of Chemistry sustainability issues for non-majors are now launched a journal ‘Green Chemistry’ in the year appearing at institutions worldwide. 1999. The 2005 Nobel Prize for Chemistry awarded Emphasis on environmental ethics inspires many to Chauvin, Grubbs, and Schrock for their work in students to raise awareness of green chemistry the field of green chemistry. among the general campus population through high- 4. Green Chemistry in the Classroom profile special events and publications. However, additional content on the history, trends, and social The increasing acceptance of green chemistry in and cultural aspects of green chemistry is included. the last decade has been paralleled by the rapid The course also requires students to learn about and development of green chemistry educational perform quantitative exercises related to percent programs worldwide, mostly at the graduate and yield, atom economy, and introductory toxicology. In post-graduate levels. Following are the course addition, students are introduced to green chemistry objectives of various green chemistry programs: resources that are highly relevant to daily life.  To understand sustainability ethics as they Business case studies are used to show how green apply to chemistry and establish the chemistry can deliver economic benefits in addition arguments for recognizing ‘green’ criteria. to solving environmental problems.  To reflect on motives and forces that have 5. Green Chemistry in the Laboratory entrenched technologies those are Green chemistry program for the laboratory was potentially harmful to the environment [3]. developed in the mid-1990s by the University of  To introduce the 12 Principles, define Oregon (UO). The program was motivated by the ‘green chemistry’ and study successful need to use less-toxic solvents and reagents. The examples of green technologies. efforts led to publication of a laboratory manual  To identify the key challenges facing green entitled Green Organic Chemistry: Strategies, Tools, chemistry and consider what will be and Laboratory Experiments [5].In this manual, the required to solve them [4]. experiments are designed to replace traditional  To identify reagents, reactions, and experiments in laboratories. This manual still covers technologies that should be and realistically fundamental organic chemistry reactions and could be targeted for replacement by green techniques, but teaches them in the context of green alternatives. chemistry topics.  To become familiar with leading research in green chemistry and the related fields of The green laboratory course is currently best public health and sustainability science. established for the organic chemistry, but there are also green experiments for the analytical chemistry The course stresses the link between fundamental laboratories. By green chemistry workshops students chemical concepts and the real-world impacts of gain practical experience and the experiments are chemists' design choices. For example, bond- designed to show that the greening of analytical dissociation energy is taught in the context of ozone methodology follows many of the 12 Principles of depletion, flame retardants, and bleaching Green Chemistry, including waste prevention, use of technologies; substitution and elimination reactions safer solvents, and reduction of derivatives, pollution are discussed in terms of their role in the and accident prevention. An interesting approach to environment. As green chemistry continues to mature emphasizing greenness requires students to perform and incorporate learning from a variety of conventional lab techniques and the corresponding disciplines, courses in the field will provide students green replacements side-by-side in order to give the with better tools for understanding the molecular students a tangible appreciation for the waste bases of acute and chronic toxicity, endocrine- prevention and risk reduction made possible by green disrupting properties, and physical and global chemistry principles. hazards. 6. Green Chemistry in Research Training Green chemistry courses are equally important in meeting the goal of equipping the next generation of Most research training in green chemistry takes students to ensure a sustainable future. Business place under the auspices of traditional chemistry people, in chemical and chemistry-related industries, departments, where students pursue graduate or consumers, and parents concerned about the future of postgraduate research. In the last 10 years, such their children all can benefit from being able to make research centers have proliferated around the informed decisions about green chemistry issues in country. In many cases, government funding has

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International Journal of Research e-ISSN: 2348-6848 p-ISSN: 2348-795X Available at https://edupediapublications.org/journals Volume 05 Issue 12 April 2018

helped establish green chemistry centers. Many green These databases are a useful tool for exploring early chemistry networks originated through successes in green chemistry and learning about interuniversity collaborations. Degree programs green technologies that have been implemented on specifically in green chemistry in universities are the commercial scale. available but still rare. 9. Green Chemistry for Younger Students 7. Green Chemistry Seminars and Preparing the next generation of green chemists Workshops depends not only on training undergraduate and Workshops are very effective in inspiring faculty graduate chemistry majors but also on reaching out to adopt green chemistry laboratory curricula. Many to younger students. At the senior secondary level, of the programs were designed for the undergraduate green chemistry education is an excellent way to students. Green Chemistry Seminars and Workshops attract bright students to the chemistry profession. feature expert speakers, tutorial sessions, a poster The undergraduate students should interact with session with awards, and interactive discussions on senior secondary students, highlighting the power of green chemistry topics such as catalysis, alternative green chemistry to innovate and solve problems and solvents, green reagents, and research policy. Among giving a positive impression of chemistry in general. the activities during workshop are demonstrations of The ‘green’ goal can also be achieved through green chemistry laboratory experiments and activities such as teaching green chemistry in the discussions of methods for developing green community. chemistry workbooks and problem sets. The potential 10. Conclusion benefits that seminars and workshop could bring to both green chemistry policy and education in country This review represents only the tip of the iceberg are tremendous, testifying to the power of workshops both of what is currently taking place and what needs to bring about real change. The ‘training the trainer’ to take place in the future. While this paper does not model, in which experienced green chemists teach claim to be comprehensive, it does provide an other educators how to design green chemistry overview of some of the approaches being education workshops of their own, is among the most considered. The green chemistry education work in efficient and effective ways to disseminate green countries that have different environmental, chemistry educational materials. educational, economic, cultural, historical, and social circumstances demonstrates that the applicability of 8. Green Chemistry Tools and Databases the field of green chemistry is as broad as that of the Numerous teaching materials, tools, and field of chemistry itself. databases for students and teachers are available on References Internet at no cost. The Greener Education Materials (GEMs) database (developed by the University of [1] Anastas, P. T., Warner, J. C. Green Chemistry: Theory Oregon) is perhaps the best web-based source of and Practice; Oxford University Press: Oxford, U.K.; educational laboratory materials. The database 1998. includes modules developed by the University of [2] Horvath, I. T, Anastas, P. T. Innovations and Green Scranton's ‘Greening across the Chemistry Chemistry. Chem. Rev.; 2007, 107, 2169-2173. Curriculum’ program. The GEMs database allows [3] Collins, T. J. In Macmillan Encyclopedia of searching by green chemistry principles, laboratory Chemistry; Simon and Schuster Macmillan: New techniques, and fundamental chemistry concepts. The York; 1997. website also shares comments about how the [4] Collins, T. Essays on Science and Society: Toward experiments may be improved. Sustainable Chemistry. Science; 2001, 291, 48-49. [5] Doxsee, K. M. and Hutchison, J. E., Green Organic The Green Chemistry Institute of the American Chemistry: Strategies, Tools, and Laboratory has created a web site offering Experiments; Thomson Brooks/Cole: Belmont, CA; freely downloadable green chemistry activities and 2003. experiments geared toward all levels of education. http:// greenchem.uoregon.edu/gems.html. The Green Chemistry Expert System (GCES) is a http://academic.scranton.edu/faculty/cannml/ modules. freely downloadable computer program for computers running the Microsoft Windows operating http://portal.acs.org/portal/Navigatenodel=1444. system. It is built around a database of more than 500 http://epa.gov/greenchemistry/pubs/gces.html. green chemistry publications, covering topics such as green solvents and reagents, green chemical processing, green synthesis and manufacturing.

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