Green chemistry is an attempt to make chemical processes more environmentally responsible and to produce less waste.
In 1998, Paul Anastas and John Warner published 12 pinciples of green chemistry. Anastas and Julie Zimmerman took that idea and developed 12 principles of green engineering - which outlined their idea of what makes a chemical process or product greener. Over the past 20 years, more thinkers have contributed to the idea of green chemistry. In 2003 a group of chemists and engineers put out the Sandestin declaration.
Green chemistry metrics aim at quantifying aspects of a chemical process to determine whether or not it is environmentally friendly. Various metrics - each representing a different approach to quantifying the greenness of a process - have been proposed over time but no unified framework has yet been agreed upon. Complex chemical processes are difficult to characterize with simple-to-use metrics. Ideally metrics account for the environmental impacts of material and energy use, the quantity and severity of hazardous substances made, and all life cycle costs. The most notable metrics:
In the atom economy analysis, you calculate how many atoms from the reactants remain in the final product. As a standalone metric, the atom economy calculation does not offer a complete picture of the greenness of a process. However, it is a historically important metric that helped spread awareness of green engineering principles. Barry Trost introduced the concept of atom economy in 1991.
Reaction mass efficiency uses atom economy, yield, and stoichiometry (the ratios of products and reactants in a chemical process) to calculate the proportion of the mass of the reactants that remain in the final product. Reaction mass efficiency focuses on the impact of the use of materials rather than on the impact of waste. Like the atom economy, it fails to include other materials than reactants such as reagents, solvents, and catalysts. This is why process mass intensity was introduced.
Process mass intensity calculates the mass intensity of a reaction and takes all materials (reactants, reagents, catalysts, solvents) into account. It is the ratio of the total mass used in the reaction to the mass of the final product. Development of this metric was spurred by recognition of the general lack of efficiency of pharmaceutical processes.
The E-factor has a similar approach. This metric is the ratio of total waste generated by a chemical process to the mass of the product created. It is a simple and intuitive metric that can be used in all industries. Its main weakness is that it is not always clear what constitutes waste.
Effective mass yield is defined as the percentage of the mass of the chemical product relative to the mass of all "non-benign" materials used for its synthesis. This metric gives the proportion of the final mass of the product that is made from non-toxic materials. Hence it factors in the toxicity of all components (reactants and reagents). As with the E-Factor calculation, the definition of “non-benign” is imprecise.
Molar efficiency is the ratio of the moles of final product and moles of all reaction materials (reactants, additives, solvents, catalysts). This metric is mostly useful in evaluating the efficiency in discovery medicinal chemistry.
Introduced in 1997, step economy establishes the direct connection between the number of steps in a chemical process and its greenness. Fewer steps is better, all other things being equal. While seemingly obvious, this metric was important in engendering holistic thinking in about process and facility design.
Following the same logic, pot economy states that the fewer pots (or reaction vessels) that are used for a multicomponent reaction, the more desirable the process is.
Each metric quantifies the greenness of a chemical process and develops unique green chemistry methodologies and approaches. Each metric is valid in its own limited scope of definition. They are most valuable when combined together to form a systematic approach to the evaluation of the greenness of a chemical process or product. While industry has not agreed on any unified framework, when used together, metrics are complementary and help paint a picture of an operation and point to opportunities for improvement.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has made available a summary of the textbook: Green Engineering: Environmentally Conscious Design of Chemical Processes Click here
