Assighnment on For Greener Synthetic Pathways (Green Chemistry)

a)      Detailed Description of Research Project

The award was given to the Merck & Co., Inc. in 2017 for its great contribution to promoting green chemistry practically in the industrial sector. An effective green chemistry technology “Letermovir” is in the class of antiviral drugs which is also the class of medication that is used for the treatment of common infection except for the bacteria. Letermovir is right now in use for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections. cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the infection that is spreading in the people very quickly and also it can cause a lot of damage because it is a life threating infection. European organizations like FDA and orphan product are promoting letermovir. The efficient installation of asymmetric quinazoline was the first improving task for the catalyst. Another technology used by the catalyst is HIGH-THROUGHPUT technology. The ability of this technology is, in the fraction of time it can or its capacity is to analyze and screening the thousands of reaction condition. To abduct the cost solvent is normally needed this type of investigation by the ratio of 1:10 (Epa.gov, 2017).

b)     Contribution to Green Chemistry

The research project has directly contributed to the promotion of green chemistry. Attention paid on the green chemistry has made it easy for many following companies and corporations to ensure eco-friendly production and services in the selected market segments. This research project has directed attention towards the requirement of efficient installation of the single asymmetric quinazoline which will contribute to long-term benefit in the field of green chemistry. Moreover, it will support life-cycle assessment to enable organizations to reduce carbon footprints and wastage of water by 89% and 90% respectively. Moreover, innovative solution has contributed to decrease PMI by 73 percent and cost of raw materials by 93%. Carbon related negative impact on the environment is the prime focus of green chemistry. The current research project will support the elimination of these negative impact on the environment and thus research project will support green chemistry to accomplish its goals about environmentally friendly activities.    

1)      For Greener Reaction Conditions

a)   Detailed Description of Research Project

Amgen Inc. and Bachem are the winners of 2017 awards. The research project of these companies is related to greener synthetic pathways. In this project, they focused on sustainable commercial manufacturing and production processes for the companies working in the pharmaceutical industry. The interest in peptides is rapidly increasing during the last three decades. The main reason of interest is its properties has a lot of hidden adventuring facts such as higher tolerance. Due to its properties, the peptides are much more required as compared to the molecule drugs. Peptides are currently used for many diseases in instance cancer genetic diseases enzyme deficiency disorder. About 60 peptides drugs are in use by the general public which is approved by the FDA and more approximately 600 drugs are in the process of clinical trials. Peptides formula based drugs have the strength to replace the currently available molecule-based drugs in the coming future. In the comparison of manufacturing peptides is not much more batter than the molecule. The result of current research shows that to produce 1,000 grams of peptides the required amount of solvent is 5 metric tons which are extremely higher than the molecule (www.epa.gov, 2017).

b)  Contribution to Green Chemistry

The project was an innovative step towards green chemistry. Green production and manufacturing system are highly demanded in our societies. Green production and manufacturing systems can save the environment from getting polluted and having a negative impact on the life of human being. Green chemistry aims to enable green production and manufacturing systems in the organizations to control carbon use, dangerous chemicals use, and excessive wastage. In this project, we can found all required outcomes and activities of green chemistry. It was focused on the safety of human as well as the overall environment. For instance, it reduced the consumption of energy by reducing its cycles per batch. Enabling green production system it made possible to limit total energy-intense lyophilization cycle to one per batch. However, prior to this, it was 13 for each batch. Moreover, chemicals used in the production system are also reduced by controlling excessive use of chemicals. Furthermore, the project also contributed to the field of green chemistry by reducing water waste. Annual water waste controlled because of these innovative steps is around 1440 cubic meters.       

2)      For Designing Greener Chemical

a)      Detailed Description of Research Project

The project relates to Dow Chemical Company. DCC is famous for developing a thermal printing paper. Commercialization of this thermal printing paper will reduce the use of various chemicals Bisphenol S (BPS) and Bispenol A (BPA). The thermal paper is developed with advanced technologies and green patterns. The paper consists of 3 layers which include a base paper, coloured layer, an opaque layer. This paper has a key feature of physical change which enable it to provide prints of objects and text without even having the chimerical reaction or chemical coating. Thermal paper is not a new idea in the market. However, this voided thermal papers has some qualities which makes it unique. For instance, it cannot be faded and printed objected remains unchanged in severe sunlight (Epa.gov, 2017).   

b)     Contribution to Green Chemistry

Introduction of this new voided thermal paper will have a positive impact on the environment as well as the printing process. Now because of this printing process is no longer requiring the use of chemicals. In fact, excessive use of chemicals would be controlled and the environment will become safer for its living creature. Apart from this, it will also support the food industry on a large scale by providing a chemical-free paper for packaging. Chemicals used on the printing of packaging papers was critical for the health of the human being. Thus, conclusively it can be said that current research project of producing voided thermal printing paper is a great invention for our environment. Moreover, it is also an active step towards the control of chemicals and unhealthy materials. Thus, summarizing all it can be said that Dow Chemical Company provided a patented thermal paper technology that has the capability to entirely control and eliminate utilization of chemical developers such as Bisphenol S (BPS) and Bispenol A (BPA) in the printing process. This step has opened a new path for the researcher to conduct research on some similar chemicals which can be replaced with better material or technology. While control of chemicals used is healthy and positive for our environment that makes this project as a contributing project in the field of green chemistry.        

3)      For Small Business

a)      Detailed Description of Research Project

The green chemistry award was given to the UniEnergy Technologies LLC in 2017 for conducting research on advanced vanadium redox flow battery and energy storage systems. In this research project, UniEnergy Technologies LLC presented the third generation of vanadium redox flow battery. The battery allows consumers to save energy and use this battery for a relatively long period. The advanced vanadium redox flow battery presented by the UniEnergy Technologies LLC would have a function to operate in the limited range of temperature -40 to 120 °F. Moreover, researchers who have researched on this project claim that battery is non-flammable which reduces the chances of fire and explosion. However, the advanced vanadium redox flow battery is not manufactured or produced at UniEnergy Technologies LLC. Instead of this, the battery was manufactured and produced by a partner entity Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. However, the award is given to UniEnergy Technologies LLC for its commercialization as prior to this product was not available for commercial use.     

b)     Contribution to Green Chemistry

UniEnergy Technologies LLC has directly supported the green chemistry field as it commercialized a battery which will have many benefits for this environment. The battery will reduce negative environmental impact as well as promote environmentally friendly practices. Prior to this, batteries were a direct source to generate a negative impact on the environment. Moreover, previously available batteries were relatively less stable and cost-effective. Now Li-ion based vanadium redox flow battery (VFB) have increased the life of batteries and reduced risk related to flammability. Green Chemistry aims to provide simpler and cost-effective products that can save energy and rare resources in our environment. Carbon emission-related issues were quite common because of old and traditional batteries. However, now Li-ion based vanadium redox flow battery (VFB) is capable to maintain a balance between consumption and generation of positive impact. Reduction in cost, long life of the battery, reduce of carbon, safety, and recyclability has made this vanadium redox flow battery (VFB) as the best product for the promotion and support of green chemistry. UniEnergy Technologies LLC made all these possible by introducing this battery as a commercial product because of which we can say that UniEnergy Technologies LLC contributed to the promotion and strength of the green chemistry field.                

4)      For Academic

a)      Detailed Description of Research Project

The Green chemistry award for academic was awarded to Professor Eric Schelter of University of Pennsylvania for his contribution in devising a simple and efficient process of recycling of rare earth elements from consumer materials. Rare earth metals are a group of seventeen elements which are extraordinarily useful in modern technologies, like renewable energy, electronics and various defense applications. All Rare earth elements have similar properties but they are never found in isolation instead they occur as a mixture of 5-7 elements in ores. Due to this behavior the mining, refining and purification of   these elements have hazardous effects on our environment. It is very energy intensive and produces a lot of wastes. The refining process requires large quantities of water, acid etc. and it produces large quantities of acids like hydrofluoric acid and radionuclide waster such as uranium, thorium and their decay products. For consumer materials, their rare earth elements are blended into mixtures for their applications. The challenging process is the separation, which inhibits their widespread recycling. Professor Schelter’s group has developed a new approach which simplifies the process of separation of mixture of rare earth elements from consumer materials and it also reduces the cost of doing so. The method is expected to reduce waste produces, reduce energy usage and decrease CO₂ production. It is also expected to reduce the mining of rare earth elements as we will be able to recycle them cheaply and in such a way which will have less of an impact of the environment. The primary hypothesis of the project is that tailored organic compounds can provide better and simple separation of rare earth elements based on solubility difference among rare earth complexes. Professor Scheleter’s group has produced a new organic compound (a’ligand’):tris(2-tert- butylhydroxylaminato) benzylamine (H₃TriNO_x)  for separation. The group is also working to develop these concepts into practical and industry viable recycling processes. (Epa.gov, 2017)

b)     Contribution to Green Chemistry

This project aims to develop a recycling process for the rare earth elements which is environment friendly and at the same time cheap as well. According to an estimate about 17,000 metric tons of rare earth oxides are used is the U.S annually in material such wind turbines, electric motors, batteries etc. The current refining and purification processes of these rare earth elements have a heavy toll on the environment. These use a lot of energy and in return produces a lot of waste which have a significant impact on the environment. In project Professor Schelter’s group has produced tailored organic compound which can be used to recycle these rare earth metals. With this, we will be able to recycle rare earth elements in an environmentally friendly manner. It will also reduce the mining of these elements.

References of Green Chemistry

Epa.gov. (2017). Green Chemistry Challenge: 2017 Academic Award. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/green-chemistry-challenge-2017-academic-award

Epa.gov. (2017). Green Chemistry Challenge: 2017 Designing Greener Chemicals Award. Retrieved from www.epa.gov: https://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/green-chemistry-challenge-2017-designing-greener-chemicals-award

Epa.gov. (2017). Green Chemistry Challenge: 2017 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award. Retrieved from www.epa.gov: https://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/green-chemistry-challenge-2017-greener-synthetic-pathways-award

www.epa.gov. (2017). Green Chemistry Challenge: 2017 Greener Reaction Conditions Award. Retrieved from www.epa.gov: https://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/green-chemistry-challenge-2017-greener-reaction-conditions-award