Reflection

Reflecting back on the course, I would describe the field of green chemistry to a friend as a way to preserve our lives we live each and every day sustainably from a chemical standpoint. Meaning, the elements specifically used in the process to create a sustainable way of living by reducing emissions, for example.

As far as examples go for green chemistry, I’d say first was the cogeneration plant of UNH Durham. I went there my entire freshman year and had never heard of this! Some positives include sustainability, recycling, business opportunities, and from there the list goes on. I’m proud that UNH has stepped up above all other universities out there. Another example I think would be the blog I had done on “Cleaning with Citric Acid”. I had no idea that a cleaning product could be so “green”! I always thought originally that cleaning product had only been made up of “chemicals” (as everyone else says). Well, of course they contain chemicals but the citric acid cleaner contains natural chemicals or biodegradable materials that have the ability to clean better then the average cleaners for bathrooms.

The first chemical principle I understand that I didn’t know when we began this course was pretty much anything to do with moles because I had never even heard of them. Another was naming or drawing hydrocarbons in chemistry. I remember the nutrition class I took previous to this class and we didn’t need to know these types of structures but my professor still showed us them sometimes. When I’d look at them I’d always wonder how I could understand all the lines and letters. Now that I have a basic understanding in chemistry, these structures don’t scare me anymore. Thirdly would probably be the covalent bonding, which I never learned in high school chemistry but was another core principle that wasn’t very difficult but still necessary to understand in this class.

With the completion of this course, I’m proud to take away this new knowledge because it makes me think so much different from before as far as thinking sustainably to benefit the environment. Not only this, but at the same time, I was able to review and build on to my knowledge of chemistry in this course so I may understand how it operates all around us every day. 

A Renewable Energy Feedstock

Renewable energy comes from a variety of resources made in nature, which include sunlight, wind, rain, etc. Many have an understanding of these new energies that help keep many areas around the world powered but what about a renewable chemical feedstock? To many, biodiesel may ring a bell. Corn is a perfect example of a renewable chemical feedstock because it won’t run out due to the fact that it can be easily grown over and over and has the ability to be used as a source of power.

Fossil fuels have been discovered to be limited on our planet as well as a negative effect on the atmosphere when burnt but with the help of biotechnology, which began in the 1970s, renewable sources of energy have taken flight in “bioprocessing”. With bioprocessing, the technology takes a carbohydrate source (in this example, corn starch) and converts it to a fuel using biological catalysts. From cornstarch, these crops can be made into bioethanol or ethanol, which can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form but is commonly used as an additive in gasoline (ethanol). The use of this ethanol in gasoline is not a positive but the use in pure form of the original cornstarch is a positive because the pure form reduces the use of fossil fuels by 100%.

Biodiesel is another product that can be made from both vegetable oils (corn starch) and animal fats. Like ethanol, biodiesel can be used as a fuel in pure form but is still mostly used as an additive in diesel fuel to lessen the levels of certain substances. These substances could be carbon monoxide or hydrocarbons that are released from diesel-powered cars or trucks. Biodiesel, or vegetable oil isn’t commonly used in cars but still exists nonetheless. There’s actually a Mercedes Benz that can run on this biodiesel fuel and is called the Biodiesel Benz. Below is a link to a case study that was done on a conversion of a diesel Benz that now runs on vegetable oil. 

http://www.noendpress.com/caleb/biodiesel/

Using biodiesel or bioethanol in their pure forms have and will continue to impact other aspects such as gas stations as time goes by when we become more desperate to eliminate polluting the air with fossil fuels. These fuels do help gas companies as additives in gasoline or diesel fuels but overall could potentially put many out of business when the production of cars changes overtime to use these fuels in pure form. With an increase in demand of corn starch or other feedstocks for fuel, the farming market will also begin to boom with business.

Sources:

https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mcheryan/www/feedstoc.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel

http://www.noendpress.com/caleb/biodiesel/

The Cogeneration Plant of UNH Durham

At UNH in Durham, they have changed their ways of producing electricity and heat so dramatically that across its five million square foot campus, it reduces greenhouse emissions by 21% (from 2005-2006). How is this possible? This energy comes from the plant at Durham, which is powered by methane gas from a landfill 12.7 miles away belonging to Waste Management in Rochester. In fact, up to 85% of the campus will receive energy from this landfill gas from the cogeneration (COGEN) plant and with the help of EcoLine, a power partnership to UNH. “EcoLine make UNH the first university in America to use landfill gas to power its energies,” says Mark Huddleston, the UNH President.

There are two costs that UNH now bears; the EcoLine cost of an estimated $49 million with an anticipated payback of 10 years and the COGEN (with the chilled water plant included) costs an estimated $28 million with an anticipated payback of 20 years. By then, UNH will have cut its greenhouse gas emissions even more; specifically, 50% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. Even though these costs are high, UNH is doing the environment a favor as well as themselves because the price of energy will change over time too.

It’s expected that the price of energy will go up higher in years to come but having switched over to this sustainable energy, UNH Durham will benefit from this project more and more. That being said, this project therefore not only saves on emissions but it also benefits UNH economically as the price of energy goes up.  

Source:

http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/ecoline

Organic Agricultural Methods

            Agriculture has been around for thousands of years but the methods used have changed dramatically and have impacted global warming negatively. With these changing methods and the increase in the world’s population every day, there’s no wonder that this could continue to be a negative impact if a solution isn’t found. One thing that can’t be stopped is the population increase of the planet so a change in agriculture must be established. 

            With the growing population, there would have to be more agricultural farming in order to satisfy everyone’s hunger. Sure, the modern agriculture today can increase yields quickly but this is done with toxic chemical pesticides and fertilizers that can be harmful when consumed. Nitrogenous fertilizer, for example, has not only brought health issues to people but has polluted water because of its runoff. For this, health problems have grown to be expensive and the question here is whether this tradeoff is worth it.

            Organic farming can eliminate these factors and even bring more positives with its lower levels of pesticides. Surprisingly, organic agricultural methods can eliminate somewhere around 7,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air every year. Even more shocking, the Rodale Institute has proved that “if all 434 million acres of American cropland were converted to these practices, it would be the equivalent of eliminating 217 million cars from the road, or a car for every two acres of farmland.”

            Today, organic agricultural methods have become a trend but the percentage is still incredibly low. In 2008, only about 0.7% of cropland and 0.5% of pasture in the U.S. were reported certified organic but increased from 2002 to 2008 at a 15% adoption rate. As long as this rate continues and many people become aware of these pesticides, there will be less health problems and less negative effects on global warming. 

Resources:

http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/6-ways-agriculture-impacts-global-warming.html

http://ofrf.org/resources/organicfaqs.html

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/Organic/

Biological Interactions With Environmental Chemicals

Biological interaction with environmental chemicals is common. These are xenobiotic materials and organisms may interact with them; this interaction is called bioaccumulation. This could essentially be a buildup of these materials, which are usually harmful and cannot be broken down easily. These materials can also be anywhere, including drinking water or food; for example, pesticides in food.

Since these xenobiotic materials can be present in so many places, it’s very easy for them to spread through the entire food chain. This is also known for becoming more concentrated in organisms if one organism eats another with the substance present inside them. Also, if the xenobiotic substance isn’t toxic to begin with, the levels could increase to levels that are toxic. For instance, the xenobiotic materials could begin in the natural environment because of pollutants in water. If a fish comes into contact with the materials in water through it's gills, it could pass it on to its prey. If its prey happens to be a human, the human will therefore ingest these materials in his or her system.

Going back to pesticides, we could ask why do we use pesticides in food and why is it harmful? First, they are used to keep pests such as ants or slugs off of the farmers crops but many don't realize that these chemicals can't just be washed off fruits and vegetables. Many also don't realize the effects that pesticides have on humans such as birth defects, interference with child development, neurological problems, and much more. They may even cause cancers such as leukemia, brain cancer, and cancer of the kidneys. 

In short, not only will the concentration increase over time but can become toxic and easily spread throughout the food chain. With this being said, these factors, once coming into contact within humans, could very well be at it’s worst because we are technically at top of the food chain. 

Resources:

Green Chemistry and the Ten Commandments of Sustainability By Stanley E. Manahan
http://www.triedtastedserved.com/mind-body-health/pesticides-gmos-food.php

The Chevy Volt

Hybrid cars have grown to be quite popular over the years as gas prices have sky-rocketed and one of the most known companies to market these cars has been Toyota. Sure, other companies such as GMC have cooperated with this change in technology but even more recently, Chevy came out with a new car, the Volt, to compete with the Japanese car we know as the Toyota Prius.

Chevrolet started their production with the Volt in December of 2010 but the car has been advertised greatly this year to generate more popularity. Below is a link to the new commercial for the 2012 Volt. 

2012 Chevy Volt Commercial

We already have many hybrids on the road but this car will be a great addition to the future of reducing the emissions of gas, a very well known air pollutant. To the environment mostly because it runs on gas after it runs out of electricity, rather then running on both all the time. As far as the specifications go for the fuel, the Volt is able to go up to 35 miles solely on battery and switches to gas when out of electricity, which runs at 35 MPG city and 40 MPG highway. The 2012 Prius, however, runs only 15 miles on electricity alone but in hybrid mode receives 49 MPG. 

In conclusion, it can be said that it doesn't necessarily matter which car someone may purchase to reduce the emissions of gas into the air as long as they are reducing their pollution. If someone drives a hybrid car, electric car, or an average car that drives over 40 miles with one gallon of gas, they are contributing to the health of the planet. It also doesn't matter which type of fuel efficient car one purchases because there is still a lot of competition in technology. Many consumers want to preserve the health of the atmosphere with fuel efficient cars but many more want to save money and with the competition in technology, the next car will always try to be better then the last in fuel efficiency.

References:
http://www.chevrolet.com/#sonic
http://www.toyota.com/

Water Used as a Green Solvent

Water can be used as a "green" (environmentally friendly) solvent very easily because it's already a natural solvent unless it's combined with a solvent or solute that isn't green. One example could be the way water is used to create energy (electricity) through hydropower plants. An average hydropower plant will usually consist of three parts; a power plant where the energy is created, a dam with the ability to open or close, and a reservoir, where the water will be stored.

The very useful part of this green energy is that the water in the reservoir is actually stored energy so it never goes to waste. Also, the flow of water can be controlled when the town needs more or less energy. After the water is used, it won't be contaminated by the equipment at the plant and could even be used miles away at another power plant. As long as there isn't a large drought, this energy will always be attainable and sustainable.

The first part of the process is where the water from the reservoir enters through the dam's opening and leads down long pipes, which are called penstocks. When the water breaches the end of these pipes, it then moves the turbine's blades. This turbine is connected to a generator to provide the energy needed for electricity, which is then delivered to a utility company through transmission lines.

This website provides photos and additional information:
http://www.need.org/needpdf/infobook_activities/SecInfo/HydroS.pdf