Green Chemistry & Engineering

CH4220

Yoel Sasson

ysasson@ntu.edu.sg
Office N1.2-B1-08
Phone: 6514 1055

Lecture 1: August 11, 2016

CH4420: Green Chemistry &

Engineering

Lectures on Thursdays at 15:30-18:30

CA: 5 Home Assignments (25% of final grade)
Class Presence & Participation (15% of final grade)
Final Exam: 2.5 Hours, Open Books (60% of final grade)

 Green chemistry is a chemical

philosophy encouraging the design of
products and processes that reduce
or eliminate the use and generation
of hazardous substances

Wikipedia (2007)
reducing environmental impacts
through design at the molecular level.

Global Population Growth

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Abubakar family of Bridging, Chad. Weekly food budget $1.2

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Malander family of Bragthite Germany. Weekly food budget $5

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Depleting
Resources:
[1] Water
[2] Food
[3]
Materials &
Energy
[4]
Footprint
[5]
Capacity
for Wastes
This world provides enough for everybodys need but not enough for
everybodys greed. M. Gahndi

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Price of crude oil 2008

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Production of
food in the
Last 15,000
years
2002 (Mt)

=Production of food in
the next 25 years

Maize
624
Wheat
570
Rice
410
Cotton
96.5
Banana
100

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Meat vs. Soy or Wheat

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Dilution is the Solution to Pollution

Decrease in concentration of a substance
in a particular medium (air, water, land)
would be sufficient to mitigate its
ultimate impact

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US Waste: 200 million tons of municipal solid wastes, 1 billon

tons of agricultural
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solid waste (including crop residues) and 11 billion tons of industrial wastes.

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Risk= Hazard X Exposure

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N2 + O2 2NO

N2 + 3H2

2NH3

HNO3

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U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency

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Few places on Earth

are warming faster
than the Arctic.
Temperatures have
been rising several
degrees Celsius per
decade (red areas)
since 1981. Among
the most
fundamental
questions about
Arctic climate change
is how the warming
will affect the
Greenland Ice Sheet.
(NASA Map by Robert
Simmon,
based on
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1979

2003

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Our Ecological Footprint

Accounts for the flows of energy and matter to
and from any defined economy and converts
these into the corresponding land and water
area required from nature to support these flows.
A measure of the load imposed by a given
population on nature. It represents the land area
necessary to sustain current levels of resource
consumption and waste discharge by that
population.

M. Wackernagel & W. Rees 1996; E.O. Wilson 2002

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Ecological Footprint
Country

Ecological Productive
area available (ha/cap)

Ecological Footprint
Needed (ha/cap)

US

2.8

5.1

Canada

15.2

4.3

Australia

32.2

3.7

Netherlands

0.23

4.5

Japan

0.2

2.0

India

0.5

0.4

World

1.5

1.8

M. Wackernagel & W. Rees 1996; E.O. Wilson 2002

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Trilemma: Three Major Problems

Threatening World Survival
Rapid population and economic
growth
Depletion of resources
Pollution and its environmental
consequences

The Remedy: Sustainable Development

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Major Chemical Engineering

Challenges

Global Warming
Food Supply
Depletion of Raw Materials
Pollution (Toxic and non Toxic)
Non Sustainable Energy Production
Non Efficient Energy Use

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Regulation

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Solution at the source

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Cleaning

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Renewables

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Renewable Energy

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Definitions of Sustainability
Theocratic view: Nature is trusted by God
to man who should take care of it
Ecological view: Nature is central.
Technology should be embedded in
nature. Man is just another specie.
Anthropological view: Man is central
Sustainability in Nature
Economic Sustainability
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Anthropological Sustainability
Fulfilling the needs of the present
generation without sacrificing the needs of
future generations (Brundtland)
Feed double the number of people,
provide them with energy and materials, let
them live according to the requirements of
a developed society and do not pollute the
earth nor change the climate (Okkerse &
Van Bekkum)
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Ecological Sustainability
Sustainable development seeks to
reconcile environmental protection and
development; it means nothing more than
using resources no faster than they can
regenerate themselves, and releasing
pollutants to no greater extent than natural
resources can assimilate them (Angela
Merkel)
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Incident Radiation
Immateria
l Energy
Source

CO2
H2O

The
Metabo
lic
Society

Living
Systems

Emitted Radiation

O2

Immateria
l
Emissions
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Production

Production
Of Goods &
Services

Wages, Rent

Consumptio
n of Final
Good &
Services

Capital
Goods
Loans

Invested
Capital

Savings

Capital Depreciation

Extraction

Recycle

Emission

Environmental
Economics
Sustainable
Economics
Classical

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Allen, Shonnard: Green Engineering (2002)

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Sustainable Resource Utilization

Resources

Primary
Intermediates

Secondary
Intermediates

Food

Sunlight
Biomass

Animals

Wind

Ocean/Hydro

Energy
Hard-to-store
Energy

Organic
Fuels

Electricity
Geothermal

Nuclear

Hydrogen

Transportation
Chemicals &
Materials

Thermal

Ores

Motor-Driven
Devices & Light

Heat

Batteries
Subsurface
Minerals

Needs

Organics
Inorganics

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BioRefinery

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Global Biomass Production

180 B ton/year. 4% is used

75% carbohydrates
20% lignin
5% fats, Proteins, terpens
11B ton chitin

Glucose

Xylose

Biodiesel Process

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Cellulosic Biomass Composition

Cellulose 43%
Hemicellulose 27%
Lignin 17%
Other 13%
Agricultural Residues

Cellulose 45%
Hemicellulose 25%
Lignin 22%
Extractives 5%
Ash 3%

Woody Crops
Ash 15%
Lignin 10%
Cellulose
Hemicellulose 9%
45%
Other carbohydrates 9%
Protein 3%
Other 9%
Municipal Solid Waste

Cellulose 45%
Hemicellulose 30%
Lignin 15%
Other 10%
Herbaceous Energy Crops
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Seambiotic Ltd.

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Highlights of Class 1
Rapid global population and economical growth
results in depletion of world resources.
Peak oil and inefficient energy conversion.
Air, water and soil pollution. Global warming.
Ecological footprint.
Sustainablity. Metabolic society.
Life cycle assessment. Cradle to cradle concept.
Biomass and the future biorefinery. Bioethanol.
Biodiesel. Sustainable resources.
Shale gas and its economical impact. Fracking, GTL

Trilemma: Three Major Problems

Threatening World Survival
Rapid population and economic
growth
Depletion of resources
Pollution and its environmental
consequences

The Remedy: Sustainable Development

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Major Chemical Engineering

Challenges 2016

Global Warming
Food Supply
Depletion of Raw Materials
Pollution (Toxic and non Toxic)
Non Sustainable Energy Production
Non Efficient Energy Use

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Sustainability and Efficiency

Waste minimization
Use of renewable resources.
Material cycles are closed (cradle to
cradle).
Thermodynamic efficiency (minimal
entropy generation).
Dematerialization of economical
growth
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