Industrial and Green Chemistry

Overview

STAFF

NAME CONTRIBUTION
Dr. A.C. Marr
a.marr@qub.ac.uk Introduction to the Chemical Industry 8 Lectures, seminars. Process Design Project Facilitator- Six 2-hour workshops and final 3-hour presentation workshop.
Dr. P.C. Marr
p.marr@qub.ac.uk Module Co-ordinator; Introduction to Polymers I -10 Lectures, seminars; Introduction to Polymers II – 4 Lectures, Seminars. Process Design Project Facilitator- Six 2-hour workshops and final 3-hour presentation workshop.
Dr. G. N. Sheldrake
g.sheldrake@qub.ac.uk Introduction to Green Chemistry - 8 Lectures; Process Design Project Facilitator - Six 2-hour workshops and final 3-hour presentation workshop.

Introduction to the Chemical Industry:
 The Chemical Industry is based on the efficient transformation of simple building blocks into increasingly complex and higher value-added intermediates and products. This short introduction to the subject will demonstrate how important industrial chemicals can be synthesised using catalysed reactions, starting from the feed stocks of the current chemical industry: fossil fuels.
 From fossil fuels to chemicals.
 Comparison of homogeneous, heterogeneous and bio-catalysis.
 Heterogeneous catalysis and the synthesis of building blocks: CO, H2, NH3, olefins.
 Large scale homogeneous processes.
 Separations in homogeneous catalysis.
 Introduction to industrial biocatalysis for chemical synthesis.

Introduction to Green Chemistry:
 This course will introduce the concepts of “green” chemistry and the development of a sustainable future for chemical manufacture. Topics covered will include techniques for greener synthesis and the application of these techniques to real industrial problems. Topics covered will include:
 The case for sustainability in chemical manufacture; the twelve principles of “green chemistry”; methods for evaluating and comparing the “greenness” of chemical processes
 Greener reaction media: supercritical fluids, ionic liquids, sustainable organic solvents, solventless processes.
 The green chemist’s toolbox: an introduction to enzyme-catalysed transformations; heterogeneous acids and bases; greener reductions and oxidations;
 Greener process design.
 Case studies.

Introduction to Polymers l:
 This course will introduce the topic of applied materials. The course will include an introduction to polymers, polymer synthesis and applications of polymer from bulk to medical. The course will introduce green approaches to polymer synthesis and polymer recycling.
 Introduction to polymers.
 Overview of structure property relationships.
 Biopolymers and polymers from renewable feedstocks
 Polymers for medicine (structural, pharmaceutical)
 Polymer recycling

Introduction to Polymers II:
 Polymer characterisation, analysis, and industrial applications.
 Industrially important bulk polymers.
 Will include case studies of industrially important polymer manufacture. Discussion on scale up.

Coursework assignments.
Process Design Project:
 This exercise will provide an opportunity to work in teams using principles of industrial and green chemistry to design a chemical manufacturing process.
Introduction to the Chemical Industry:
 The Chemical Industry is based on the efficient transformation of simple building blocks into increasingly complex and higher value-added intermediates and products. This short introduction to the subject will demonstrate how important industrial chemicals can be synthesised using catalysed reactions, starting from the feed stocks of the current chemical industry: fossil fuels.
 From fossil fuels to chemicals.
 Comparison of homogeneous, heterogeneous and bio-catalysis.
 Heterogeneous catalysis and the synthesis of building blocks: CO, H2, NH3, olefins.
 Large scale homogeneous processes.
 Separations in homogeneous catalysis.
 Introduction to industrial biocatalysis for chemical synthesis.

Introduction to Green Chemistry:
 This course will introduce the concepts of “green” chemistry and the development of a sustainable future for chemical manufacture. Topics covered will include techniques for greener synthesis and the application of these techniques to real industrial problems. Topics covered will include:
 The case for sustainability in chemical manufacture; the twelve principles of “green chemistry”; methods for evaluating and comparing the “greenness” of chemical processes
 Greener reaction media: supercritical fluids, ionic liquids, sustainable organic solvents, solventless processes.
 The green chemist’s toolbox: an introduction to enzyme-catalysed transformations; heterogeneous acids and bases; greener reductions and oxidations;
 Greener process design.
 Case studies.

Introduction to Polymers l:
 This course will introduce the topic of applied materials. The course will include an introduction to polymers, polymer synthesis and applications of polymer from bulk to medical. The course will introduce green approaches to polymer synthesis and polymer recycling.
 Introduction to polymers.
 Overview of structure property relationships.
 Biopolymers and polymers from renewable feedstocks
 Polymers for medicine (structural, pharmaceutical)
 Polymer recycling

Introduction to Polymers II:
 Polymer characterisation, analysis, and industrial applications.
 Industrially important bulk polymers.
 Will include case studies of industrially important polymer manufacture. Discussion on scale up.

Coursework assignments.
Process Design Project:
 This exercise will provide an opportunity to work in teams using principles of industrial and green chemistry to design a chemical manufacturing process.
 The students will be allocated a project in which they will be asked to solve a problem. “The company” will ask them to take an existing process and improve on it using their Green Chem. knowledge. They will work in groups to produce a report outlining their findings and also present their recommendations by means of a conference style scientific poster presentation. An individual written report of the development of the process will also be produced.
 The style is intended to mirror the type of problem a team may be asked to solve in the workplace.

Workshop sessions:
 Talk from careers service (PD)
Project group allocation (kick off session) (GNS) (ACM) (PCM)
 Life cycle analysis (GNS).
 Literature and the library (IB).
 Plagiarism (CL DC).
 Report writing and scientific communication skills (PCM).
 Biocatalysis (SM, ALMAC - if available to present a guest lecture)

The sessions are split: The presentation is the first hour, the second hour is timetabled to provide the students a space and time for groupwork and give students the opportunity to embed the content of the workshop into their final report and presentation. Staff will be available to provide feedback and give guidance on the project.

 These exercises (PCM ACM GNS) contribute:
 10% Group Report 1(intro and LCA).
 25% Group report 2 (Written Design Project report).
 10% individual Design Project report.
 15% Group Poster Presentation.

Laboratory session (GNS + PCM):
 laboratory on green chemistry/biocatalysis
This exercise contributes: 20%

 Class test 20% (PCM)

Learning Objectives

On completion of this module a learner should be able to:
 Have learned about where industrial chemicals come from
 Have learned about new classes of chemicals and chemical structure and how physical, chemical and mechanical properties of these relate to their applications
 Have a working knowledge of how organic functionality can be built up from simple feedstocks.
 Have an appreciation of the sorts of considerations important to the application of chemistry to industrial problems
 Have earned about industrially important polymers and polymer synthesis, including greener methods and recycling
 Have an appreciation of key applications of polymers learned the principles and synthetic techniques underlying green chemistry
 Have an appreciation of how these techniques are applied to industrial-scale syntheses
 Have an appreciation of how these principles are used in the design of more sustainable and selective industrial chemical manufacturing processes.

Skills

Learners are expected to demonstrate the following on completion of the module:
 Subject specific skills, and transferable/employability skills.
 Students will have developed skills in:
 Report writing (written communication in a scientific style)
 problem solving through teamwork
 The application of technical principles to complex real-world design problems
 communication and presentation of scientific results
 numeracy
 IT
 Self management
 Interview skills.

Assessment

Assessment:
Design project
-Group Report 1(intro and LCA) 10%
-Group Report 2 (final report) 25%
-individual report (final report) 10%
-Presentation 15 %
-Laboratory practical 20 %
-Class test 20 %



Course Requirements:
Workshop attendance at 80 %
Design project submission (Group report 1&2)100 %
Presentation 100 %
Lab attendance & group report submission 100 %
Module pass 40 %