Fraunhofer lighthouse project »ShaPID« – Shaping the Future of Green Chemistry by Process Intensification and Digitalization
Fraunhofer lighthouse project »ShaPID« – Shaping the Future of Green Chemistry by Process Intensification and Digitalization

Green Metrics made by Fraunhofer

© Shutterstock/Composing Fraunhofer UMSICHT

The "12 Principles of Green Chemistry" are a framework for developments in the field of green chemistry. The requirements are geared towards both products and their manufacturing processes. They aim to improve the use of resources, improve energy efficiency, and reduce risks to people and the environment. [Kreuder DeVinero-2017]1

As part of the ShaPID project, these 12 principles are being further developed by Fraunhofer for use in green chemistry. Especially the following aspects are taken into account:

  • The upstream supply chain for the reaction's educts is categorized based on their cumulative energy demand and carbon footprint and recorded for evaluation.
  • Renewable raw materials in the input are categorized more finely and expanded to include recycled raw materials. This means that differences between the raw materials can also be considered in the assessment.

The aim is to use simple and quick calculations to assess the greenness of processes and products regarding various ecologically relevant factors as representatively and objectively as possible. Real phenomena and their significance are mapped with sufficient accuracy. The Fraunhofer Green Metrics are designed to be user-friendly and can be applied without detailed process knowledge.

1 A. DeVierno Kreuder, T. House-Knight, J. Whitford, E., Ponnusamy, P. Miller, N. Jesse, R. Rodenborn, S. Sayag, M., Gebel, I. Aped, I. Sharfstein, E. Manaster, I. Ergaz, A. Harris, L., Nelowet Grice, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2017, 5 (4), 2927–2935. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b02399

The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry

Research scientists use the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry developed by scientists Paul Anastas and John Warner in 1998 as the basis for integrating limit-based indicators for the analysis and assessment of chemical processes. Approaches from LCA and VDI 4663 are employed to integrate recommended actions in process engineering and operation.

  Chemistry is green when ...

Prevention

 ... chemical processes produce as little waste as possible. This is better than having to treat or clean up waste.

Atom Economy

 ... synthetic methods are designed to maximize incorporation of all materials used in the process into the final product.

Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses

 ... synthetic methods are designed to use and generate substances that possess little or no toxicity to human health and the environment.

Designing Safer Chemicals

 ... chemical products are designed to preserve efficacy of function while reducing toxicity.

Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries

 ... the use of auxiliary substances (e.g., solvents, separation agents, etc.) is made unnecessary wherever possible and innocuous when used.

Design for Energy Efficiency

 ... energy requirements are recognized for their environmental and economic impacts and minimized and synthetic methods are conducted at ambient temperature and pressure.

Use of Renewable Feedstocks

 ... a raw material or feedstock is renewable rather than depleting whenever technically and economically practicable.

Reduce Derivatives

 ... modifications of molecules are minimized and unnecessary derivatization is minimized because such steps require additional reagents and can generate waste.

Catalysis

 ... efficient catalytic reagents are employed.

Design for Degradation

 ... chemical products are designed so that at the end of their function they break down into innocuous degradation products and do not persist in the environment.

Real-Time Analysis for Pollution Prevention

 ... real-time, in-process monitoring and control of chemical processes prevent the formation of hazardous substances.

Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention

 ... Substances and the form of a substance used in a chemical process are chosen to minimize the potential for chemical accidents, including releases, explosions, and fires.

If you are interested in a Life Cycle Assessment, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Contact for Life Cycle Assessment

If you are interested in a screening for ecotoxicologically relevant effects or in the regulatory environmental risk assessment of your products, please contact us.

Contact for Screening