Introduction to Green Chemistry

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Welcome to Green Chemistry at Carolina. In our continuing efforts to make your lab safer, we've created this Web page with information, resources, and product suggestions you can use. Look here first for tips on how to make your lab greener for you and your students.

Green Chemistry is a set of principles to help you minimize the hazardous substances used in chemical processes or that result from chemical processes.

For your convenience, we are reprinting here (with permission of Oxford University Press) the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry.

The principles provide a new perspective on the use of chemicals. Use the 12 principles as your guide when developing new procedures or choosing products for your classroom. In addition, reconsider your existing procedures within the context of the principles. Look for opportunities to change how you perform a procedure, or perhaps consider a different procedure to illustrate the same concept. If you can't change your procedure, think about switching to less hazardous reagents. To make your job easier, we've identified products consistent with the principles of Green Chemistry.

• Buy chemicals in quantities you will use in a year.
• Choose procedures that require chemicals you often use, rather than add a chemical only for that procedure.
• Perform procedures on the smallest scale possible.
• Use the health, flammability, and reactivity data we provide in our chemical listings to select the least hazardous option.
• If the solute dissolves in water, use an aqueous solution rather than an alcohol solution.
• Use the lowest concentration of solution that works.

See the table below for direct replacements:

Direct Chemical Replacements
Replace	With	Common Use
Cadmium	Copper	Dense metal for density studies
Chlorinated solvents	Ethyl acetate, acetone, or ethanol	Polar, organic solvent
Diethyl ether	Hexane	Non-polar, organic solvent
Lead	Copper	Dense metal for density studies
Mercury thermometer	Alcohol thermometer	Lab thermometer
Methanol	Ethanol	Polar, organic solvent
Nitrate salts	Chloride salts	Water-soluble metal salts
Petroleum ether	Hexane	Non-polar, organic solvent

Please see the table below for a complete list of green chemical replacements by item number:

Green Chemical Replacements by Item
Item Number	Product	Replace With	Product
844120	Ammonium Nitrate, Reagent Grade, 500 g	843800	Ammonium Chloride, Laboratory Grade, 500 g
852180	Calcium Nitrate, Laboratory Grade, 500 g	851870	Calcium Chloride, Laboratory Grade, 500 g
852208	Calcium Nitrate Tetrahydrate, Reagent Grade, 100 g	851870	Calcium Chloride, Laboratory Grade, 500 g
854990	Cobalt Nitrate Hexahydrate, Reagent Grade, 100 g	854950	Cobalt Chloride Hexahydrate, Reagent Grade, 500 g
871862	Lead Foil, Laboratory Grade, 500 g	855420	Copper Foil, Reagent Grade, 100 g
871930	Lead Shot, Laboratory Grade, 500 g	855580	Copper Shot, Laboratory Grade, 500 g
871868	Lead Sheet, Laboratory Grade, 250 g	855420	Copper foil, Reagent Grade, 100 g
856478	Cupric Nitrate Trihydrate, Reagent Grade, 25 g	856450	Cupric Chloride Dihydrate, Reagent Grade, 100 g
856480	Cupric Nitrate Trihydrate, ACS Grade, 125 g	856450	Cupric Chloride Dihydrate, Reagent Grade, 100 g
874893	Methanol 70%, Laboratory Grade, 3.8 L	861263	Ethanol 70%, Laboratory Grade, 3.8 L
874913	Methanol, ACS Grade, 3.8 L	861300	Ethanol, Reagent Grade, 3.8 L
854000	Chloroform, Reagent Grade, 500 mL	861490	Ethyl Acetate, Laboratory Grade, 500 mL
875970	Methylene Chloride, Laboratory Grade, 500 mL	861490	Ethyl Acetate, Laboratory Grade, 500 mL
853980	Chloroform, Laboratory Grade, 500 mL	861490	Ethyl Acetate, Laboratory Grade, 500 mL
862622	Ferric Nitrate, Reagent Grade, 500 g	862440	Ferric Chloride Hexahydrate, Reagent Grade, 500 g
862620	Ferric Nitrate Nonahydrate, Reagent Grade, 100 g	862460	Ferric chloride, Reagent Grade, 100 g
861348	Diethyl Ether Anhydrous, Reagent Grade, 500 mL	867180	Hexanes, Reagent Grade, 500 mL
861374	Diethyl Ether Anhydrous, Reagent Grade, 100 mL	867180	Hexanes, Reagent Grade, 500 mL
861342	Ether for Anesthesia, USP Grade, 500 g	867180	Hexanes, Reagent Grade, 500 mL
861408	Ether Anhydrous, ACS Grade, 500 g	867180	Hexanes, Reagent Grade, 500 mL
872650	Lithium Nitrate, Reagent Grade, 100 g	872580	Lithium Chloride, Reagent Grade, 500 g
873280	Magnesium Nitrate Hexahydrate, Reagent Grade, 500 g	873240	Magnesium Chloride Hexahydrate, Laboratory Grade, 500 g
883908	Potassium Nitrate, ACS Grade, 100 g	882910	Potassium Chloride, ACS Grade, 500 g
883910	Potassium Nitrate, Reagent Grade, 500 g	882910	Potassium Chloride, ACS Grade, 500 g
883942	Potassium Nitrate, Laboratory Grade, 2 kg	882910	Potassium Chloride, ACS Grade, 500 g
883940	Potassium Nitrate, Laboratory Grade, 500 g	882910	Potassium Chloride, ACS Grade, 500 g
889840	Sodium Nitrate, Laboratory Grade, 500 g	888880	Sodium Chloride, ACS Grade, 500 g
889842	Sodium Nitrate, Laboratory Grade, 2 kg	888882	Sodium Chloride, ACS Grade, 2.5kg
892750	Strontium Nitrate, Reagent Grade, 100 g	892720	Strontium Chloride Hexahydrate, Reagent Grade, 100 g
899542	Zinc chloride, reagent grade, 500 g	899462	Zinc acetate dihydrate, laboratory grade, 100 g
899572	Zinc nitrate hexahydrate, laboratory grade, 500 g	899462	Zinc acetate dihydrate, laboratory grade, 100 g

Two of Carolina's manufacturers, Diversified Woodcrafts, Inc. and Shain Solutions, are launching a green initiative to further enhance the steps they are already taking in caring for our environment. Read more at New Green Initiatives.

• Green with Carolina
• "12 Principles of Green Chemistry" from Figure 4.1: (p.30). 12 Principles of Green Chemistry from Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice (1998) by Anastas P and Warner J. By Permission of Oxford University Press.
• American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute
• EPA Green Chemistry
• Beyond Benign