78765 - Industrial Innovation 3

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will know the important innovations ongoing in chemical industry. He/she will be aware of the concerns for health and the environment that the industrial use and production of solvents raises, and of the alternative safer solvents that are available nowadays and the principles for designing new ones. The student will also achieve knowledge of renewable raw materials as a powerful and beneficial opportunity for boosting chemical industry in a more sustainable perspective.

Course contents

• The solvent global business. main applications in every day use products and in chemical industry. Role of solvents in chemical processes. Safety, health and environmental properties (SHE). Incremental optimization of known solvents and search for new reaction media.
• Solvents-less reactions as solutions of the solvent issue. Solid-phase synthesis: sonochemistry and microwaves.
• Water as solvent: chemical compatibility, solvation effects and dissolution of polar and apolar compounds. Use of surfactants, micelles as reaction media.
• Supercritical fluids. properties of scWater: special use in the oxidation of watsres, including chemical weapons. ScCO2 as a reaction medium, an extractant and an eluent in analytical and preparative chromatography.
• Ionic liquids: preparation and physical properties. Solvents by design: properties tunable by a proper choice of the anion and cation. Applications in organic synthesis. Applications in extractive chemistry, electroplating, and others.
• Concluding remarks: a summary of the topics covered in this module. Guidelines for the preparatioon of the final report. Delivery of review articles to each student, individually

Readings/Bibliography

Lessons slides availbale for download.

Reference book: F.M.Kerton, R.Marriott, "Alternative Solvents for Green Chemistry", RSC PUblishing, 2013

Teaching methods

Lectures with multimedia support. Slides are available for download.

Assessment methods

A report is prepared by the student within 45 days after the completion of the course. In particular: one review article is provided to each student. On the basis of this reference materials the student has to follow this flow chart:

1) describe the general aspects of his/her assigned topic, e.g. ionic liquids, solid state chemistry, ultrasound assisted process, supercritical fluid, etc. This section should be limited to 500-1000 words, except for figures.

2) select an application of your choosing in the review article provided. Find the original paper which reports the application you have chosen.

3) describe the process or reaction reported. If a new solvent is used, collect information on its properties from the literature

4) analyze the proposed solution based on the use of a eco-friendly solvent or process,

5) compare the new process with the older one,

6) critically analyze pro's and con's of the proposed solution.

Sections 3-6 should be limited to no more than 3.000 words.

Teaching tools

Multimedia supported lectures.

Office hours

See the website of Claudio Trombini

See the website of Chiara Samorì

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