Infographic-style poster on ionic liquids presented at the 2024 ACS GCI summer school. Background information on this class of solvents is discussed, including potential environmental drawbacks, LCA data, industrial applications, and switchable ionic liquids. Author affiliations: Rachel S. Korchinsky, Raz Abbasi, and Alex R.
Solvents have many uses, both commercial and domestic. In the chemicals industry, solvents are used in the production of chemicals as media for chemical reactions and for chemicals separation/purification. Here, I attempt to demonstrate how appropriate selection of solvents for chemicals processing has been used to improve the sustainability of these processes using examples that have been, to the best of my knowledge using publicly available information, in commercial use at some time.
Process Mass Intensity is a common metric used in industry to measure the overall amount (or mass) of materials used to create a given amount (mass) of product. This calculator builds on the original Process Mass Intensity (PMI) calculator to accommodate convergent synthesis. Developed by the ACS Green Chemistry Institute Pharmaceutical Roundtable, the Convergent PMI Calculator uses the same calculations but allows multiple branches for single-step or convergent synthesis.
Produced by the medicinal chemistry focus team of the ACS GCI Pharmaceutical Roundtable, this quick tips guide covers purification, solvent selection, reagents, energy, and resources to make medicinal chemistry more sustainable.
The Chem21 Solvent Selection Guide was produced through an academic-industry consortium in 2016. The consortium surveyed existing solvent guides from various organizations and companies, seeking to elaborate a standard ranking methodology. The methodology is based on easily available physical properties and GHS statements, permitting anyone to establish safety, health, and environment criteria of any solvent, even if full data on the solvents are not yet available. The guide includes classical and less-classical (including bio-derived) solvents.
Given the importance of solvents to process mass intensity, solvent selection has been an area of intense interest to ACS GCI Pharmaceutical Roundtable member companies. While there are a variety of solvent selection tools available, this is the first tool that has been developed by practicing pharmaceutical process development experts. This interactive tool enables you to select solvents based upon a variety of key solvent properties. Solvents which are close to each other in the principal components (PCA) map have similar properties, whereas distant solvents are significantly different.
Over 50 years of successful applications of Hansen Solubility Parameters (HSP) are captured in one package. HSPiP is an eBook, Software, a collection of Datasets and Working Examples all in one package. There are now HSP and other data on 10,000 chemicals in the current edition. The software doesn’t just calculate and visualise HSP in 3D, it has a solvent optimizer (up to 8 solvents, plus graphing of solvent mixture changes depending on Relative Evaporation Rates, Activity Coefficients and temperature), a polymer calculator, a DIY HSP calculator, a powerful Diffusion modeller.
Natural rhamnolipids, or co-surfactant systems, for bioremediation applications and crude oil recovery. These rhamnolipid biosurfactants can facilitate the removal of hydrocarbons and heavy metals, making them effective in remediating soil and sludge. These rhamnolipids also contain a synergistic activity with many synthetic surfactants, resuluting in a reduction in synthetic surfactant components. They are also biodegradable, with decompositions that are non-persisitent and safe for the environment.
Halogen-free firefighting surfactant. RE-HEALING™ RF3 is a fluorosurfactant and fluoropolymer-free foam concentrate that effectively extinguishes Class B hydrocarbon fuel fires. It can be used in fresh, salt, or brackish water. These surfactants have a high rate of degradation and perform equal or superior to those in conventional firefighting foams. It is also easy to integrate into existing systems. Conventional firefighting foams use fluorinated surfactants, which are persistent, toxic, and bioaccumulative.
Second-generation surfactant that improves the solubility of organic compounds in water. The second generation surfactant, TPGS-750M, allows some organic reactions to be carried out in an aqueous system by improving the solubility of organic compounds in water. This surfactant is composed of safe, inexpensive ingredients and only a small concentration is required for effectiveness. After the reaction, the surfactant can be recovered and reused with minor deactiviation. Organic solvents are traditionally used for organic reactions because they are not soluble in water.