Clean Technologies and Green Chemistry

General characterization

Prerequisites

Available soon

Bibliography

P.T.Anastas & J.C. Warner. Green chemistry: Theory and Practice. Oxford University Press, NY 1998

Concepción Jimenez-Gonzalez & D.J.C. Constable. Green chemistry and Engineering, A Practical Design Approach. Wiley 2011

Teaching method

Teaching is done in classes of subject presentation and problem-solving and in practical classes, in a computer lab, where groups of four students address the two following tasks: (1) oral presentation of a study on the Principles of Green Chemistry / Sustainable Engineering applied to a theme chosen from http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/pubs/pgcc/past.html; (2) schematic Life Cycle Analysis study of an industrial process, using specialized software (openLCA from greendelta).

Evaluation method

1. Final rating scale in the TLQV course:

0 to 20 points

2. Rating scale for the Theoretical component (T):

0 to 20 points

3. Rating scale for the Theoretical-Practical component (TP):

0 to 20 points

4. Weights of the T and TP components in the final rating of the TLQV course:

Theoretical-practical rating: 50%

Practical rating: 50%

5. Evaluation in the P component:

5.1. Two reports (Practical Work 1 and Practical Work 2) presented by students in teams of 3 or 4 members (P teams).

5.2. Size of P teams: 3 or 4 members, but it may be necessary to adapt the size of P teams based on student withdrawals at the beginning or during the semester or the appearance of new students in the first weeks of classes.

5.3. Contents of Practical Works:

5.3.1. Practical Work 1: Writing an abstract on a case study and presenting the chosen topic on suggested internet sites, namely: http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/pubs/pgcc/past.html

Objective: Describe compliance with Green Chemistry/Sustainable Engineering principles, and calculate Green Chemistry Metrics.

5.3.2. Practical Work 2: Conducting a written report on Life Cycle Analysis using specialized software (openLCA) and oral presentation of the work.

Objective: Understand and use the Life Cycle Analysis methodology. Know how to use the openLCA software.

5.3.3. Submission Dates for Practical Work 1 and 2: The submission date for Practical Work 1 will be communicated to the students during the first practical class.

5.3.4. Method of Submission for Practical Work 1 and 2: The reports for Practical Work 1 and 2 are submitted through the course page on Moodle@FCT.

5.3.5. Decimal places:

Grade of the oral presentation of Practical Work 1 - No decimal places

Grade of the oral presentation of Practical Work 2 - No decimal places

Grade of the Practical Work 2 report - With two decimal places

Practical final grade - One decimal place

5.4. Grading in the practical component: 0.40 * grade of Practical Work 1 + 0.60 * (0.40 * oral presentation of Practical Work 2 + 0.60 * grade of report of Practical Work 2)

6. Evaluation of the TP component:

6.1. The evaluation elements include an open question, a summative test, and 4 Debates.

6.2. Open question: The open question is made available on the course page in Moodle@FCT, up to one week before the date of the summative test, and must be submitted on the course page in Moodle@FCT by 8:00 pm on the day before the test.

6.3. Rating scale for the Open Question: 1 to 10 points.

6.4. Summative Test: The summative test is in-person and covers all the material taught in the TP and P components. The summative test includes calculation questions and multiple-choice questions. Scientific calculators are allowed. GRAPHING CALCULATORS ARE NOT ALLOWED.

6.5. Date of the summative test: The date of the summative test is defined in the test dates, as mentioned in CLIP.

6.6. Rating scale for the Summative Test: 1 to 10 points.

6.7. Debates in the TP component: 4 "Pros and Cons" debates are conducted between TP teams, with 4 or 5 students (depending on the total number of students enrolled in the course and attending the P classes), selected by the teaching staff of the discipline, grouping students from different P teams.

6.8. Debate Dates: The Debates are held on dates specified in the annual course schedule. Please refer to the Course Schedule for details.

6.9. Topics to be addressed in each of the Debates: Catalysis, Solvents, Biorefineries, and Capture and Use of CO2.

6.10. Ratings in the Debates: Each debate will have a winning TP team, determined by student votes who attend the Debates (50% for the final decision of the winning team) and Professors who attend the Debates (50% for the final decision of the winning team). Students in the winning teams in TWO DEBATES will receive a bonus of 0.5 points added to their theoretical-practical rating.

6.11. Attendance in the Debates: Attendance in the Debates is MANDATORY. The absence of Debates results in a -1.0 point penalty in the TP grade.

6.12. Additional events in the TP classes: Additional assessment events may occur in the theoretical-practical classes, up to +0.2 points per event, such as presenting questions to the teams participating in the Debates.

6.13. Decimal Places:

Classification in Debates - One decimal place

Classification in Open Question - One decimal place

Classification in Summative Test - One decimal place

Bonuses for additional activities in TP classes - One decimal place

 Final theoretical-practical classification - One decimal place

6.14. Rating in the theoretical-practical component: 1 to 10 points for the Open Question + 1 to 10 points for the Summative Test + Bonuses for winning a Debate + Bonuses for additional activities in the TP classes  - 1 point penalty for absence in Debates

7. Attendance Requirements

7.1. To attain attendance in the course, the student must achieve a grade of P equal to or higher than 9.50 points.

7.2. If a student fails to attain attendance in the course, they are considered to have failed the course.

7.3. The presence in TP classes is mandatory.

8. Approval in the TP Component

8.1. The student achieves approval in the TP component if the TP grade is equal to or higher than 9.50 points.

8.2. If the grade in the TP component is below 9.50 points, the student may take the appealing exam scheduled by the academic services of NOVA FCT, on CLIP.

8.3. If a student wishes to improve their grade in the TP component, they may take the appealing exam by registering for "Grade Improvement" ("Melhoria de Nota") on CLIP.

9. Appealing Exam ("Exame de Recurso")

9.1. The appealing exam is for students who have not passed the TP component or wish to improve their grade in the TP component. Students wishing to improve their TP grade must register for "Grade Improvement" on CLIP.

9.2. The resit examination consists of an ''Open Question,'' which is made available one week before the exam date, and the in-person examination.

9.3. What was indicated in points 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, and 6.6 of the assessment in the TP component applies.

9.4. Final grade after the appealing exam: (Grade obtained in the Open Question of the appealing exam + Grade obtained in the in-person exam + Bonuses obtained in the TP component) * 0.50 + Grade obtained in the P component * 0.50

Subject matter

Chemical Industy, Chemicals and their impact on modern lifestyles.

The Principles of Green Chemistry and of Sustainable Engineering.

Toxicology. The European legislation on chemicals REACH.

Sustainable Chemistry metrics. Life Cycle Analysis.

The tools of Green Chemistry. Homogeneous, heterogeneous and enzymatic catalysis. Waste reduction. Intensification of processes. Alternative solvents. Biotechnology and Biorefinries. Carbon capture and sequestration.  

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: