Green chemistry concepts focus on substituting toxic solvents and reagents, and reusing or recycling products and waste whenever possible. One experiment redesigned for the lab teaches students how to synthesize adipic acid, a chemical used to make nylon. Typically, nitric acid is used as the oxidant. An unfortunate byproduct is nitrous oxide, a chemical that contributes to ozone depletion. The redesigned experiment substitutes a low concentration of hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant.
Students learn the value of recycling products from reactions.
In the adipic acid experiment, students first combine cyclohexanol with an acid catalyst to make cyclohexene. The cyclohexene product is later used to make adipic acid. The experiment has been accepted by the Journal of Chemical Education for publication in early 2000. Another advantage of green chemistry is that it allows students to perform experiments using macoscale quantities with less environmental hazard, just as they would in an industrial setting. But no one else uses micro scale methods except academia.