Reflection

The examples that struck me  as the most intriguing examples of green chemistry were the Cogeneration Plant at UNH in Durham, another example that intrigued me was my wiki project with my partner, Cynthia. For our project we made all natural soap, we made the soap with only water, oils, and essential oils. The cogeneration plant at UNH in Durham was a project that students designed and made happen, the plant takes waste from a local landfill and turns that waste into heat and energy to be used to by the entire campus.

Three major principles of green chemistry that I understand now are the use of recyclable feedstocks, prevention, and the reducing the use of derivatives. Feedstocks should be recyclable so the companies are not wasting raw materials, if they become recyclable then they can be used again and again creating less waste because you are re-using the same product repetitively. Prevention is a good thing for companies to start to practice if they want to go green, they should not be creating waste to just have to clean it up later. They should be preventing waste from getting into the environment so they have nothing to clean up and do not feel guilty for making the environment unsafe. The last principle that I understand now that I did not before is reduce the use of derivatives. By eliminating derivatives companies are also eliminating the creation of waste and the use of harmful chemicals, which helps the environment and everyone around it.

If I were to describe the world of green chemistry to a friend, I would describe it as a new area in chemistry that is becoming more common. The ideas and principles of green chemistry are to prevent hazardous waste, use less harmful chemicals or not at all, and make raw materials into renewable products so they can be used again and again. Green chemistry also goes beyond this, green chemistry can even be in how the soap you use is made, is it made with chemical names that are hard to pronounce or is it made with names that you can pronounce and seem safe for the environment.  Green chemistry is still new to many people and even to many companies, so there are still a lot to be researched and a lot to be learned. This is what I know about green chemistry rigth now, there are websites and resources that I can give you if you would like to dig further into the world of green chemistry.