Question

I have done Alkene preparation experiment where we used t-amyl alcohol and reduced it to Alkene in presence of H2SO4 as a catalyst

We also used NaHCO3 to wash the Alkene and then we added one drop of the product to n-heptane for GC analysis

What is the green analysis of the experiment? I need principle 3,5 and 9

Answer 1

1. Principle 3 involves less hazardous chemical synthesis. In the synthesis, the reagents used are t-amyl alcohol, H2SO4 and NaHCO3. These reagents are less hazardous as compared to many other reagents. The reaction is dehydration, i.e. removal of water. So, the byproduct is only H2O which is non-hazardous. H2SO4 and NaHCO3 can be reused. So, we can say that there is no wastage of chemical and synthetic route is less hazardous.

2. Principle 5 states the use of safer solvents and auxillaries. In this reaction, no solvent is used as the alcohol is itself liquid and reacts easily with H2SO4. If the reactants used are solid, then we have to use some solvent in order to have complete reaction. But in here, no solvent is used. So, this synthesis also follows principle 5 of green chemistry.

3. Principle 9 states the use of catalyst in order to increase selectivity and reduce reaction time. In this reaction, H2SO4 is a catalyst. Initially in the mechanism, H2SO4 helps in protonation of alcohol which helps in removal of water from the molecule to give alkene. As H2SO4 is a catalyst, so it fastens the reaction and is recovered at the end of the reaction to be reused. This leads to less wastage.