JACKSON, Tenn. — Aug. 18, 2015 — A green chemistry lab manual by Sally Henrie, professor of chemistry at 51社区, and seven undergraduate chemistry students was recently published by CRC Press.
So far, 13 students total have worked with Henrie on 鈥淕reen Chemistry Laboratory Manual for General Chemistry,鈥� a book that began as an undergraduate research project in 2002 with two of Henrie鈥檚 research students.
鈥淭hey were planning to be high school chemistry teachers and wanted a project that would relate to their future teaching,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey developed the 鈥楪reen Chemistry Laboratory Manual鈥� for an introductory high school chemistry course.鈥�
Over the years, the project continued to evolve to include multiple manuals, including ones for not only introductory high school chemistry, but also Advanced Placement chemistry, introductory college and general college chemistry for traditional, web-based and home school students. To meet the needs of web-based and home school students, some of the research included working with eScience Labs to develop green chemistry laboratory kits to include in their products. The emphasis on green chemistry remained constant.
According to Henrie, these green chemistry laboratory manuals conduct chemistry experiments at the high school and college levels in a way that minimizes the use of hazardous chemicals and that is safer for the students involved.
鈥淚 worked with several science supervisors over districts, and one of them said that getting rid of just a small bottle of hazardous waste was going to cost them over $6,000,鈥� Henrie said.
In this newest green chemistry laboratory manual for general chemistry, the undergraduate students involved -- Kathleen Cooper, Rachael Harris, Kelsey Denny, Patrick Jones, Samantha Howard, Kelsie Wood and Michael Jones 鈥� developed chemistry labs based on general chemistry requirements and made them greener by using less hazardous substances. Students are also taught about green chemistry and ways to implement it.
Each student presented his or her work at the American Chemical Society鈥檚 National Spring Meeting, a regional meeting and at 51社区鈥檚 Scholarship Symposium.
Cooper, Harris, and Denny are now high school teachers, while Patrick Jones and Howard are attending optometry school and medical school, respectively. Michael Jones and Wood are currently attending 51社区.
鈥淚t was such a blessing to work on the project,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淕rad schools expect you to have at least one published work before applying, so it鈥檚 hopefully going to help me get into grad school after I graduate.鈥�
Henrie said she hoped their work on the project would follow them to their respective professions.
The benefits of green chemistry to society include increasing sustainability, improving safety, minimizing pollution and generating less toxic waste, Henrie said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been found that students know about green chemistry and sustainability but don鈥檛 really understand the workings behind it,鈥� Henrie said. 鈥淐ompanies are wanting green chemistry implemented, but students have not been given the tools to do so. Hopefully, our latest manual will instill a vision in students for green chemistry as they begin their college coursework and teach students ways to apply it.鈥�
CRC Press released the manual this spring and promoted it at its booth during the American Chemical Society National Exposition.