Chemistry and Sustainability

Course goals

After completing this course students are able to:
1. Describe how chemistry and catalysis can contribute to a sustainable transformation and can apply chemical knowledge in real-life problems and issues.
2. Critically assess chemical processes regarding their sustainability and suggest improvements.
3. Demonstrate basic knowledge about:
  - Sustainability assessment and green chemistry principles
  - The carbon and nitrogen cycle and the major chemical streams in the fossil based industry
  - Catalysis and catalyst synthesis
  - Alternative forms of (chemical) energy to drive the chemical industry
  - Circular and Sustainable by design
  - Biomass and plastic waste valorization
  - Solvents and green solvents
4. Gather and process relevant (interdisciplinary) knowledge and information.
5. Clearly communicate and report about the items above

 

Content

The purpose behind this course is to give students a broad, yet chemistry-oriented view on societal relevant matters concerning sustainability. There will be a large range of different sub-topics, yet the motivation behind it is to offer them tools to critically reflect on this and understand the chemical challenges behind terms like ‘sustainability’, ‘transitions’ and ‘cycles’.

New to the curriculum, is a substantial part of this course that will focus on waste streams, such as micro- and nanoplastics and PFAS, that have environmental implications and potential toxic effects. Toxicology is briefly introduced and linked to material science in the shape of Safe-and-sustainable-by-Design thinking, and how this could contribute to the transition towards new materials. The students are also introduced and motivated to do a ‘risk assessment’ for their case study.

Chemistry and Sustainability is the ‘capstone’ course of the (new) leerlijn on Sustainability. This leerlijn will absorb most of the courses from the current leerlijn ‘Filosofie, ethiek en maatschappij’. Additionally, this course sets the stage for the (new) master programme Sustainable and Circular Chemistry, and specifically introduces topics further exploited in the courses ‘The future of Chemistry’ (SK-MFCHEM), ‘Sustainability and Circularity’ (SK-MSUSC) and ‘Environmental Science and Safe-by-Design’ (SK-MENSC).