In the lab: Chemicals

Aarhus University has safety guidelines for working with chemicals, including guidelines on how to choose more eco-friendly ‘green chemicals’. Here you’ll find seven useful tips on how to work with chemicals in the safest, most environmentally friendly way possible.

1: Get an overview of the work process

Before any work process involving chemicals can begin, you should make sure you have a plan for carrying out the work that ensures it can be performed in a way that protects everyone’s health and safety. You must write a lab protocol, and if there are hazardous chemicals involved, you must also carry out a chemical risk assessment for the entire process. Carrying out a chemical risk assessment will draw your attention to the dangerous processes involved in the experiment, in other words the steps in an experiment where you need to protect yourself and other people in the lab from exposure.

2. Get information

To familiarise yourself with the properties of a specific chemical,including environmental hazards, you should consult the safety data sheet.

3. Explore more green alternatives

One of the first things you should investigate is whether there’s an alternative chemical that’s less hazardous or more green. Chemical manufacturing is energy and carbon-intensive, but we can’t do without chemicals: they are also the building blocks of the products that are necessary for a circular, climate-neutral economy.
Chemical manufacturers are constantly optimizing their processes to produce alternatives, and can also offer ‘green chemicals’.

When you’re searching for information from manufacturers/suppliers, you can search under ‘green chemistry’ or ‘sustainability’ to find out what ‘green’ chemicals they offer.

Green chemicals are produced on the basis of the ‘12 principles of green chemistry’ developed by Paul T. Anastas and John C. Warner in 1991. Some of the main principles are:

Waste prevention
Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses
Use of renewable feedstocks
Design for degradation (no persistence)

Examples of greener chemical alternatives

Examples
Chemical:	Substitute:	Explanation:
Dichlormethane (DCM)	2-Methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF) VWR® GREEN SOLVENTS	2-MeTHF is derived from natural raw materials like maize and sugar.
Tetrahydrofuran (THF)	2-Methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF) VWR® GREEN SOLVENTS	2-MeTHF is derived from natural raw materials like maize and sugar.
Diethyl ether	Cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME) VWR® GREEN SOLVENTS	CPME can be synthesised from biomass, low formation of peroxides - more stable.
Glycerol	Bio-based glycerol Supelco®	Bio-based glycerol is derived from rape seed and is 100% biodegradable.
Ethanol	Bio-based ethanol Supelco®	Bio-based ethanol is derived from natural raw materials like maize and sugar. It’s production is safer for the environment.
Ethyl acetate	Ethyl(-)-L-Lactate Supelco®	Ethyl(-)-L-Lactate is less toxic and is 100% biodegradable.
Acetone	Ethyl(-)-L-Lactate Supelco®	Ethyl(-)-L-Lactate is less toxic and is 100% biodegradable.
Acetic acid	Bio-based acetic acid Supelco®	Bio-based acetic acid is derived from by-products and residual products from the processing of regional wood and furniture.
DMA, DMF and NMP	1-Butylpyrrolidin-2-one Supelco®	1-Butylpyrrolidin-2-one is not subject to REACH requirements and has an inherent biodegradability.
NA purification kit	TaqMan miRNA ABC purification kit Thermo Fischer	Traditional RNA extraction involves mercaptoethanol, phenol, chloroform and/or TRIzol, as well as producing quite a bit of plastic waste. TaqMan miRNA is a green kit that does not use dangerous chemicals and produces less plastic waste.
Ethidium bromide	SYBR® Green, SYBR® Red, SYBR® Safe, SYBR® Gold and similar	Ethidium bromide is a carcinogen, unlike the alternatives. You can avoid using a fume hood if you use non-hazardous chemicals, as long as no other hazardous chemicals are involved in the process.

Seven steps to help you find good substitutes

Finding substitutes can be a long, difficult process. For example, standardised methods, descriptions in articles, etc. can make it difficult to use an alternative chemical.

Here are seven steps to help you find good substitutes:

1	Overview of chemicals and needs
2	Make a plan
3	Search for less hazardous chemicals
4	Compare and assess
5	Test
6	Implementation and optimisation
7	Communication

4. Use the procurement agreement and buy the right amounts

It is important that you buy chemicals from the companies with which AU has entered into a purchasing agreement, as the suppliers have committed themselves to specific climate and sustainability-related requirements.

Only buy the quantity of chemicals you will be using. Even though it may be cheaper to buy a larger quantity, this may ultimately turn out to be more expensive financially and environmentally, as the chemical may just end up sitting on the shelf and being disposed as chemical waste after few years.

Buying a pre-mixed solution rather than buying a hazardous chemical in a large quantity can be safer and greener. For example, it’s a good idea to buy a 0.1 M sodium azide solution instead of buying 100 grams of sodium-azide and mixing the solution yourself.

5. Search for registered chemicals at AU

Chemicals at AU are registered in the chemical database Kiros. In this database, you can search for a chemical and then ask the group(s) within your own department that have the chemical registered in Kiros to borrow or use the chemical for a small experiment rather than purchasing a new container.

You can only borrow/lend chemicals within your own department or where an agreement has been made. We don’t have the staff to handle lending and delivery to everyone – please consider that when you borrow chemicals.

When you search for a chemical, the registered groups can be seen under ‘Resources’. You can read more in the quick guide to Kiros, which you will find under ‘Guidances’ at www.kiros.dk – you log on with your AU login.

6. Clean out your chemical storage cabinets

Chemicals must be stored under extraction, which requires a lot of energy. We recommend that you schedule an annual cleanout of your chemical storage cabinets to get rid of any unneeded chemicals. Many chemicals have a five-year shelf life, though some may have shorter shelf lives.

7. Sort waste correctly

Only make the quantity you need when preparing reagents, solutions, etc., so you avoid having to dispose large amounts of unused chemicals as chemical waste.

Follow the guidelines for sorting hazardous waste, which protect your health and the environment.

Find good advice on lab waste here.