Green Chemistry Trichloroethylene (TCE) Alternative Degreasers
Chemistry- Grade:
- 11
- Teacher:
- Cynthia Lopez
Trichloroethylene (TCE) is known as a chemical that has adversely impacted communities with health issues and risks that are life threatening.TCE is a chlorinated hydrocarbon solvent that breaks down bonds in nonpolar substances like oils and greases. Its non-polar nature, covalent bonds, and unbonded chlorine electrons create strong dipole-dipole interactions, making it effective at dissolving grease. We conducted a study on green chemistry degreaser replacements that are a more safe and less toxic alternative to TCE. We used knowledge of inter and intramolecular forces to design an investigation that measures the efficacy of these alternative safer solutions to degrease metal fittings. We tested four different degreasers, the control group Dawn dish soap, and the following test groups; a solution of sodium bicarbonate, ethanol and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sodium percarbonate and SLS, and lastly D-Limonene. We measured the percentage de-greased in mass measurements. Our most efficient degreaser came out to be D-Limonene. Showing that the varying effectiveness of the degreasers is due to their intermolecular and intramolecular forces. This information is of importance because it's a demonstration that we find a more effective alternative to degreasers rather than TCE which was our main concern to communities.