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Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence awarded platinum in 2023 Green Impact Awards

Posted on 25 July 2023

Congratulations to the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, who have been awarded platinum in this year’s Green Impact Awards for their project investigating the benefits of switching carrier gases from helium to hydrogen as a way of greening up.

Their Green Impact project aims were to Green up Gas Chromatography Analysis by investigating the environmental impact and carbon footprint of switching carrier gas by looking at helium production and transportation compared to hydrogen production from water.

The project also aimed to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and 13 (Climate Action).

Results and Successes of the Green Impact Project

As a result of this project, the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence (GCCE) switched carrier gases for its 4 Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detections (GC-FIDs). The team also shared these crucial findings with the larger University of York community via the Tech York Network, a platform that unifies all technical staff across the university.

The project concluded that hydrogen, as a carrier gas for GC-FID, has numerous benefits over helium:

• Using hydrogen is cheaper than helium, with a yearly cost of £2,122.92 (excluding initial cost of the generator) compared to a potential £17,760 for helium.
• The hydrogen generation from water has a lower carbon footprint than helium canisters, with hydrogen generation totaling 167.8 kgCO2e per year compared to 398.4 kgCO2e per year for helium.
• Hydrogen generation mitigates the issue of depleting the finite helium resource.
• Despite hydrogen being more hazardous than helium, its in-lab generation is safer than using hydrogen cylinders. Regular leak monitoring ensures safety, reducing the conflict of usage.

With these findings, the GCCE strongly recommends implementing hydrogen as a carrier gas, asserting that the economic and environmental benefits outweigh the slightly higher hazard risks.

Future Objectives and Initiatives

Looking ahead, the GCCE Green Impact Team plans to continue its research on carrier gases, focusing on:

1. Safety: Ensuring no unnecessary risks are imposed on equipment users during storage and usage.
2. Environmental Impact: Analysing the carbon footprint linked to gas acquisition, whether cylinder-supplied or in-lab generated.
3. Instrumental Impact: Assessing how the gas might affect the instruments' components in the long term, potentially requiring a more extended trial.

Additional initiatives include:

• Conducting a cost-benefit analysis of installing lab chillers to conserve water used for cooling.
• Organising a Green Lab Solutions Day in January 2024, which will bring together academia and industry suppliers to discuss sustainable research methods.
• Reducing Single Use Plastics where possible, including pipette tips, centrifuge tubes, and other disposable plastics.
• Calculating and reducing the carbon footprint of GCCE labs and raising awareness of potential solutions.

We congratulate the GCCE team at the University of York for their considerable achievements in championing green chemistry and look forward to their future contributions to sustainable research and development.