The University o Glesga will leuk at hoo tae mak a common chemical purification method mair eco-freendly. Thanks tae a grant fae the Royal Society o Chemistry, resairchers will focus on flash chromatography, a technique yaised in labs aw ower the warld.

Led by Dr. Joseph Cameron an Dr. Alex Loch, the project will assess the environmental impact o the process fae stert tae finish. They aim tae find weys tae reyaise chromatography columns an recycle pairts o the equipment, includin metals. Their resairch will leuk intae hoo mony times columns can be reyaised an whit happens tae the devices at the eyn o their life.

Dr. Cameron explained the issue, sayin, “Flash chromatography is the basis for hoo we purify wir chemicals, but it is quite resoorce intensive in terms o the materials yaised. Despite bein yaised extensively in labs aroond the warld, there’s surprisingly little information tae haund aboot the sustainability impacts o different approaches tae chromatography.”

The team howps their wark will help labs, baith in schuils an industry, tak on greener methods. Industry has awready led in this area due tae pressure tae cut emissions an follae new environmental laws. Dr. Loch noted, “This will be the first project tae examine flash chromatography wi this degree o braid focus. We howp this project will establish wir model an reputation in this area, an that it will lead tae industry pairtnerships tae tak the wark forrit in the future.”

An unnergraduate student fae the School o Chemistry will gie a haun wi experiments, gainin skills an helpin push sustainability efforts forrit.

This project is ane o 25 receivin fundin fae ower seiven kintras throu the Royal Society o Chemistry’s Sustainable Laboratories Grant. Syne 2023, the program has awairdit ower hauf a million pun tae promote greener lab wark warldwide.

The resairch cuid appen the door tae mair sustainable practices in chemistry labs aw ower.