Issue 1, 2020

Why we might be misusing process mass intensity (PMI) and a methodology to apply it effectively as a discovery level metric

Abstract

Process mass intensity (PMI) is a key mass-based metric to evaluate the green credentials of an individual or sequence of reactions during process and chemical development. The increasing awareness to consider greenness as early as the initial discovery level, requires a set of parameters suitable to assess it at this stage of development, and guidelines to apply them correctly. This paper evaluates when and how PMI can be used in a correct manner. Different simulations for key reactions in the organic synthesis toolbox – i.e. amide bond formation and Mitsunobu reactions – illustrate that PMI can easily be misleading without due consideration of yield, concentration and molecular weight of reactants and product. A fair appraisal of the green potential of different methodologies therefore requires careful analysis of the examples and metrics data generated.

Graphical abstract: Why we might be misusing process mass intensity (PMI) and a methodology to apply it effectively as a discovery level metric

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 5 2019
Accepted
07 11 2019
First published
07 11 2019

Green Chem., 2020,22, 123-135

Why we might be misusing process mass intensity (PMI) and a methodology to apply it effectively as a discovery level metric

E. R. Monteith, P. Mampuys, L. Summerton, J. H. Clark, B. U. W. Maes and C. R. McElroy, Green Chem., 2020, 22, 123 DOI: 10.1039/C9GC01537J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements