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PARIS II
Computer Aided Solvent Design For Pollution Prevention
Description:
Industrial solvents whose continued use raises concern for worker health and toxins in the environment need to be replaced cost-effectively. Program for Assisting the Replacement of Industrial Solvents, Version 2 (PARIS II) is a software tool created to address this need, and may be run on any Windows 9x/NT/2000/XP systems. This software tool identifies pure chemicals or designs chemical mixtures that can serve as alternatives to more hazardous substances currently in use. The “greener” solvents formulated by PARIS II have improved environmental properties, but can perform as well as the solvents they were designed to replace.
The theoretical basis for the PARIS II program is the observation that the mathematical expressions governing solvent behavior are universal, and that the performance of each solvent is quantified by a number of coefficients representing various physical and chemical properties, e.g., viscosity, diffusivity, activity coefficients, etc. The solvent’s features used by PARIS II include dynamic and equilibrium properties, environmental behavior (air index and environmental index), and performance and safety requirements. By applying this representation to solvent design, PARIS II can identify alternative solvents by matching coefficients rapidly. A ranked list of replacement solvents can be created within minutes. PARIS II provides a cost-effective approach to pollution prevention because users do not have to change equipment or modify their chemical processes in order to adopt safer, “greener” solvents.
Status:
The U.S. EPA is currently building a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the U.S. EPA and another company to market the PARIS II software to the solvent industry. Once the CRADA has been established, a demo version of PARIS II may be downloaded from the company's web site to allow users in the solvent community to test PARIS II on their own Windows PC systems. Further interest in the use of PARIS II software may be explored by contacting this company. Please return to this web site in the near future to find more detail about the company marketing the PARIS II software.
Pending Publications:
Li, M., P.F. Harten, and H. Cabezas, "Comparing a Few Solvent Methodologies," Fluid Phase Equilibria.
Available Publications:
Zhao, R. and H. Cabezas, "Molecular Thermodynamics in the Design of Substitute Solvents," Ind. & Eng. Chem. Res., 37, 3268 (1998).
Cabezas, H., R. Zhao., J.C. Bare, and S.R. Nishtala, “Designing Environmentally Benign Solvent Substitutes,” invited paper, Tools and Methods for Pollution Prevention, S.K. Sikdar and U. Diwekar, Eds., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 317 (1999).
Zhao, R., H. Cabezas, and S.R. Nishtala, “Computer Aided Solvent Design for the Environment,” invited paper, “Process Design Tools for the Environment,” S.K. Sikdar and M. El-Halwagi, Eds., Taylor and Francis, Chap. 17, 431 (2001)
Zhao, R., H. Cabezas, and S.R. Nishtala, “The Design of Technologically Effective and Environmentally Benign Substitute Solvents,” invited chapter, “Green Engineering and Processing,” P. T. Anastas, L. B. Bartlett, and T. C. Williamson, Eds., American Chemical Society Symposium Series, Chap. V7, (1999).
Cabezas, H., P.F. Harten, and M.R. Green, “Designing Greener Solvents,” Chemical Engineering, Vol. 107, No. 3, 109 (2000).
Li, M., P.F. Harten, and H. Cabezas, "Experiences in Designing Solvents for the Environment," Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 41, 5867 (2002).
Harten, P.F., and G. Salama, "PARIS II, the Search for Cleaner Solvent Replacements for RCRA Chemicals," CleanTech, Vol. 4, Number 11, 20(2004).
EPA Principal Investigator:
Paul Harten
harten.paul@epa.gov