Introducing Molly and Wolly: new sustainability heroes at ANU chemistry
A pair of new recruits to the ANU Research School of Chemistry promise to help reduce the carbon footprint of chemistry teaching and research – but don’t ask them to explain their job to you.
These new team members aren’t actually human, they are two brand new solvent recycling machines.
Affectionately dubbed Molly and Wolly, the ANU chemistry community named the recyclers after the local Molongolo and Wollogorang rivers. Like in the broader water cycle, these machines allow liquids to flow on through the system over and over again.
Acetone and ethanol are solvents that are commonly used for cleaning and other purposes in chemistry and they’re generally incinerated after use. But these solvents are made from petrochemicals and incinerating them is environmentally harmful and costly.
That’s where Molly and Wolly come in. These machines use a distillation process to recycle 90% of the solvents, and to drastically reduce the amount of waste produced in the lab. So they’re good for the environment and the budget.
Here at ANU, it’s (conservatively) estimated that 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide will be saved from being released into the environment through incineration.
“The goal is that we can basically clean off dirty solvent,” explains WHS consultant Dr Michael Stevens.
“So, we use solvent, reprocess it, and get back out solvent that's good enough to use for our purposes.”
He holds two plastic bottles to demonstrate: one full of dark brown and dirty solvent, the other bottle holds perfectly clear liquid after being recycled.
ANU is leading the way as the first university lab in Australia to begin solvent recycling.
“It is just obviously a good thing to do, so we were surprised at how difficult it was to find a safe and easy-to-use system in the marketplace,” says Director of the ANU Research School of Chemistry, Professor Alison Rodger. “So thanks to Professor Tony Hill and Dr Jamie Hicks for the enthusiasm to keep looking.”
Professor Rodger hopes to encourage other labs across the country to invest in recycling systems too.
“The machines work, and people are happy to use them,” she says. While there will be more training and implementation to come, early adopter researchers and students are already incorporating the solvent recycling into their routines.
But the introduction of Molly and Wolly is just the beginning of a greener chemistry lab at ANU.
The School is considering new ways to reduce overall solvent use and incorporate innovative and sustainable practices into their work.
“We’ll recycle more and more, but we might have to change our chemistry as well,” says Professor Rodger.
“So that's why it's really important that our chemistry brains are really engaged.”
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