Explore Computer-Based Tools for Green Engineering

On this page you will find EPA computer-based models and tools to help you apply the principles of green engineering.

ChemSTEER

Chemical Screening Tool for Exposures and Environmental Releases (ChemSTEER) is a computer-based software program that can be used to estimate workplace exposures and environmental releases for chemicals manufactured and used in industrial/commercial settings.

With ChemSTEER, you can estimate:

  • Occupational inhalation and dermal exposure to a chemical during industrial and commercial manufacturing, processing, and use operations involving the chemical.
  • Releases of a chemical to air, water, and land that are associated with industrial and commercial manufacturing, processing, and use of the chemical.

Greenscope

Gauging Reaction Effectiveness for Environmental Sustainability of Chemistries with a multi-Objective Process Evaluator (Greenscope) is a method to model the sustainability of chemical processes. Greenscope uses 139 indicators to evaluate processes in the areas of environment, efficiency (material), energy, and economics.

EPA developed Greenscope to:

  • Assess chemical manufacturing processes on a "sustainability scale" from 0 to 100 percent sustainable. 
  • Determine how well a chemical process makes use of mass and energy to manufacture a valuable product, how well it meets social and environmental needs, and how it maximizes economic benefits.

PARIS III

Program for Assisting the Replacement of Industrial Solvents (PARIS III) is a desktop/laptop application that allows users to find mixtures of solvents with specific physical and chemical properties that also have relatively low environmental impacts.

PARIS III helps users find:

  • Replacements for solvent mixtures that are currently being used in industrial processes, but have dangerous environmental side effects.
  • Solvents with lower environmental impact when designing new industrial processes,
  • More benign solvents that can be added to harmful solvents favored by industry to help reduce the harmful environmental impact of their processes.

GEMM—Coming soon

Green Engineering Materials Management (GEMM) is a computer-based model that EPA's Green Engineering Program is developing to estimate the environmental emissions and energy required to manufacture, incinerate, and recycle (via distillation) certain chemical solvents. When complete, it will be available from this site.