Green Labs

Colorado School of Mines

Laboratories are one of the primary waste generators at universities around the world. Green laboratory initiatives offer great potential for reducing waste, saving energy, and improve safety. Labs that participate in the Mines Green Labs Program minimize energy, water, and waste and promote efficient use of laboratory space.

Green Lab Award

Dina Liacopoulos is a PhD student in the Materials Science program in the Chemistry Department at Colorado School of Mines. Dina won a Green Labs Award in 2025 for her commitment to recycling solvents and green chemistry. The solvent recycling process in Dina’s lab uses differences in boiling points to separate and recover solvents. This is achieved through either rotary evaporation or traditional distillation techniques. The initiative has already made a measurable impact by both reducing chemical waste and cutting costs. In her lab alone, the following amounts of solvent are recycled:

• 1 gallon of acetone biweekly
• Up to 4 liters of dichloromethane (DCM) per month
• Up to 4 liters of ethanol per month

Estimated annual savings are $1250 from recycling these solvents.

Dina hopes to see solvent recycling implemented campus-wide, particularly in synthetic and analytical chemistry labs where toxic, expensive, or widely used solvents could be reclaimed.