Atom Economy

Question 1

What is the equation for atom economy ?

Answer 1

-Mass of desired products ( the things you want on the right hand side of the equation)
-over mass of all reactants ( everything on the left)
-Times 100 (turns it to a percentage)

Question 2

What is desired when doing atom economy ?

Answer 2

A high atom economy because then it’s a high percentage of the desired product

Question 3

Why is it important to consider atom economy ? Give three reasons

Answer 3

-raw materials are expensive so if they are mostly being converted into waste products it’s less profitable
- less sustainable to use large quantities of reactants to make a small amounts of product
-waste products can be hard to get rid off/ dispose

Question 4

What are the two best solutions to limit waste for reactions ?

Answer 4

• use a more efficient reaction that produces less waste
• find a use for the waste product

Question 5

What are four important factors for how profitable a reaction is ?

Answer 5

• percentage yield
• cost of the raw materials
• position of the equilibrium
• the rate of reaction

Question 6

What is the definition of atom economy ?

Answer 6

Atom economy is a measure of the amount of starting materials that end up as useful product