Atom Economy Flashcards
What is the atom economy?
% of reactants changed into a useful product
What does the atom economy also tell you?
How much the mass of a reactant is wasted
Came out as a waste product
What is the equation to find out the atom economy?
Total Mr of desired products (useful product)
———————– x 100
Total Mr of all products
What does 100% atom economy mean?
All the reactant has been turned into a useful product
What Is the advantage of a high atom economy?
More products is useful, less waste.
What are the disadvantages of a low atom economy?
Make lots of waste product
Raw materials are expensive to buy (to make another reaction happen)
Waste products are expensive to dispose and get removed
Therefore not profitable
How to prevent the disadvantages of atom economy?
Find a use for the waste products
Rather than throwing away
Find out a reaction that produces by-products rather than useless products
Find a reaction that will only give one product (like HABER PROCESS) - No waste products
