Catalysts

Question 1

What is a catalyst?

Answer 1

A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a reaction, without being changed or use up in the reaction

Question 2

How does a solid catalyst work?

Answer 2

Giving the reacting particles a surface to stick to. This increases the number of successful collisions and so speeds up the reaction

Question 3

How to catalysts save money (rate of reaction)?

Answer 3

Catalysts increase the rate of the reaction, which saves a lot of money because the plant doesn’t need to operate for as long to produce the same amount of stuff

Question 4

How to catalysts save money (temp.)?

Answer 4

A catalyst will allow the reaction to work at a much lower temp. That reduces energy used up in the reaction (the energy cost), which is good for sustainable development and can also save money

Question 5

What is a disadvantage to catalysts? (economical)

Answer 5

They can be very expensive to buy, and often need to be removed from the product and cleaned. They never get used up in the reactions though, so once you have one yo can use it over and over again

Question 6

What is a disadvantage to catalysts? (Practical)

Answer 6

1) Different reactions use different catalysts, so f you make more than one product at you plant, you’ll probably need to buy different catalysts for them
2) Catalysts can be ‘poisoned’ by impurities, so they stop working. That means you have to keep your reaction mixture very clean