Getting the Most from Reactants in Industrial Chemistry
This section explores key considerations for designing practical and marketable chemical processes in industry. It covers important concepts like yield, atom economy, and sustainability.
Highlight: When designing chemical reactions for industry, factors like feedstock availability, sustainability, yield, side products, and environmental impact must all be carefully considered.
The percentage yield and atom economy are introduced as key metrics:
Definition: Percentage yield = (Actual yield / Theoretical yield) x 100
Definition: Atom economy = (Mass of desired product / Total mass of reactants) x 100
Highlight: Higher yields and atom economies indicate more efficient processes that use fewer resources and create less waste.
The relationship between yield and atom economy is noted to be inversely proportional.
Controlling Reaction Rates
This section covers collision theory and methods to control reaction rates in industrial processes.
Definition: Collision theory states that for a reaction to occur, particles must collide with sufficient energy and correct orientation.
Methods to increase reaction rate through collision theory are explained:
- Decreasing particle size
- Increasing concentration
- Raising temperature
- Increasing pressure
- Adding catalysts
Example: Decreasing particle size increases surface area, exposing more particles for collision and increasing reaction rate.
The concept of activation energy is introduced:
Definition: Activation energy (Ea) is the minimum kinetic energy required for a reaction to occur.
Various methods for measuring reaction rates are described, including monitoring changes in mass, volume, or concentration over time.
