Atom Economy

• Atom economy


  A measure of the amount of starting material that end up in useful products
• Atom economy is also called atom utilization
• Importance of atom economy

  • Minimizes production of unwanted products, saving money and increasing sustainability
  • Increases environmental sustainability by not wasting resources
• Calculating atom economy


  Relative formula mass of desired product from the equation / Sum of relative formula masses of all reactants from the equation x 100
• Atom economy cannot be greater than 100% as that would mean creating atoms, which is not possible
• Reaction 1 (producing ethanol)

  All atoms in starting materials end up in desired product, so it is very efficient
• Atom economy


  A measure of the amount of starting material that end up in useful products
• Reaction 2 (producing iron chloride)

  Has a waste product, so some atoms are wasted, making it less efficient
• Chemists try to find uses for side products to avoid wasting money
• Atom economy is also called atom utilization
• Importance of atom economy

  • Minimizes production of unwanted products, saving money and increasing sustainability
  • Increases environmental sustainability by not wasting resources
• Calculating atom economy


  Relative formula mass of desired product from the equation / Sum of relative formula masses of all reactants from the equation x 100
• Atom economy cannot be greater than 100% as that would mean creating atoms, which is not possible
• Reaction 1 (producing ethanol)

  All atoms in starting materials end up in desired product, so it is very efficient
• Reaction 2 (producing iron chloride)

  Has a waste product, so some atoms are wasted, making it less efficient
• Chemists try to find uses for side products to avoid wasting money