6.1.7

Catalysts in Industry

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Catalysts in Industry

Catalysts are popular in industry for many reasons. But, there are disadvantages to using catalysts.

Advantage - cost-effective

Advantage - cost-effective

  • Despite the fact that some catalysts are expensive precious metals (e.g. platinum and palladium), they are often cost-effective to use.
    • This is because a small amount can speed up a reaction by a lot. It may be cheaper to pay for the catalyst at the start and increase the rate of reaction after that.
    • Paying for a catalyst may be cheaper than paying for the energy needed to increase either temperature or pressure.
Advantage - reduced burning of fossil fuels

Advantage - reduced burning of fossil fuels

  • By reducing the necessary temperatures and/or pressures, fewer fossil fuels need to be burned.
    • This means that we can reduce our negative environmental impact.
Disadvantage - toxicity

Disadvantage - toxicity

  • But, many catalysts are toxic (e.g. transition metals), and these can escape into the environment and contaminate ecosystems.
Jump to other topics
1

Atomic Structure

2

Chemical Bonding

3

Quantitative Chemistry

4

Chemical Changes

5

Energy Changes

6

The Rate & Extent of Chemical Change

7

Organic Chemistry

8

Chemical Analysis

9

Chemistry of the Atmosphere

10

Using Resources

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