Catalysts are an important substance within the production of thousands of chemicals within industrial manufacturing. Catalysts work by allowing products to form through a series of steps with lower activation energies than would normally require. Catalysts do not get used throughout the reaction, as it will return through the final step. Catalysts are important as it allows more compounds to form using less energy.
The beauty of catalysts, is that they do not get removed from the reaction. Take the manufacturing of ammonia for example:
N2 + cat =N2ads (1) N2ads + cat =2Nads (2)
H2 + 2 cat= 2 Hads (3) Nads + Hads= NHads + cat (4) NHads + Hads= NH2ads + cat (5)
NH2ads + Hads=NH3ads + cat(6) NH3ads= NH3 + cat (7)
Between equation (1) and (7), the catalyst hasn’t been removed. All catalysts involved with the reactants is shed later through the products. Since this is the case with all catalysts, vats and equipment needed for these reactions do not need to be refilled unless lost to outside sources. This means that industrial process’ can be completed with minimal amounts of catalysts.
Catalysts also allow for faster reactions as any amount of atoms can increase the pressure of a system by minimal amounts. Though small, it does increase the chance of collisions between compounds (following collision theory). The more catalyst used, the faster the reactions.
Without Catalysts, life wouldn’t be possible. Enzymes are an important catalyst within biological functions. By removing all enzymes, most biological functions would take approximately 2.3 billion years. (Richard Wolfenden, Ph.D.) However, with the enzymes needed, this reaction takes milliseconds, and is the only way for life to have developed so quickly.
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