Sustainability is the ability to exist constantly in a balanced environment. Dwindling finite resources and environmental damage due to toxic waste products mean that processes need to be sustainable.The atom economy of a reaction is a measure of how well the atoms have been utilised. Reactions with high atom economies produce large quantities of desired products, make the best use of natural resources and produce few unwanted or waste products.
If a use can be found for all the products, the atom economy will increase to 100%.
The atom economy of a reaction is the percentage (by mass) of the products that is the desired product.
If a use can be found for all the products, the atom economy will increase to 100%.