Real Life Applications of Catalyst

Catalyst is a chemical substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without undergoing any permanent chemical change itself. It doesn’t take part in the chemical reaction but provides condition for the reaction to happen. Generally, catalyst are used to speed up the chemical reaction; however, it can also be used in various real life applications such as environmental cleaning, etc. In this article, we will learn in detail about the real-life applications of catalyst.

What are Real Life Applications of Catalyst

A Catalyst plays a vital role in many industries such as the pharma and environmental fields. Their ability to enhance the efficiency, selectivity, and economy of chemical processes makes them suitable for various real life applications. Some of the real life applications of catalysts are mentioned below:

• Environmental Cleaning
• Petrochemical Industry
• Pharmaceutical Synthesis
• Food Production
• Sustainable Energy

Environmental Cleaning

Catalysts are used in environmental cleaning processes to degrade pollutants and contaminants in air and water. There, catalysts bring about the change in the harmful pollutants that are transformed into ‘less toxic’ by-products.

For Example: Cars use automotive catalytic converters, which use catalysts containing platinum and rhodium to change undesirable gases from the engine into harmless gases like carbon dioxide. It helps in the reduction of emissions from vehicles and from keeping the air clean.

Petrochemical Industry

Catalysts are essential in petroleum refining processes to convert crude oil into valuable products such as gasoline, diesels etc. Refinery catalysts include zeolites, platinum, and nickel catalysts used in hydrocracking, hydrotreating, reforming, and isomerization reactions to improve fuel quality, increase yields, and meet product specifications.

For Example: The change of the thick, heavy oil into lighter products like gasoline and diesel can be done via catalysis in oil refineries. This procedure (i.e. catalytic cracking) reduces the time taken and makes the refining process more effective, therefore producing more fuel from the same amount of oil.

Pharmaceutical Synthesis

In pharmaceutical synthesis, catalysts play an important role in enabling efficient and selective chemical transformations to produce pharmaceutical compounds. Catalysts help optimize reaction conditions, increase reaction rates, and improve product yields, contributing to the development of safe and effective drugs

For Example: While producing medicines catalysts are employed to accelerate the chemical reactions. They help to develop new drugs that are accessible and produced in larger quantities such as aspirin or antibiotics.

Food Production

In food production, catalysts are utilized in various processes to improve efficiency, enhance quality, and reduce production costs. They quicken reactions during food processing when used which bring out the flavour, texture, and also enhance the nutritional value.

For Example: In bread baking, enzymes have the function to assist the dough to rise. They digest sugars in the dough thereby triggering the release of gases that make the bread fluffy. Similarly, in cheese making enzymes are useful in the fermentation process, resulting in distinctive taste and texture of cheese.

Sustainable Energy

Catalysts enable the conversion of renewable energy resources like biodiesel and hydrogen fuel cells to be produced. They accelerate the conversion of biomass to biofuels by producing numerous types of clean energy.

For Example:- In biodiesel development, catalysts are used to convert vegetable oils and animal fats into a much cleaner fuel. This process is called transesterification. This would reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and the encouraging of renewable resources to be used as an energy sources.

Conclusion

Catalysts play the vital roles of the changers in the various fields of our lives. Whether it’s producing cleaner air, improving industrial processes, or advancing medicine and green energy, their effect is unquestionable. At each juncture, catalysts lays down the basis for a greater, brighter, and cleaner future generations.

FAQs on Real Life Applications of Catalyst

What is a catalyst?

A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without undergoing any permanent chemical change itself.

What is the job of catalysts?

The job of catalysts is to generate an alternative pathway to reactions having a lower barrier, leading to the acceleration of that process.

Do the catalysts get consumed in the course of reactions?

No, catalysts won’t be changed and can be recycled after they are done with the reaction.

Are catalysts chemical compounds always?

Not necessarily, catalysts can also be some of the biological molecules like enzymes, or even temperature or sunlight.