Making useful chemicals

Many products require ingredients made by the reaction of acids. These include cleaning products and food additives. Acids are used on an industrial scale to produce chemicals such as fertilisers.

Rate of reaction is a measure of how fast a reaction takes place. In industry, chemists control rates of reaction to ensure the production is safe but still fast enough to keep up with demand.

In a reversible reaction, the products can react to produce the original reactants. The conditions chosen for an industrial reaction are related to producing an acceptable yield in an acceptable time.