There are several stages to the production of sulfuric acid in industry - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry - Question 4 - 2023 - Paper 1

To find the atom economy for the production of sulfur dioxide (SO₂), we use the formula:

$\text{Atom Economy} = \left( \frac{\text{mass of desired product}}{\text{total mass of reactants}} \right) \times 100$

1. Calculate the molar masses:

   • Molar mass of Cu₂S = 159.0 g/mol
   • Molar mass of SO₂ = 64.0 g/mol

2. Determine moles of reactants:

   • In the reaction, 1 mole of Cu₂S produces 1 mole of SO₂.
   • Therefore, the mass of reactants used (Cu₂S + O₂) = 159.0 g/mol + 32.0 g/mol = 191.0 g/mol.

3. Apply values to the atom economy formula:

   • Using the desired product mass of SO₂ (64.0 g/mol):

   $\text{Atom Economy} = \left( \frac{64.0}{191.0} \right) \times 100 \approx 33.507\%$

4. Round to two significant figures:

   Final atom economy = 34%.