There are several stages to the production of sulfuric acid in industry - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry - Question 10 - 2023 - Paper 1

To calculate the atom economy, use the formula:

$\text{Atom Economy} = \left( \frac{\text{Molar Mass of Desired Product}}{\text{Total Molar Mass of Reactants}} \right) \times 100$

1. Identify the molar mass of the desired product, SO₂: 64.0 g/mol.

2. Determine the total molar mass of the reactants. The reaction involves 1 mol of CuS (159.0 g/mol) and 1 mol of O₂ (32.0 g/mol).

   Total molar mass = 159.0 g/mol + 32.0 g/mol = 191.0 g/mol.

3. Now substitute the values into the atom economy formula:

   $\text{Atom Economy} = \left( \frac{64.0}{191.0} \right) \times 100 \approx 33.51\%$

4. Therefore, the atom economy, rounded to two significant figures, is 34%.