Week 4- Atom Economy

Atom economy, from what I gather, is part of measuring the efficiency of a reaction, along with the yield. It measures what atoms are utilized or not utilized. Trying to utilize more atoms allows for less waste and unwanted products. At best, a yield of %100, which is impossible, results in only %50 of that mass as desired product. Atom Economy began to come about with more consideration for the environment, starting with the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry. These have been around since 1998, but people and companies are only beginning to catch on. Principles 3 and 4 talk about reducing toxicity when making a product. Principle #5 talks about limiting the use of auxiliary substances, like sulfuric acid. Number six talks about conserving energy required for a reaction, and #7 talks about using starting materials from natural resources. Making ibuprofen have a greater atom economy value helps me to understand a bit what all this means. The Boots company process in the beginning only had an atom economy of %40, making 35 million lbs of waste if they were to be the only makers of ibuprofen! With Hooechst Celanes Corp, they combined to form BHC and discovered a new synthesis process with only 3 steps instead of 6. The atom economy went from %77 to %99, with elements such as nickel being recycled and reused! Using this process and being more aware of the environment actually allows these companies to make more product in less amount of time, which making a smaller footprint on the earth. Why wouldn't more companies do this?