Chemical Engineering vocabulary · Reactions and Reactors
By-product
Meaning in chemical engineering, with examples
/ˈbaɪˌprɑːdʌkt/nounCore term
In chemical engineering, by-product means: A substance made in a process alongside the main product. It may be sold, used elsewhere in the plant, or treated as waste.
In Turkish: yan ürün
How it is used
Used in reaction engineering, economics and environmental reports. Engineers try to reduce unwanted by-products, separate them from the product and find a value for them. Also spelled 'byproduct'.
Example sentences
Hydrochloric acid is a by-product of the chlorination step and is sold to a nearby plant.
At higher temperatures we form more heavy by-products that foul the reboiler.
Common collocations
unwanted by-product
by-product formation
valuable by-product
minimize by-products
Related terms
selectivityHow much of the reacted feed turns into the desired product rather than into unwanted by-products, usually given as a percentage.
yieldThe amount of desired product you actually get, usually shown as a percentage of the amount you could get in theory from the raw material fed.
conversionThe fraction of a reactant that has reacted, usually given as a percentage of the amount fed to the reactor.
off-specDescribes a product or stream that does not meet its required specification, for example too much water, the wrong color or too low a purity.
