What are 10 everyday, ubiquitous things that would not be possible
without the use of catalysts?

I'm looking for example of things that impact the human species, make
our lives better more comfortable, things we that would immediately be
noticed if they vanished because catalysts were not available to
assist in their creation.

Hi kcbjordan,

Chemical catalysts are substances that increase the rate of reaction
(while remaining themselves chemically unchanged:

Polyethylene, the polymer used to make  everything from:

	1. garbage bags and 
	2. grocery bags, to 
	3. squeezable bottles, to 
	4. cable insulation, 

is made by passing ethylene gas over a catalyst. Most other polymers
are made in the same (or similar) way. Synthetic rubber, nylon,
polyester, PVC, teflon, etc. It's not hard to think of 10 uses for
these catalyst-produced materials alone... e.g. :

	5. rain coats
	6. pantyhose
	7. water pipes
	8. bouncy balls
	9. non-stick surfaces and pads
	10. saran wrap
	11. food containers
	12. cell-phone and laptop cases
	13. cheap wigs
	14. fishing line...

15. Catalytic converters are platinum and rhodium - based pollution
scrubbers in car exhausts.

16.The "haber process", a well known catalytic reaction, is used to
produce the nitrogen used in most modern-day fertilizer.


Enzymes are Biological catalysts:

17. Laundry detergent often contain active enzymes (organic catalysts)
that speed up cleaning by breaking down certain compounds.

18. beer and 
19. bread are typically made with yeast, a living organism containing enzymes/

20. Finally, the human body itself couldn't work without enzymes --
they're used by cells to grow, reproduce, and create energy.

I hope this helps!


References: 

Education: Understanding Reaction Rates
http://www.ravensdown.co.nz/Education/Chemistry/Index.cfm?Page=7

Crocodile Clips Lesson Activity
http://www.crocodile-clips.com/gpv70/LP/chemistry/LP0039/LA0039.htm

Science of Everyday Life: Chapter 15
http://www.fau.edu/divdept/physics/jordanrg/LLS/lecture15/LLS_lecture_15.htm

Nova Chemicals: Our Products
http://www.novachem.com/OurProducts/pds/index.cfm

BBC Education in Scotland -- Speed of Reactions
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize/standard/other/sos/chemistry/topic_2_-_speed_of_reactions/answerspeed_of_reactions_9.shtml

What are some examples of reactions that involve catalysts?
http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/reactions/faq/print-examples-of-catalysts.shtml

Haber Process --Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haber_process

HowStuffWork "How Cells Work"
http://science.howstuffworks.com/cell4.htm


Partial search strategy:

catalysts everyday chemical
 "everyday life" "examples of catalysts"
"alkylation of benzene" understanding
enzymes "human body"

---

Request for Answer Clarification by kcbjordan-ga on 06 Dec 2004 06:45 PST

The majority of those items fall under plastics, I was hoping for little more. 

Can you give me just a few more examples? Biological catalysts
(enzymes) examples are fine.

---

Clarification of Answer by gentryunderwood-ga on 06 Dec 2004 09:09 PST

kcbjordan,

Here are a few more places in everyday life where catalysts appear:

1. Gasoline and petroleum products contain catalysts that have been
added to make the oil-based products more suitable for their myriad of
purposes. Gasoline is also produced from crude-oil using a catalyst.

2. Hydrogen-based energy sources (e.g. fuel cells) that get their
hydrogen from the water require a catalyst to 'split' the water into
oxygen and hydrogen.

3. More and more high-tech pharmaceutical drugs (e.g. antibiotics) are
requiring catalysts for the precise formulation and production.

4. Enzymes are used to make cheese. Before enzymes were understood,
cheese was made using cow stomachs (the active agent being the enzymes
therein).

5. In liquors such as Vodka, starch is converted to sugar by an enzyme
known as an amyloglucosidase. The byproduct is alcohol.

6.  Wine and fruit juice are commercially produced using a number of
enzymes to increase juice yield and remove oxygen (to inhibit
fermentation).

7. In commercial baking, many enzymes are used -- for example,
maltogen amylase helps keep bread from becoming stale.

8.Enzimes such as Protease and Papain are used to tenderize meat.

9. Catalase is used in the production of mayonnaise.

10. Finally, I found another Google Answer posting specifically on
using enzymes to make new clothes look old:

Make New Clothes look Old
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=332582


Here are some more links that may be of interest:

e.g; Grace Davidson
http://www.grace.com/davison/

Applications of food biotechnology: enzymes
http://www.eufic.org/gb/tech/tech01e.htm

BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES ADVISORY COMMITTEE  SUBPANEL WORKSHOP REPORT:
Opportunities for Catalysis in the 21st Century
http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/BESAC/CatalysisReport.pdf


Please let me know if this still isn't sufficient.

-gentryunderwood

Remember how brand-new blue jeans used to be really stiff?  Nowadays
they're soft.  This is due to treatment by an enzyme (a catalyst).

You couldn?t make new human beings without catalysts -- enzymes again.
Is there one called ?humanase??

Best