Byproducts, Side-products, and Co-products.

A co-product is defined in the KiloMentor Blog as follows; A co-product is a product created according to the stoichiometry of a balanced chemical equation representing a chemical transformation when it is not the material of interest.
 It is created in a defined ratio with respect to the material of interest and is an unavoidable result of that chemical reaction.

William Watson writing online has tried calling a material satisfying this definition a ‘byproduct’. The KiloMentor does not think this is a wise choice of terminology because byproduct already has a contradicting meaning in common parlance. Byproduct according to one dictionary definition is “a secondary or incidental product, as in a process of manufacture” When we look up ‘incidental’ we find it defined as “1. happening or likely to happen in fortuitous or subordinate conjunction with something else. 2. Likely to happen or naturally appertaining (usually followed by to). 3. Incurred casually and in addition to the regular or main amount.”

Thus, in the common usage of ‘byproducts’ there is the implication that these can be prevented from occurring in some instances and the product retained. In contradiction, in Watson’s chemical usage, chemicals created in reactions, which he would call byproducts, are inevitable, since they are dictated by the particular stoichiometry. In my alternative, the word co-product contains this idea of inevitable relationship or complementarity. ‘Co’ is a prefix meaning complement of. The complement completes something; in this case, product and co-products complete the right-hand side of the chemical equation.

‘By the bye’ means incidentally. Incidental products or side products,  KiloMentor can accept these to identify products that are not dictated by the equation that represents the pertinent reaction creating the product. For further clarity in their identification, side products are substances that, at least in principle, can be reduced or eliminated by optimizing the reaction conditions.


Thus, in the common usage of ‘byproducts’ there is the implication that these can be prevented from occurring in some instances and the product retained. In contradiction, in Watson’s chemical usage, chemicals created in reactions, which he would call byproducts, are inevitable, since they are dictated by the particular stoichiometry. In my alternative, the word co-product contains this idea of inevitable relationship or complementarity. ‘Co’ is a prefix meaning complement of. The complement completes something; in this case, product and co-products complete the right-hand side of the chemical equation.
‘By the bye’ means incidentally. Incidental products or side products,  KiloMentor can accept these to identify products that are not dictated by the equation that represents the pertinent reaction creating the product. For further clarity in their identification, side products are substances that, at least in principle, can be reduced or eliminated by optimizing the reaction conditions.