• outstanding_bond
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    1 year ago

    They successfully converted β-pinene into two everyday painkillers, paracetamol and ibuprofen, which are produced on ~100,000 ton scales annually.

    At first I couldn’t believe that we make 100,000 TONS of paracetamol (acetaminophen) a year.

    1E5 tons per year / 6E9 people on earth = 17 grams per person per year

    My tylenol pills are 500mg, and ~34 pills per year seems about right.

    Wow. At a density of 1.3 g/cm^3 that’s about half an olympic swimming pool of acetaminophen a year.

    • hughperman
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      1 year ago

      Nice breakdown. Maybe update your stats a little, we’re at nearly 8e9 people on the planet. Doesn’t change your conclusion much.