One important application of the concept of limiting reagents is that produces requires many reactants - for example, in the shampoo-making industry. The producers would need to know the amount of each reactant is required, so no excess production occurs. In these problems, as in real life scenarios, an excess reagent is anything that is used too much, while a limiting reagent is what we need more of. It is the manufacturers job to know what is the necessary and not excessive amount of production of material. Unfortunately, in first world countries, such as the United States, unnessecary things (such as IPads) are being produced too excessively, while in developing nations, food alone is a serious problem and a limiting reagent. By doing this, the United States is not just wasting billions of dollars a year, but also wasting tons of material, which is contributing to our poor environmental conditions.
