1. plural of coproduct; goods or materials produced together as a result of the same manufacturing process
Usage: common in industrial and chemical contexts
2. in mathematics and category theory, a generalization of the disjoint union or direct sum of objects
Usage: technical; used in abstract algebra and topology

Examples

• The refinery produces gasoline and several coproducts including diesel and heating oil.
• When processing crude oil, companies must manage both primary products and coproducts efficiently.
• The chemical reaction yields ethanol as the main product and methane as one of several coproducts.
• In category theory, coproducts generalize the notion of combining multiple mathematical objects.
• The factory optimized its process to increase the value of coproducts rather than treating them as waste.