There are several types of products which are manufactured by different types of companies. And these products have their own technical names according to their sources, manufacturing ways, etc. Sometimes different products are created from a single source. For example, all dairy products have a common ingredient in them that is milk.
Joint product and By-product are such products which have same input with the help of which several other products are made. For example, in a blast furnace, the gases released, pig iron and slag are the joint products. And the gasoline released after the oil refining process is an example of a By-product.
Joint Product vs By Product
The main difference between the Joint product and By-product is that Joint products have the same value as the original product by which they are created. Whereas in the case of By-product the side products do not have the same value as the original product does.
Joint products are the side products or the products which are generated during the manufacturing of the original product. These side products generated are rated equally as the original ones because they are equally consumed by the people and are highly demanded by the market.
By-products are the waste products released during the processing of the main product. These products do not require any further processing as they are end products. By-products do not have the same value or same demand as the main product has in the market.
Comparison Table Between Joint Product and By Product
| Parameters of Comparison | Joint Product | By Product |
| Definition | The products that are created or result in the making of other products or the original product is called Joint product. | The product which results unintentionally while manufacturing the main product is called a By-product. |
| Value | This product has the same value as the main product has in the market. | This product sometimes is just a waste or crap and does not has the same value as the original one. |
| Additional process | The Joint product requires additional processing steps. | By-products do not require any further processing steps as they are end products. |
| Use | These products have their own value and are very useful. | These products do not contribute anything to the market. |
| Main product | Joint product inputs are always raw materials like crude oil, milk, etc. | By-products are created from side products or waster products like butter, peels of processed fruits, etc. |
| Economic status | Joint product economic status in the market is very high and is equal to the main product. | By-product has a very low economic status in the market and is not as useful as the main product. |
| Objectives | Producing Joint products is the main objective of the production. | Production of By-products is not the main objective of the production process. |
What is Joint Product?
The Joint product is an additional product that results as a side product during the manufacturing of the main product. But unlike By-products, they have their own economic status and are highly demanded by the market. Raw materials are the main products of the Joint production process.
These Joint products are intentionally created as they are valuable and have their individual usage. The resultant products need to be manufactured further for making them useful. They are polished, cleaned, and processed in further manufacturing steps.
Joint products can be two or more. These products have their individual separation point, after which they cannot be processed further. And they all need simultaneous standard processing.
What is By Product?
By-products are not intentionally made. They are incidental products that result from the processing of another product or the main product. These products have fewer sales value as compared to Joint products. Sometimes they are just waste and are disposed of.
By-products need further processing for making them useful so that they can be sold in the market. For example, the sugar refining process creates molasses as its By-product, processing of butter produces buttermilk as its By-product, and these are useful, but the By-product like harmful gases after fuel combustion is not at all useful.
The input of the By-product is mostly waste or the product having low value. These products do not contribute anything to the market.
Main Differences Between Joint Product and By Product
- The products that are created or result in the making of other products or the original product is called Joint product. On the other hand, The product which results unintentionally while manufacturing the main product is called a By-product.
- By-products are created from side products or waster products like butter, peels of processed fruits, etc. While Joint product inputs are always raw materials like crude oil, milk, etc.
- Joint product economic status in the market is very high and is equal to the main product. Whereas, By-product has a very low economic status in the market and is not as useful as the main product.
- Production of By-products is not the main objective of the production process because they are just waste products. While producing Joint products is the main objective of the production because they are very valuable.
- By-products do not require further manufacturing processes for making them valuable as they are end products. While the Joint product requires further processing steps for making them useful.
Conclusion
Manufacturing of products includes several processing steps that release several other side products. Sometimes these side products have very high demand in the market, but sometimes they are just waste. For example, milk produces several side products like butter, cheese and they all are very useful for us, but the ashes after the combustion of fuel are not at all useful for us.
Joint products are useful products as they have the same demand in the market as the original product does. And also, sometimes they require further manufacturing or processing. For example, the processing of crude oil results in the production of lubricants, gasoline, diesel, etc., which are equally important. On the other hand, By-product does not requires further processing for making them useful. Also, sometimes the By-products can become toxic, and they need to be disposed of like in the processing of chemical products, several other gases and toxic chemicals are released.
References
- https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/259519
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=F7jiBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=by+products&ots=wlcj02xf98&sig=9e9erQpuR8MVAGAPBX5sKhq8ANc