C19 - Using the Earth's resources (PAPER 2) Flashcards
What are 4 things that we use natural resources for
food, clothing, timber, fuels
What is sustainable development
development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
What are finite resources
ones that will eventually run out
What is potable water
water that is safe to drink
What are the two steps to producing potable water from a lake
- pass water through filters to remove large objects
- sterilise with ozone, chlorine or UV light
What is the name given to the process of turning salty water into potable water
- what are the two methods of doing this
desalination
- reverse osmosis and distillation
How does reverse osmosis work
- What are the two issues of this process
using membranes to separate salts from the water
- water must be pressurised and the salty water corrodes the pumps
What are the first two steps to treating sewage water
- screening and grit removal
- sedimentation
What are the names of the two products of sedimentation of sewage water
- What are they
- sewage sludge - sediment from sedimentation
- effluent - remaining liquid
What happens during the anaerobic treatment of sewage sludge
- What is the product
bacteria digest organic matter, which is broken down anaerobically
- biofuels
What happens to the effluent after sedimentation
- describe what happens
aerobic treatment
- bacteria feed on the harmful microorganisms and organic matter, which it then digests aerobically
- the bacteria are then left to settle outside the water
What are the names of the two main processes of extraction of metal ores
- What are the two alternative methods of extracting copper from low grade copper ores
Reduction and electrolysis
- bioleaching and Phyto mining
What are the 3 Phyto mining steps
1 - grow plants near the ore
2 - harvest and burn the plants
3 - Ash contains the metal compound, so process the ash by electrolysis or displacement with scrap metal
What are the 3 bioleaching steps
1 - grow bacteria near the ore
2 - bacteria will produce leachate solutions that contain compound, so process the leachate by electrolysis or displacement with scrap metal
What is a LCA
- what does it stand for
a way of looking at the whole life of a product and assessing its impact on the environment and sustainability
- Life Cycle Assessment
What are the four categories of a LCA
- extracting and processing raw materials
- manufacturing and packaging
- use and operation during its lifetime
- disposal at the end of its useful life, including transport and distribution at each stage
What are the four ways to dispose of products
- adding to a landfill site
- incinerating
- reusing
- recycling
how are metals
- extracted
- disposed
- quarried and mined, reduction or electrolysis required
- can normally be melted down and recycled
How are plastics
- made
- disposed
- come from non-renewable fossil fuels
- often reused or recycled, incinerating releases harmful chemicals, often end in landfills eventually
How is paper
- made
- disposed
- from trees that require lots of land and water
- incinerated, decay in landfill sites, however both release greenhouse gases
recycled
How is glass
- made
-disposed
- heating sand requiring lots of energy
- reused, recycled, landfill sites
how are ceramics
- made
- disposed
- comes form clay and rocks, need quarrying usually
- not commonly recycled, can’t be reused, persist in landfill
