Lecture 8 - Product-life Cycle and Environmental Impact

Question 1

What are the six main steps for the creation of electornics?

Answer 1

1) Raw material extration
2) Raw material processing
3) Creation/Manufacturing
4) Distribution
5) Use/maintenance
6) End of useful life/disposal

Question 2

What must one do to obtain metal?

Answer 2

Mining raw ore

Question 3

What are the two main categories of mining?

Answer 3

1) Surface mining
2) Underground mining

Question 4

How can one obtain plastic?

Answer 4

Plastics are created from natural, organic materials such as cellulose which is derived from either wood, coal, natural gas, oil, etc

Question 5

How are oil and natural gas extracted?

Answer 5

Both are typically extracted using a drilled well and are often found in the same location

Question 6

How can silicon be extracted?

Answer 6

Sand generally contains silicon, therefore silica sand is used since regular sand is too impure, this sort of sand is obtained from the same form of mining as the other named resources

Question 7

Why is silicon great to use in electronic devices?

Answer 7

It is a semiconductor; conducts electricity under some conditions and does not conduct under others

Question 8

What are the steps for metal processing?

Answer 8

1) Processed (benification); in the goal to increase the concentration of the desired metal
2) Melting and alloying are used to extract the metal to be fabricated
3) Forming the metal into the wanted shape and size

Question 9

What are the steps for processing plastics?

Answer 9

1) Petroleum is decomposed under heat to form subcomponents including naptha which is further decomposed to form monomers that serve as raw materials for plastic
2) Combination of the monomers to create polymers
3) Forming the plastics into the desired shape and form

Question 10

What are the steps for processing silicon?

Answer 10

1) Silica sand is removed of oxygen to isolate the silicon through mixing it with carbon and heating it beyon 2000 degrees.
2) Treated with oxygen for removing any impurities
3) Further purified by grinding it into a fine powder, adding hydrogen chloride and heating it at 300 degrees => created a liquid silicon compound

Question 11

What are other post-refining steps to purifiy silicon to 99.999% ?

Answer 11

1) Fractional distillation
2) Heated silicon rod collects silicon for electronic-grade silicon

Question 12

What is manufacturing?

Answer 12

Use of raw and the processed materials to make products

Question 13

Name two types of maintenance?

Answer 13

1) Preventive maintenance
2) Corrective maintenance

Question 14

What is preventive maintenance?

Answer 14

Ensures that the equipment dosen’t break down and is used when down-time is unacceptable to the user

Question 15

What is corrective maintenance?

Answer 15

Applied to failed and thus broken down equipment; when one is indifferent to something breaking/easy to remplace/easier than regular preventive maintenance

Question 16

What is the estimated amount of e-waste created annually?

Answer 16

40 million tons is estimated by the UN to be the amount of e-waste created on an annual basis

Question 17

When does a product typically end its life cycle?

Answer 17

When it has either suffered a non-repairable failure or it has become outdated

Question 18

Define obsolescence

Answer 18

Obsolescence is a loss in the utility of a product caused by non-physical factors’ shortens product’s useful lifespan

Question 19

What are the general five types of obsolescence?

Answer 19

1) Technical
2) Functional
3) Aesthetic
4) Economic
5) Legal

Question 20

Define technical obsolescence

Answer 20

Where an asset of the components of an asset become irreplaceable due to technological changes (over time)

Question 21

Define functional obsolescence

Answer 21

Occurs once the owner’s needs have changed since the creation of the product; dosen’t satisfy owners/users needs (reduction of desireability because of an outdated design feature which cannot be changed)

Question 22

Define aesthetic obsolescence

Answer 22

When a product is no longer desireable because it has gone out of the popular fashion, the style is then considered to be obsolete

Question 23

Define economic obsolescence

Answer 23

Replacement or retirement of an asset because objectives/functionality can be achieved in a more cost-efficient way

Question 24

Define legal obsolescence

Answer 24

Legislation or other directive/order issued by an authority reults in the prohibitive use of certain products

Question 25

What step can be altered to improve electronic life cycle?

Answer 25

Replace the last step with recycling

Question 26

What are responsabilities on the personal level?

Answer 26

On a personal level, responsabilities include reducing, re-using and re-cycling whatever products previously utilized

Question 27

What are responsabilities on the professional level?

Answer 27

While designing products, be conscious of the impacts of one’s decision