[Part 3]- C12- using resources ♻️ Flashcards
What are the benefits of phytomining and bioleaching ?
- phytomining and bioleaching allow metals to be economically extracted from low-grade ores
- this is important because, the Earth’s resources of metal ores are limited
What are life cycle assessments ?
- a life cycle assessment, is an assessment carried out to assess the environmental impacts of products
What is the process of a life cycle assessment ?
- the environmental impact of extracting and processing raw materials, is first assessed
- the manufacturing and packaging of a product is then assessed
- after, the use and operation of the product during its lifetime is assessed
- and, the disposal at the end of the product’s life [including transport and distribution] are finally assessed
Describe the first and second stage in the life cycle assessment of plastic shopping bags 🛍️
- extracting and processing raw materials- plastic bags are produced using chemicals from crude oil
- but both crude oil and wood need to be chemically processed- which requires large amounts of energy, and releases waste products
What is an environmental impact of extracting crude oil ?
- ; crude oil is a non-renewable resource, and extracting crude oil can be harmful to habitats [e.g- an oil leak]
Describe the first and second stage in the life cycle assessment of paper shopping bags 🛄
- extracting and processing raw materials- paper bags are made from wood from trees
- and trees are renewable, as more can be planted
- ; felling trees for wood is destructive to habitats [such as forests]
What are the environmental impacts of processing wood ?
- but both crude oil and wood need to be chemically processed- which requires large amounts of energy, and releases waste products
- but making paper also requires large volumes of water
What is the third stage in the life cycle assessment of plastic shopping bags? 🛍️
- use and operation- plastic bags are strong and are often reused [e.g- as bin liners]
What is the third stage in the life cycle assessment of paper shopping bags ? 🛄
- use and operation- paper bags are not as strong as plastic bags, and tend to tear
- and paper bags are often only used once, before being thrown away
What is the final stage in the life cycle assessment of plastic shopping bags? 🛍️
- disposal at the end of the product’s life- both plastic and paper bags have to be transported to recycling or landfill
What is the final stage in the life cycle assessment of paper shopping bags ? 🛄
- disposal at the end of the product’s life- both plastic and paper bags have to be transported to recycling or landfill
- ; paper bags, are often heavier than plastic bags are take more energy to transport
What is a promblem with plastic bags ?
- plastic is non-biodegradable, so it is not broken down by microorganisms
- this means, plastic bags remain in the environment for a [very] long time
- Fill in the gaps: paper breaks down quickly especially when it is ___
- paper breaks down quickly especially when it is wet
Why are plastic bags a major form of litter ?
- plastic bags remain in the environment for a [very] long time, as they are not bio-degradable
- this means, plastic can also fill up landfill
Why are life cycle assessments not a purely objective process ?
- life cycle assessments can measure the use of water, and can also measure the production of some waste products
- ; life cycle assessments don’t provide a certainty of how damaging these are to the environment
- so, estimates or value judgements sometimes have to be made [that are not accurate]
- Fill in the gaps: life cycle assessments can be ____, to support claims by advertisers
- life cycle assessments can be bias, to support claims by advertisers
What are examples of materials produced from limited raw materials ?
- glass
- metals
- building materials
- clay ceramics
- and [most] plastics
How are raw materials often obtained ?
- raw materials are often obtained by quarrying or mining; this causes environmental impacts
What is quarrying ?
- quarrying, is the process of removing: rock, sand, gravel or other minerals from the ground in order to use them to produce materials for construction or other uses.
What is mining ?
- mining, is the digging, moving and disposing of large amounts of rock
What are three disadvantages of quarrying ?
- quarrying produces large amounts of dust [due to regular blasting]
- quarrying destroys habitats
- quarrying can lead to an increased number of respiratory conditions [such as asthma]
What are two disadvantages of mining ?
- mining can release harmful chemicals into the environment
- it takes lots of energy to turn the raw materials extracted from mining, into useful products- ;this energy typically comes from limited resources such as fossils fuels, that lead to climate change
What are some advantages of quarrying ?
- quarrying provides employment
- quarrying supports the local economy
Why is it important we try to reduce our need for raw materials, by reusing or recycling ?
- reducing our need for raw materials, by reusing or recycling, helps to save limited resources and energy
- ; this also reduces the amount of waste produced- meaning there is a less harmful effect on the environment
Can glass bottles be reused ?
- yes, products such as glass bottles can be reused or crushed and melted to make different glass products [e.g- jars]
Can plastic bottles be recycled ?
- yes, plastic bottles can be recycled to make fleece jackets and carpets
How can metals be recycled ?
- metals can be recycled, by melting them and recasting them into different products
What is the promblem with recycling metals ?
- different metals usually need to be separated, before being recycled
- ; this depends on the properties of the final product because, some scrap metal can be added to iron from a blast furnace
How can the amount of iron we need to extract from iron ore, be reduced ?
- scrap metal can be added to iron from a blast furnace, to reduce the amount of iron we need to extract from iron ore
