Topic 10 - Using Resources Flashcards
What are some examples of what humans use resources for
Use energy for heating, building materials, food or travelling
What are natural resources and give an example
-Things that form without human input, including anything coming from earth, sea or air
-E.g. cotton for clothing or oil for fuel
How are natural products replaced by synthetic products and give some examples of them
-Replaced by synthetic products or improved upon by man-made processes
-E.g. rubber is natural and extracted from the sap of a tree but man-made polymers have been made which can replace rubber in uses such as tyres
Give an example of where agriculture provides conditions where natural resources can be enhanced
The development of fertilisers have meant we can produce a high yield of crops
What is a renewable resource
A resource that reform at a similar rate to or faster than we use them
Give examples of renewable resources
-Timber is a renewable resource as trees can be planted following a harvest and only take a few years to grow
-Also fresh water and some food
What are non-renewable resources
Resources that aren’t formed quickly enough to be considered replaceable
Give examples of finite/non-renewable resources
-Fossil fuels and nuclear fuels such as uranium and plutonium
-Minerals and metals found in ores in the earth
What happens to finite resources after being extracted and give an example
-They undergo man-made processes to provide fuels and materials necessary for modern life
-fractional distillation is used to produce useable products such as petrol from crude oil and metal ores are reduced to produce a pure metal.
How to tell the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources in a table
-Renewable resources take longer to form
-They are also far less energetic
Give advantages of extracting finite resources and give an example
-May bring money into an area
-Creates jobs for people extracting
-E.g. Metal ore mines
Give disadvantages of extracting finite resources and an examples
-Bad for the environment as it uses a lot of energy, scare landscape and produces lots of waste and destroys habitats
-E.g. metal ore mine
What is sustainable development
An approach to development that takes account of the needs of present society whilst not damaging the lives of future generations
Why is extracting resources unsustainable
The amount of energy used and waste produced
How is processing resources into useful material unsustainable and give examples
Things such as glass or bricks can be unsustainable as the processes often use energy made from finite resources
How should we reduce the use of finite resources and why
People need to use less resources as it reduces the use of the resource but also anything needed to produce it
What can chemists do rather than stop using finite resources all together
-Develop and adapt processes that use lower amounts of finite resources and reduce damage to the environment.
-E.g. Catalysts that reduce the amount of energy required for certain industrial processes
How can scientists improve copper’s sustainability
Extracting is from low grade ore (ores without much copper in)
Outline bioleaching
-Bacteria are used to convert copper compounds in the ore into soluble copper compounds. separating out the copper from the ore in the process. The leachate (solution produced by the process) contains copper ions which can be extracted (e.g. by electrolysis or displacement with a more reactive metal like scrap iron).
Outline phytomining
Growing plants in soil that contains copper. The plants cant use or get rid of the copper so it gradually builds up in the leaves. The plant is then harvested, dried and burnt in a furnace and the ash contains soluble copper compounds from which copper can be extracted by electrolysis or displaced using scrap iron.
What is an advantage of methods used to extract copper from low grade copper ores
They have a much smaller impact on damaging the environment
What is a disadvantage of methods used to extract copper from low grade copper ores
They’re slow compared to the traditional methods
Give advantages of recycling metal
Uses much less energy than is needed to mine and extract new metal, it conserves the finite amount of each metal in the earth and cuts down on the amount of waste getting sent to landfill
How are metals usually recycled
By melting them and casting them into the shape of a new product
What happens to metals after being recycled
-Some have to be seperated
-However some don’t such as waste steel and iron can be kept together as they can both be added to iron in a blast furnace to reduce the amount of iron ore required
How does glass recycling help sustainability
By reducing the amount of energy needed to make new glass products, and also the amount of waste created when used glass is thrown away
How is glass recycled
-Glass bottles can often be reused without reshaping
-Other forms of glass can’t be reused so they’re recycled instead and usually glass is separated by colour and chemical composition before being recycled
-The glass is crushed and then melted to be reshaped for use in glass products such as bottles of jars and it might also be used for a different purpose such as insulating glass wool for wall insulation in homes
What is potable water
Water that is safe for human consumption and daily use
What is the difference between pure water and potable water
-Pure water is made up of only H2O molecules
-Potable water may contain different substances usually dissolves minerals and salts
What characteristics do potable water have
-pH between 6.5 and 8.5
-The dissolved substances will be present in very small regulated quantities
-Free of bacteria and other harmful mcirobes
What is desalination and where is it used
-Taking salt out of water
-In LICs or places with less salt water
What are the two methods for desalination
-Reverse osmosis
-Distillation
What is distillation
Heat a mixture of salt and water so the water component evaporates and a precipitate is left behind and the vapour is then condensed in a cold condensing tube
Difference between evaporation and boiling
-Boiling is at a specific point
-Evaporation is over a range of temperatures
Why does domestic and agricultural sewage need to be processed
-To remove organic matter, harmful microbes, particulates and toxins
-If this didn’t take place it could potentially pose health risks for the population
What is the first stage of the life cycle assessments
Getting raw materials - Extracting raw materials needed for a production can damage the local environment (e.g. mining metals as extraction can result in pollution due to the amount of energy needed
-Raw materials often need to be processed to extract the desired materials and this often needs large amounts of energy. E.g. extracting metals from ores or fractional distillation of crude oil
Outline the second stage of Life Cycle Assessments
-Manufacturing and Packaging - This can use a lot of energy resources and cause pollution (e.g. harmful fumes like carbon monoxide or hydrogen chloride)
-Also there are waste products produced by chemical reactions used to make compounds from their raw materials , however some waste can be turned into useful chemicals lessening potential pollution on the environemtn
Outline the third stage of Life Cycle Assessments
-Using the Products - The use of a product can damage the environment like burning fuels which release greenhouse gases and other harmful substances. Fertilisers can leach into streams and rivers causing damage to ecosystems
-How long or how many uses of a product is a factor as products that need lots of energy to produce but are used for ages mean less waste in the long run
Outline the fourth stage of Life Cycle Assessmenrs
-Product Disposal - Products are often disposed of in landfill sites. This takes up space and polluted land and water (e.g. if paint washes off a product and gets into rivers)
-Energy is used to transport waste to landfill, which causes pollutants to be released into the atmosphere
-Products might be incinerated which causes air pollution
Outline the first stage of a LCA of plastic bags
Raw materials- Crude oil
Outline the second stage of a LCA of plastic bags
-Compounds needed to make the plastic are extracted from crude oil by fractional distillation followed by cracking and then polymerisation. Waste is reduced as the other fractions of crude oil have other uses
Outline the third stage of a LCA of plastic bags
Using the product - Can be reused and used for other things as well as shopping like bin liners
Outline the fourth stage of a LCA of plastic bags
Product disposal - Recyclable but not biodegradable and will take up space in landfill and produce land
Outline the first stage of a LCA of a paper bag
Raw materials - Timber