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A level Chemistry > Unit 2.3 - The wider impact of chemistry > Flashcards

Unit 2.3 - The wider impact of chemistry Flashcards

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1
Q

What’s good about the chemical industry and obtaining materials for chemical processes?

A

Major sources of employment - towns have grown up around such centres

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2
Q

Where are industries usually sited?

A

Near sources of raw materials

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3
Q

Raw material sources that industries are often sited near

A

Iron
Ore
Coal
Water
Good transport

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4
Q

What’s it important for industries near sources of raw industries to provide?

A

A healthy and safe environment for workers and their families living near factories

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5
Q

Economic requirements of chemical industries

A

Safety
Good quality products
Efficiency
Well-paid and fulfilled workforce

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6
Q

What’s a major issue in the chemical industry and inn all aspects of modern life?

A

Energy

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7
Q

What’s the problem with our current energy supplies?

A

Finite and non-renewable resources of fossil fuels

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8
Q

Fossil fuels examples

A

Coal
Oil
Gas

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9
Q

Why are energy requirements increasing?

A

The population is expanding
Energy requirements for industry, transport, electricity generation, domestic heating…

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10
Q

Name the main sources of energy

A

Non-renewable
Renewable
Solar
Nuclear
Geothermal
Combustion or bacterial digestion of biomass

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11
Q

Sources of renewable energy

A

Wind
Water

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12
Q

Examples of biomass used for their combustion or bacterial digestion to produce energy

A

Animal wastes
Wood
Sugarcane

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13
Q

Why would hydrogen be a good fuel?

A

Only product of burning it is water

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14
Q

What is spoken about to be the “future fuel?”

A

Hydrogen

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15
Q

What’s the problem with hydrogen as a fuel?

A

Doesn’t exist naturally on Earth
Prepared via electrolysis - requires energy

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16
Q

What do fossil and biomass fuels derive from?

A

Energy acting on plants and microorganisms for millions of years (compressed dead plants and organisms)

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17
Q

How are fossil fuels obtained?

A

Mining
Drilling
Tar sands
Fracking

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18
Q

Will fossil fuels last forever? Why?

A

No, as they’re being obtained approximately 100x their formation rate

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19
Q

Essential process in an equation of using fossil fuels

A

CH2O + O —> CO2 + H2O
<—

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20
Q

Name an industrial process that releases huge amount of CO2 into the atmosphere

A

Making concrete

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21
Q

What does combustion do to the atmosphere?

A

Contributes huge amount of CO2

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22
Q

What’s happened in the last 100 years in terms of CO2?

A

The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased from 300ppm to 400ppm

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23
Q

Carbon neutrality

A

When CO2 released is taken back in by plants
The net effect is zero CO2

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24
Q

What are some things we can do to obtain carbon neutrality?

A

Replant trees + sugarcanes to match those burnt so that the CO2 consumed via photosynthesis equals or exceeds that generated during combustion

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25
Q

What’s good about nuclear power?

A

No CO2

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26
Q

What IS nuclear power?

A

Neutron-aided fission of uranium

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27
Q

How much mass is converted using nuclear power and through which equation?

A

Less then 14% using E = mc^2

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28
Q

What are the drawbacks of nuclear power?

A

Radioactive emissions (plutonium is a byproduct - 1 atom can kill you, it’s the most toxic material on earth)
Safe disposal of radioactive wastes

29
Q

What’s the byproduct of nuclear power and what’s the issue with this?

A

Plutonium
The mos toxic material on earth - 1 atom can kill you

30
Q

What is, on paper, a better method than nuclear power?

A

Fusion of hydrogen to form helium (as in the sun)

31
Q

Why is the fusion of hydrogen to form helium technically a better form of energy production than nuclear power?

A

Higher % of mass into energy
Fewer radioactive problems

32
Q

Do we fuse hydrogen to form helium to form energy?

A

No, technical issues have occurred

33
Q

What is solar power based on?

A

Silicon or gallium arsenide semiconductor

34
Q

What form of energy production is rapidly growing in use?

A

Solar power

35
Q

What’s the UK average of energy produced by solar panels?

A

0.5kW per square metre

36
Q

What is one of the main aims of green chemistry?

A

Use less energy in industrial processes

37
Q

How can we use less energy in industrial processes?

A

Use lower temperatures and use catalysts

38
Q

List some green principles for making chemicals and product with as little environmental impact as possible

A

High atom economy
Design for biodegradation
Use renewable raw materials
Saving energy + increase efficiency
Prevent pollution + accidents
Use catalysts
Avoid toxic materials and solvents
Prevent waste

39
Q

What’s the best atom economy possible and why is it important?

A

100%
So that a high % of the mass of reactant ends up in the product (little waste)

40
Q

Renewable raw materials examples

A

Plant-based compounds

41
Q

How can we get our energy in more sustainable ways?

A

Get it from renewable sources

42
Q

Renewable energy sources

A

Biomass
Solar
Wind
Water

43
Q

How can we save energy?

A

Use as little as possible

44
Q

What are traditionally used as catalysts?

A

Transition metals

45
Q

What should we be developing in terms of catalysts?

A

Better catalysts and biocatalysts (e.g - enzymes)

46
Q

Why is the use of catalysts an important green principle?

A

Carry out reactions at lower temperatures and pressures
Save energy and avoid high pressure plants

47
Q

What should we ensure when reactions take place as a green principle?

A

That no undesirable co-products of by-products are released into the environment

48
Q

What’s the issue with diesel engines?

A

They liberate toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere

49
Q

What toxic materials should we ensure to avoid?

A

Solvents

50
Q

What solvents should we b avoidingin particular?

A

Volatile organic compounds (VOC)
(Very environmentally damaging)

51
Q

Why does climate data tend to be less reliable if it’s older?

A

fewer records
less accurate instruments
temperatures probably used to be estimates

52
Q

How do you calculate the energy released per gram when something is combusted?

A

Mr

53
Q

What is an indicator of a fuel being better than another?

A

producing more energy per gram

54
Q

If something produced more energy per gram upon combustion than another material, what does this indicate?

A

it’s a better fuel

55
Q

What should we do with CO2 if it’s unavoidable to have it as a by-product of a reaction?

A

find a use for it/find a way to store it

56
Q

Which reactions have atom economies of 100%?

A

ones that have only the desired product as the product of the reaction

57
Q

What’s the atom economy of a reaction if the only product we have is the thing we want?

A

100%

58
Q

Why are polymers difficult to dispose of?

A

don’t biodegrade
microorganisms cannot break them down
last in landfill sites for many years

59
Q

Name a type of material that’s difficult to dispose of and explain why

A

polymers
they don’t biodegrade

60
Q

Why don’t polymers biodegrade? What does this lead to?

A

Microorganisms cannot break them down
They last in landfill sites for many years

61
Q

Define atom economy

A

The amount of starting materials that become useful products

62
Q

What does a chemical plant do?

A

Manufactures chemicals on a large scale

63
Q

Why is having a high atom economy in a reaction important?

A

Less waste

64
Q

Write an equation for the complete combustion of coal

A

C (s) + O2 (g) —> CO2 (g)

65
Q

What are some environmental issues associated with using power stations? Explain the effects of these

A

Acid rain - damages trees and buildings made from rocks like limestone
Global warming - climate change = rising sea levels and ice caps melting

66
Q

How do we determine the most environmentally friendly fuel?

A

Releases the least amount of CO2 per mole of fuel burnt

67
Q

Why should sulphur compounds be removed from fuels?

A

Sulphur combines with oxygen to form SO2
SO2 reacts with rain water to form acid rain

68
Q

Explain what is meant by a carbon neutral fuel

A

Fuel from renewable source
No net change in atmospheric CO2 levels
CO2 released is that absorbed through photosynthesis as the plant grew

69
Q

Where do carbon neutral fuels come from?

A

Renewable sources

A level Chemistry (39 decks)

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