using resources Flashcards
what do humans use the earth’s resources for and where are these produced from
- warmth
- shelter
- food
- transport
in many cases, these resources are produced by agriculture (farming)
what do we do with finite resources from the earth, oceans and atmosphere
we process them to provide energy and materials
what do natural resources supplemented by agriculture provide
- food
- timber
- clothing
- fuels
how does chemistry play an important role in the effective utilisation of our resources - give examples
it improves agricultural and industrial processes to provide new products and in sustainable development
e.g.,
- artificial fertilisers allow us to grow more food with the land available
- provides us with water that is safe to drink
- bioleaching that helps us to extract metals more efficiently
define sustainable development
development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
give an example of a natural product supplemented/replaced by agricultural and synthetic products
natural rubber that originally comes from the sap of a tree, but we can make synthetic rubber using crude oil
define finite resource - give examples
resources that cannot be replaced as quickly as they are being used, meaning they’ll eventually run out e.g., fossil fuels, metals
define renewable resource - give an example
resources that can be replaced as quickly as they are being used, meaning they’ll never run out e.g., wood
what does agriculture do for us? give an example to support
agriculture helps us to use the earth’s resources more efficiently.
- cotton produced from a plant; modern agriculture allows us to grow enough cotton to meet the needs of the world.
define potable water
water that is safe to drink
what is the confusion surrounding potable water
it is NOT pure water in the chemical sense, because it contains a small amount of dissolved substances, unlike pure water which doesn’t contain any
property of drinking water for humans
it should have sufficiently low levels of dissolved salts (e.g., sodium chloride) and low levels of microbes (e.g., bacteria)
what do the methods used to produce potable water depend on
- available supplies of water
- local conditions
how do we get water in the UK
rain provides water with low levels of dissolved substances that collects in the ground and in lakes and rivers
define fresh water
water with low levels of dissolved substances
how is most potable water produced
- an appropriate source of fresh water is chosen
- water is passed through filter beds to remove materials like twigs and leaves
- water is sterilised to kill harmful microbes (chlorine used in the UK)
name 3 sterilising agents used for potable water
- chlorine
- ozone
- ultraviolet light
why do we not need to remove substances in fresh water other than filtering
it already contains low levels of dissolved substances which is the property of potable water, so we don’t need to remove these, unlike waste water which contains organic compounds that need to be broken down
what happens if supplies of fresh water are limited
desalination of salty water or sea water may be required
how do you make salty water or sea water potable
by desalinating the water, either by:
- distillation
- processes that use membranes such as reverse osmosis
what does distillation involve
heating water until it evaporates and then condensing it again - works because salt has a much higher boiling point than water
what does reverse osmosis involve
passing water through partially permeable membranes which only allow water molecules to pass through, leaving the dissolved salts
evaluate the use of the desalination methods
ADVANTAGES:
- they reduce the levels of dissolved minerals
DISADVANTAGES:
- very expensive as they require large amounts of energy
(energy used for heating water in distillation)
(energy used for high pressures in reverse osmosis)
what do urban lifestyles and industrial processes produce large amounts of
waste water that requires treatment before being released into the environment
what do sewage and agricultural waste water require the removal of
- organic matter
- harmful microbes
what may industrial waste water require the removal of
- organic matter
- harmful chemicals
examples of waste water
- sewage waste water
- agricultural waste water
- industrial waste water
steps for treating sewage
- it’s screened by passing it through a wire mesh, removing material like twigs and grit
- undergoes sedimentation where sewage sludge and a liquid effluent are produced
- sewage sludge is taken away and digested by anaerobic bacteria which produce biogas (methane) that can be combusted for electricity. the material remaining after anaerobic digestion can be used as fertilisers for farming
- liquid effluent contains large amounts of organic molecules and harmful microbes that need to be reduced before release into environment. air is bubbled through the effluent, allowing aerobic bacteria to multiply and digest the harmful microbes and break down organic molecules in the presence of oxygen
- effluent can then be safely discharged into the environment (e.g., nearby rivers or the sea)
comment on the relative ease of obtaining potable water from waste water
(not done in the UK)
very hard as it requires lots of steps of treatment and purification. only done in places where water is scarce
comment on the relative ease of obtaining potable water from ground water
the easiest method, as it contains the lowest levels of dissolved substances so takes less stages to treat - once treated with chlorine, it is safe to drink.
however, water from aquifers must be tested carefully for pollution from fertilisers in farms
comment on the relative ease of obtaining potable water from salt water
difficult as it needs to be desalinated which requires a large amount of energy, making it an expensive method
uses of water
- personal hygiene e.g., showers, baths
- flushing toilets
- agriculture
- washing clothes
- drinking
what is happening to copper ores
they’re becoming scarce because they are finite resources, so we have to extract copper from low-grade ores, as there are very few high-grade ores left
how and why do we obtain copper
by mining copper ores - we need it because it is used in electronic equipment due to its ductility
define a metal ore
a rock containing enough metal to make it economical (cost-effective) to extract the metal
what are low-grade ores
rocks containing a very small amount of copper; this means it’s harder to economically extract pure copper from a low-grade ore
methods of extracting copper from low-grade ores
- phytomining
- bioleaching
what do methods of extracting copper from low-grade ores avoid
phytomining and bioleaching avoid traditional mining methods of digging, moving and disposing of large amounts of rock
how does phytomining work
- grow plants on land that contains the desired metal compound
- plant absorbs the metal compound from the low-grade ore
- metal accumulates and concentrates in plant tissue
- plants harvested and burned to produce ash that contains high concentrations of the metal compound
how does bioleaching work
- uses bacteria to extract metal compounds from low-grade ores
- bacteria is mixed with the low-grade ore
- bacteria carry out chemical reactions, producing leachate solutions
- these solutions contain the desired metal compound, which is dissolved in the solution
what happens after bioleaching and phytomining
the metal compounds need to be processed to obtain the pure metal from the compound - we can do this using displacement or electrolysis
evaluate displacement and electrolysis to extract pure metals from their compounds
DISPLACEMENT:
- cheap because uses scrap iron to displace (ADV)
- only works for metals less reactive than iron e.g., copper (DISADV)
ELECTROLYSIS:
- works for metals more reactive than iron (ADV)
- expensive as it uses large amounts of energy (DISADV)
advantages of low-grade ore extraction methods
P&B = Phytomining and bioleaching
- P&B allow us to economically extract metals from low grade ores; important because earth’s resources of metal ores are limited
- don’t involve traditional mining practices like digging, transporting and disposal of large amounts of rock which destroys habitats and requires utilisation of fossil fuels which contribute to climate change
disadvantages of low-grade ore extraction methods
- they take a long time e.g., phytomining takes ages for plants to absorb copper and grow
what does a life cycle assessment (LCA) do
it assesses the environmental impact of products over their life time
state the 4 main stages of LCAs
- 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
discuss extracting and processing raw materials (stage 1 of LCAs)
many modern products contain plastics and metals like copper
- plastics made from crude oil undergoes many processes (extraction, transportation, separation, cracking, polymerisation, etc.) to produce plastics.
- all of these processes require large amounts of energy from combustion of fossil fuels; contributes to climate change
- extraction of metals requires large amounts of energy because they must be mined and transported for processing.
- electrolysis and purification of the ore also requires lots of energy and can produce lots of toxic waste products - same with fractional distillation
extracting often also damages local environment, e.g., obtaining wood needed for paper or mining for metals
discuss manufacturing and packaging (stage 2 of LCAs)
- requires large amounts of energy
- may release harmful waste products like pollutants e.g., carbon monoxide or hydrogen chloride