Using Resources Flashcards
why do we use resources?
they provide food, shelter, warmth and transport
finite vs natural resources
- natural resources supplemented by agriculture=provide food,
timber, clothing and fuels - finite resources
from the Earth, oceans and atmosphere=processed to provide energy and materials
pure vs potable water
pure water only contains H2O molecules
potable water is safe to drink and contains low levels of dissolved salts
how is potable water made?
- choosing a fresh water source
- passing water through filter beds=removes large solids
- sterilising with chlorine, UV, ozone to get rid of any microbes
how is potable water made without freshwater?
desalination through distillation or reverse osmosis (any process using membranes) which require energy=expensive
required practical: water purification
- Use universal indicator to test the pH of 10 ml rainwater, spring water, sea water
- Measure and record the mass of an empty evaporating basin.
- Pour 10 cm3 of rainwater into the evaporating basin and evaporate the water using a bunsen burner
- let the basin cool and reweigh and record the change in mass
- Calculate the mass of dissolved solids in the water
OR
- Place the water sample in a conical flask and set up the apparatus for distillation.
- Heat the water gently using a bunsen burner until it boils. Then reduce the heat so the
water boils gently. - Collect around 1 cm depth of water in the cooled test tube, then stop turn the bunsen burner off
- Analyse the water you have distilled with cobalt chloride paper.
where does waste water come from?
- urban lifestyles eg. going to the toilet
- industrial processes eg. haber process
- sewage from domestic/agricultural sources
- agricultural waste
how is waste water treated?
Sewage treatment includes:
* screening and grit removal
* sedimentation to produce sewage sludge (suspended sediments) and effluent
* sludge rest at the bottom and effluent floats at the top
* anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge= CH4 released used as energy & rest of digested waste used as fertiliser
* aerobic biological treatment of effluent=bacteria break down organic matter
- waste water with toxic substances needs more steps to be treated eg. adding chemicals to precipitate metals, UV or using membranes
why do we need different ways of obtaining metals?
- Copper ores are becoming scarce and new ways of extracting
copper from low-grade ores include phytomining, and bioleaching - These methods avoid traditional mining methods of digging, moving
and disposing of large amounts of rock.
what are other ways of extracting metals?
phytomining
- plants to absorb metal compounds
- plants are harvested and then burned to produce ash that contains metal compounds
bioleaching
- bacteria to produce leachate solutions (acid+metal solutions) that contain metal compounds.
- metal compounds can be processed to obtain the metal eg. copper can be obtained from solutions of copper
compounds by displacement using scrap iron or by electrolysis.
what is a life cycle assessment (LCA)?
they assess the environmental impact of products in each of these stages:
* 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.
problems with LCAs
- use of water, resources, energy sources and production of some
wastes can be fairly easily quantified - allocating numerical values to
pollutant effects is less straightforward and requires value judgements=LCA is not purely objective - selective or abbreviated LCAs can be devised to evaluate a product but these can be misused to reach pre-determined conclusions, eg
in support of claims for advertising purposes.
how can the use of resources be reduced?
- glass bottles can be reused
Glass bottles=crushed and melted to make different glass products - metals can be recycled by melting and recasting or reforming into different products
- amount of separation required for recycling depends on the material and the properties required of the final
product eg. scrap steel can be added to iron from a blast furnace to reduce the amount of iron that needs to be extracted from iron ore
benefits of recycling metals
- saves finite metal
- less energy
- less waste in landfill
what is corrosion?
destruction of materials by chemical reactions with
substances in the environment