Using Resources Flashcards
1
Q
Where do natural resources come from
A
- without human input
- they conclude anything that comes from the earth sea or air
2
Q
Risks of extracting finite resources
A
- many material are made from raw, finite resources
- people have to balance social, economic and environmental effects of extracting finite resources
- for example mini metal ores is good because it provides useful products and also provides people with jobs and brings money to the area. However, mining ores is bad for the environment as it uses loads of energy, scars the landscape and produces lots of waste that destroys habitats
3
Q
What is sustainable development
A
- a approach to development that takes account of the needs of present society while not damaging the lives of future generations
4
Q
What can we do instead of stopping using finite resources
A
- chemists can develop and adapt processes that use lower amounts of finite resources and reduce damage to the environment
- for example, chemists have developed catalysts that reduce the amount of energy required for certain industrial processes
5
Q
Bioleaching
A
- bacteria are used to convert copper compounds in the ore into soluble copper compounds, separating out the copper from the ore into soluble the process
- the leachate contains copper ions, which can be extracted by electrolysis or displacement with a more reactive metal
6
Q
Phytomining
A
- this involves growing plants in soil that contains copper
- the plants can’t use or get rid of the copper so it gradually builds up in the leaves
- the plants can be harvested, dried and burned in a furnace
- the ash contains soluble copper compounds from which copper can be extracted by electrolysis or displacement using scrap iron
7
Q
Why is recycling metals important
A
- uses less energy than mining ores extracting metals
- conserves the finite amount of each metal in the earth and cuts down on the amount of waste getting sent to landfill
8
Q
How are metals usually recycled
A
By melting and then casting them into the shape of the new product
9
Q
How does glass recycling help sustainability
A
Helps 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
10
Q
Glass recycling
A
- Glass bottles can often be reused without reshaping
- Other forms of glass can’t be reused so they’re recycled instead. Usually the glass is separated by colour and chemical composition before being recycled
11
Q
How is glass recycled
A
- the glass is crushed and then melted to be reshaped for use in glass products such as bottles or jars
- it might also be used for different purpose such as insulating glass wool for wall insulation in homes
12
Q
4 stages of life cycle assessment
A
- Getting raw materials
- Manufacture and packaging
- Using the product
- Product disposal
13
Q
Getting raw materials in life cycle assessment
A
- extracting raw materials needed for the product can damage the local environment
- extraction can also result in pollution due to the amount of energy needed
- raw materials often needed to be processed to extract the desired materials and this often needs large amount of energy
14
Q
Manufacture and packaging of life cycle assessment
A
- manufacturing products and their packaging can use a lot of energy resources and can also cause a lot of pollution
- you also need to think about any waste products and how to dispose of them
- the chemical reactions used to make compounds from their raw materials can produce waste products
- some waste can be turned into other useful chemicals, reducing the amount that ends up polluting the environment
15
Q
Use of product in life cycle assessment
A
- the use of product can damage the environment
- how long a product is used for or how many uses it gets is also a factor
- products that need lots of energy to produce but are used for ages mean less waste in the long run
16
Q
Product disposal in life cycle assessment
A
- products are often disposed of in landfill sites. This takes up space and pollutes land and water
- energy is used to transport waste to landfill, which abuses pollutants to be released into the atmosphere
- products might be incinerated which causes air pollution
17
Q
LCA of plastic bag
A
- Crude oil
- The 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
- Can be reused
- Recyclable but not biodegradable and will take up space in landfill ad pollute land
18
Q
LCA of a paper bag
A
- Timber
- Pulped timber is processed using lots of energy. Lots of waste is made
- Usually only used once
- Biodegradable, non-toxic and can be recycled
19
Q
Cons of LCA
A
- the effective of some pollutants is harder to give a numerical value
- so producing an LCA is not an objective method as it takes into account the values of the person caring out the assessment. This means the LCA can be biased
- selective LCAs, which only show some of the impacts of a product on the environment can also be biased as they can be written to deliberately support the claims of a company in order to given them positive advertising
20
Q
What is potable water
A
- water thats been treated or is naturally safe for humans to drink
- its no pure as its not JUST H2O molecule
21
Q
Filtration for potable water
A
A wire mesh screens out large twigs and then gravel and sand beds filter out any other solid bits
22
Q
Sterilisation for potable water
A
The water is sterilised to kill any harmful bacteria or microbes. This can be done by bubbling chlorine gas through it by using ozone or ultraviolet light
23
Q
How is fresh water produced
A
- rainwater is a type of fresh water
- when it rains, water can either collect as surface water or as groundwater
- even though it has low levels of dissolved substances the freshwater still needs to be treated
24
Q
What is fresh water
A
Water that doesn’t have much dissolved in it
25
What is surface water
Water in lakes rivers and reservoirs
26
What is groundwater
Water in rocks called aquifers that trap water underground
27
Test and purification of water experiment using distillation (desalination for water in hot countries)
1. Test ph of water using a ph meter. If the ph is too high or low, it needs to be neutralised until ph is 7
2. Set up distillation equipment
3. As water in flask heats up, it’ll evaporate and will enter the condenser as steam
3. The drop in temperature inside the condenser, due to the cold water around it will cause the steam to condense back into liquid water
4. Collect the water running out of the condenser in a beaker
5. Retest the ph of the water with a ph meter to check its natural
6. You can tell whether there were salts in your initial sample by looking to see whether there are any crystals in the round bottomed flask once the waters been distilled
28
Reverse osmosis process to treat seawater
- the salty water is passed through a membrane that only allows water molecules to pass through
- ions and larger molecules are trapped by the membrane so separated from the water
29
Why are distillation and reverse osmosis ineffective
- need loads of energy
- really expensive
- not practical for producing large quantities of fresh water
30
Sewage treatment
1. Screening: removes any large bits of material as well as any grit
2. Sedimentation: goes into settlement tank. The heavier suspended solids sink to the bottom to produce sludge while the lighter effluent floats on the top
3. Aerobic digestion: air is pumped through the water to encourage aerobic bacteria to break down any organic matter including other microbes in the water
4. Anaerobic digestion: the sludge at the bottom of the settlement tank also moves to large tanks and gets broken down by bacteria
5. When the organic material is broken down it releases methane which is used as an energy source and the remaining digested waste can be used as fertiliser
6. For water containing toxic substances, additional stages of treatment may involve adding chemicals, UV radiation or using membranes
31
Different sources of waste water
- at home
- agricultural systems
Industrial processes
32
Waste water from home
- when you flush the water down the drain, it goes into the sewers towards sewage treatment plans
33
Waste water from agricultural systems
- produces lots of waste water including nutrient runoff from fields and slurry from animal farms
- it has to be treated to remove any organic matter or harmful microbes
34
Waste water from industrial processes
- produce a lot of waste water that has to be collected and treated
- also has harmful chemicals so it has to undergo additional stages of treatment before it safe to be released back into the environment
