Topic 10: Using Resources

What are natural resources used for?

To provide warmth, shelter, food, and transport.

To provide warmth, shelter, food, and transport.

Development that meets current needs without compromising future generations.

What is a renewable resource?

One that is quickly replenished and can be used again, e.g., wood (if replanted).

What is a finite resource?

A resource that will eventually run out, e.g., fossil fuels.

What is potable water?

Water that is safe to drink (low in salts and microbes, but not chemically pure).

How is potable water produced in the UK?

1. Select fresh water source

2. Filter to remove solids

3. Sterilise (e.g., with chlorine, ozone, or UV light)

How can seawater be made potable?

Through distillation or reverse osmosis – both are expensive.

What are the steps in wastewater treatment?

1. Screening

2. Sedimentation

3. Anaerobic digestion

4. Sterilisation

Why is seawater not usually used as a drinking source?

It requires expensive and energy-intensive desalination.

Why do we use alternative methods to extract copper?

Copper-rich ores are becoming scarce.

What is phytomining?

Using plants to absorb copper compounds, then burning the plants to collect the copper-containing ash.

What is bioleaching?

Using bacteria to produce solutions (leachate) containing metal compounds.

How is copper obtained from solutions?

By displacement using scrap iron or by electrolysis.

What is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?

A method for assessing the environmental impact of a product across all stages.

Name the four stages of an LCA.

1. Raw material extraction

2. Manufacturing and packaging

3. Use during lifetime

4. Disposal (including transport)

Why are LCAs not always objective?

Some impacts are difficult to quantify and may involve value judgments or be biased.

How can resource use be reduced?

By reducing, reusing, and recycling materials.

Why is recycling beneficial?

Saves energy, conserves resources, and reduces waste and environmental impact.

How is glass recycled?

It can be crushed, melted, and reshaped into new products.

How is metal recycled?

By melting and reforming it into new products – separation depends on the end use.