Life Cycle Analysis & Recycling (AQA GCSE Chemistry: Combined Science)

Throwaway or disposable cups are made from either polystyrene or coated paper.

Relevant information on the life cycle assessments (LCA’s) of disposable cups is shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1

Evaluate the use of polystyrene compared with coated paper to make disposable cups.

Use the table above and your knowledge and understanding of LCAs to support your answer.

A company is considering using glass cups instead of disposable cups. 

State two disadvantages of using glass cups.

Coffee cups are usually made from ceramic, glass, paper, plastic or metal.

Some of these materials are recyclable. In a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) where would this information be given?

Which material for making coffee cups would be considered recyclable and biodegradable?

The life cycle of a typical car body is shown in Figure 2.

Explain the benefits of the reduction by consumers of iron containing products.

Figure 2

Iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) is present in most ores of iron.

Complete and balance the equation for a reaction to produce iron from iron oxide.

_____ Fe₂O₃     +     _____ C     →     ___________     +     _____ CO₂

Iron produced in a blast furnace is converted into steel. 

Explain why in terms of sustainability.

 At the end of its useful life, a car body can be:

• reused
• recycled
• sent to a landfill

Give three reasons why a steel car body should be recycled rather than being sent to landfill.

Milk bottles can be made from glass or plastic.

Figure 3 shows the percentage of milk bottles made from glass between 1975 and 2010.

Show the percentage of milk bottles made from materials other than glass between 1975 and 2010 by plotting the points and drawing a line on Figure 3.

The table below gives information about milk bottles.

Evaluate the use and production of bottles made from HD poly(ethene) and soda-lime glass.

Use the information given and your knowledge and understanding to justify your choice of material for making the milk bottles.

When comparing the LCA of a plastic bag to a paper bag you can say that

What is true about single use paper plates?

What is the main reason mobile phones should be recycled?

The UK government has advised supermarkets to stop using plastic bags due to their environmental impact.

Most plastic bags are made from polythene. 

Table 2 below shows ways to deal with large numbers of waste shopping bags.

Table 2

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the methods used to treat waste shopping bags.

You should use the information in the table and your knowledge in your answer. 

Describe two disadvantages of using a life cycle analysis.

Aluminium is a very useful metal due to its low density and good electrical conductivity. It is also flexible and resistant to corrosion.

The main steps in the extraction of aluminium are shown in Figure 1.

Suggest the benefits of recycling aluminium, using the information in the flowchart help you.

Figure 1

Describe the process used to recycle metals.

Pure aluminium is rarely used for the construction of large objects. Small amounts of other metals are usually mixed with aluminium.

Explain why.

Plastic bags given out in supermarkets are made from poly(ethene).

Supermarkets began charging for plastic bags due to their manufacture releasing carbon dioxide and being made from resources that are non-renewable. 

Table 1 details methods of dealing with large numbers of used plastic bags. 

Table 1

Explain how carbon dioxide enhances the greenhouse effect.

Give your answer in terms of short and long wavelength radiation.

Poly(ethene is formed from the monomer ethene, shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Draw the repeating unit of poly(ethene).

Cups used for drinking can be made from different materials.

Table 1 shows information about paper and ceramic cups.

Table 1

Table 1 shows information about the energy required to manufacture a cup but does not give details of any other energy requirements during other stages of the life cycle.

Give two other pieces of information about the energy usage during the life cycle that would help to complete a life cycle assessment (LCA).

Use the information from Table 1 and your knowledge to evaluate the use of paper and ceramic as raw materials to make cups.

The information given in Table 1 did not provide any information about how much pollution is produced during any of the stages of the life cycle.

Allocating numerical values to indicate the pollutant effect of materials is not straightforward and requires a personal judgment.

What problems could this cause?

Read the newspaper article and answer the questions. 

Describe how the naphtha fraction is separated from crude oil by fractional distillation. 

The naphtha fraction contains hydrocarbons with the formula C₇H₁₆.

Write a balanced symbol equation for the cracking of C₁₆H₃₄ to produce C₇H₁₆ and propene, C₃H₆.

It has been claimed that milk bags will have less environmental impact than milk bottles.

Use information from the article and your own knowledge to make comparisons between milk bags and milk bottles.

Describe a test, including the result, to distinguish between C₇H₁₆ and the alkene, C₃H_6.

There are many different types of container that can be used for soft drinks containers.

Table 1 shows a life cycle assessment data, for glass bottles and aluminium cans, that is incorrect in two places.

Table 1

Identify the two errors in the life cycle assessment data and suggest suitable corrections.

Suggest two ways that recycling aluminium cans has a positive impact on their life cycle assessment.

A researcher looked at the life cycle assessment in Table 1 and suggested that the disposal section, in particular, was incomplete.

Suggest one piece of information that the disposal section of the life cycle assessment could contain.