Reuse and Recycling Flashcards
Copper rich ores are in short supply so what is a way to extract it sustainability
extract low grade ores
bioleaching
phytomining
These process are better for the environment but are really slow
What is bioleaching
Bacteria are used to convert copper compounds in the ore into soluble copper compounds , separating out the copper from the ore in the process.
The leachate(solution produced by process) contains copper ions , which can be extracted e.g electrolysis or displacement with more reactive metal
What is Phyto mining
This involves growing plants in soil that contains copper . Plants cant use or get rid of copper so it gradually builds up in 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 ion
Why does mining and extracting metals take so much energy
burning fossil fuels
Why is recycling metals good
Recycling metals uses much less energy than is needed to mine and extract new metals, conserves finite amount of metal in earth and cuts down on amount of waste going to landfill
How are metals recycled
Normally by melting them and casting them into a new shape of new product
Depending which metal is used for after recycling , the amount of separation needed for recyclable metals to change
e.g Waste steel and iron can be kept together as they can be both added to iron in a blast furnace to reduce amount of iron ore required
Glass can be recycled how
Glass bottles can be reused without reshaping
Other forms of glass cant be reused so there recycled. Usually the glass is separated by colour and chemical composition before being recycled
Glass is crushed then melted to be reshaped for yes in glass products such as bottles or jars. Might be used for different purpose like insulating glass wall for wall insulation
