Case Study of Environmental Effects

Case study of environmental effects
The manufacture of a motor car
A motor car is manufactured from many materials and many components. Each component is designed for a purpose and the materials selected for their particular characteristics.
body shell	steel (iron + manganese, phosphorous, silicon and carbon)
wheels	steel alloy
engine	iron, steel alloys, Al, Zn
exhaust system	iron/steel Pt in catalytic systems
battery	Pb sulphuric acid
electrical wiring	Cu Al
glass	silica from sand
plastics	derived from chemical industry (oil) used for headlining, seats,tyres, insulation

rubber	tyres
exterior	plastic base, china clay
tank	petrol
sump	oil
All of the raw materials have to be originally obtained from the Earth. The table gives some idea of the amount of each metal in the Earth's crust.

Element	Symbol	% Earth's Crust
Aluminium	Al	8.3
Iron	Fe	4.8
Titanium	Ti	0.53
Mangesium	Mn	0.1
Vanadium	V	0.012
Zinc	Zn	0.0081
Chromium	Cr	0.0077
Nickel	Ni	0.0061
Copper	Cu	0.005
Cobalt	Co	0.0018
Lead	Pb	0.0013
Uranium	U	0.00022
Tin	Sn	0.00016
Tungsten	W	0.00012
Molibdenum	M	0.00011
Antinomy	An	0.000045
Mercury	Hg	0.000008
Silver	Ag	0.0000065
Platinum	Pt	0.0000028
Gold	Au	0.00000035

To turn these materials into a car demands considerable amounts of energy, to mine, transport and refine the ores, to melt and shape them and to assemble them. In terms of abundance Al is more common than Fe but it is much more difficult to refine from the material mined from the earth. Manufacturing also involves labour and water. The water is often used to cool processes.

To manufacture a typical car requires about 35Giga Joules of energy, which is equivalent to burning about 1.2 tonnes of coal and which releases about 4.4 tonnes of CO₂. About 4 cubic metres of water are also needed to manufacture each car.

Apart from the environmental cost associated with the production of the car there are impacts that arise from its use and from the disposal of the car at the end of its life. The concept of such analysis is Life Cycle Assessment and should encompass the entire cradle to grave activities involved during the lifetime of this car.