The Microwave Oven's Effects on Natural Resources and the Environment
Microwave Oven
Effects on Natural resources & on environment : -
Natural resources -> factories ->market ->consumers Microwave is mainly made up of 3 things :- Stainless steel, Glass & Plastic
Lets see how these three components affect environment in the above chain :- 1) Stainless steel – Although stainless steel is 100% recyclable, mining causes problems like – Soil and water pollution, top soil removal, displacement of locals, etc
2) Glass – glass also 100% recyclable but causes problems like- High energy consumption for melting, pollutants like SO2, CO2,NOx are emittet, high transport emission due to heavy weight, soda ash & limestone for glass production are mined and hence cause similar problems as discussed above 3) Plastic – environmental effects of plastic are wellknown like – Petroleum depletion, non-biodegradable, major component of ocean debris, less than 1% recycled, soil & water pollution, etc
Now lets calculate the total CO2 emission due to microwave in its life span - 1) CO2 emission due to electricity use – 8 years is average life span of microwave, lets assume it is used at average 30 mins/day for 365 days of a year, microwave uses 2400 kw-h energy per hour & 0.527 kg of CO2 is emitted per kwh of electricity consumed Hence CO2 emissions = (8*365*0.5*2400*.527)kg =1847 tones 2) CO2 emission during production of microwave –
Avg wt of microwave = 15 kg
Lets say 10 kg is stainless steel, 4.5 kg is glass & .5 kg is plastic
CO2 emissions of steel, glass & plastic production = 3.81, 2, 3.17 kg/kg
CO2 emissions = (10* 3.81 +4.5*2 +.5*3.17) = 48.38 kg
Hence CO2 emissions during production is negligible as compared to electricity use over a life time 3) We also need to consider CO2 emission due to transportation, etc means but for the calculation purpose I have not considered it.
Hence total CO2 emitted = 1487 tones
Effects on Natural resources & on environment : -
Natural resources -> factories ->market ->consumers Microwave is mainly made up of 3 things :- Stainless steel, Glass & Plastic
Lets see how these three components affect environment in the above chain :- 1) Stainless steel – Although stainless steel is 100% recyclable, mining causes problems like – Soil and water pollution, top soil removal, displacement of locals, etc
2) Glass – glass also 100% recyclable but causes problems like- High energy consumption for melting, pollutants like SO2, CO2,NOx are emittet, high transport emission due to heavy weight, soda ash & limestone for glass production are mined and hence cause similar problems as discussed above 3) Plastic – environmental effects of plastic are wellknown like – Petroleum depletion, non-biodegradable, major component of ocean debris, less than 1% recycled, soil & water pollution, etc
Now lets calculate the total CO2 emission due to microwave in its life span - 1) CO2 emission due to electricity use – 8 years is average life span of microwave, lets assume it is used at average 30 mins/day for 365 days of a year, microwave uses 2400 kw-h energy per hour & 0.527 kg of CO2 is emitted per kwh of electricity consumed Hence CO2 emissions = (8*365*0.5*2400*.527)kg =1847 tones 2) CO2 emission during production of microwave –
Avg wt of microwave = 15 kg
Lets say 10 kg is stainless steel, 4.5 kg is glass & .5 kg is plastic
CO2 emissions of steel, glass & plastic production = 3.81, 2, 3.17 kg/kg
CO2 emissions = (10* 3.81 +4.5*2 +.5*3.17) = 48.38 kg
Hence CO2 emissions during production is negligible as compared to electricity use over a life time 3) We also need to consider CO2 emission due to transportation, etc means but for the calculation purpose I have not considered it.
Hence total CO2 emitted = 1487 tones
Links: or Sources 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven 2. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_lantern/2009/03/are_microwave_ovens_good_for_the_environment.html 3. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070531164211AAxbj4a 4. https://sites.google.com/site/practiceenglishfamily/assignments/essay-microwaveovensandfastfood-timesavingandbenefits 5. google.com to find out the CO2 emission per kg of steel, glass, etc