This question is about materials used to make food packaging containers.
Polystyrene trays can be recycled or sent to incineration where they undergo combustion to release carbon dioxide.
Which stage of a life cycle assessment (LCA) would contain this information?
Propene is the monomer used to produce poly(propene). Propene is obtained from crude oil.
Which two processes are used to produce propene from crude oil?
Table 1 shows the effect of heating on two different polymers.
Table 1
| Polymer | Effect of heating |
|---|---|
| Polymer X | Softens and melts when heated |
| Polymer Y | Does not melt or change shape when heated |
What type of polymer is Polymer Y?
Why does Polymer Y behave differently to Polymer X when heated? You should refer to crosslinks in your answer.
9 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Chemistry 10.2 Life cycle assessment and recycling, covering 10.2.1 Life cycle assessment and 10.2.2 Ways of reducing the use of resources. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.