Sorting and processing municipal electronic waste (e-waste) helps to manage precious resources and reduce toxic pollution.
Look at the table showing the composition of metallic components in municipal e-waste and the percentage of each material that is currently recovered:
| Material Type | Percentage in municipal e-waste | Percentage currently recovered |
|---|---|---|
| Copper (Cu) | 26 | 21 |
| Aluminium (Al) | 16 | 28 |
| Cobalt (Co) | 6 | 3 |
| Lead (Pb) | 18 | 12 |
| Nickel (Ni) | 21 | 9 |
| Neodymium (Nd) | 13 | 5 |
Which material type is present in the greatest percentage in municipal e-waste?
Which material type is recovered in the smallest percentage?
Pyrometallurgical recovery is a chemical process that uses heat to melt and separate metals. One condition needed is a high temperature. Write down one other common condition or substance used to speed up this chemical process.
Increasing e-waste recovery is highly beneficial. Explain why improving the recovery rate of Copper (Cu) and Nickel (Ni) would have a major impact. Use information from the table in your answer.
In 2012, a major e-waste recycling facility processed 2,900,000 tonnes of electronic waste. By 2024, this had increased to 7,600,000 tonnes of electronic waste.
Calculate the percentage increase in the amount of electronic waste processed from 2012 to 2024.
Use the formula:
percentage increase=increaseoriginal×100 \text{percentage increase} = \frac{\text{increase}}{\text{original}} \times 100 percentage increase=originalincrease×100Give your answer to 2 decimal places.
81 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Chemistry Improving processes and products. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.