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1. Please determine the functional unit and reference flow of following samples

ID: 294848 • Letter: 1

Question

1. Please determine the functional unit and reference flow of following samples for practice. Write down the functional unit for comparison and the reference flows for the following:

Paper cup vs. plastic cup

Rechargeable vs. disposable batteries

Laptop vs. tablet vs. desktop computer

Soybean oil extraction using hexane vs. supercritical CO2

Bar soap made from tallow vs. a liquid hand soap made from synthetic ingredients

Environmental footprint of a college student/professor

Greenhouse gas emission reduction target for a new plug-in hybrid being developed

Beef vs. chicken

Explanation / Answer

1. Paper cups are biodegradable as they are made up of paper or a cardboard while plastic cups are made up of plastic and are non biodegradable I, e they could not be decomposed by the action of micro - organisms. Paper cups take 1-3 months for its decomposition while plastic cups take 90 years for its decomposition. Papercups are renewable while plastic cups are now renewable.

-rechargeable vs disposable batteries - rechargeable batteries are lithium ion which is found in laptops and smartphones, they use lithium cobalt oxide as cathode and carbon as anode while disposal batteries are all alkaline batteries, anode is a zinc power and cathode is a magnesium oxide.

Laptop vs tablet vs desktop computers - laptops are light in weight and look like a book they consist of a camera, microphone and CD player. Tablet is quite smaller than laptops they are not designed for multitasking and graphic design they are good for browsing the Internet. Desktop are permanently set up at a desk,they consist of a monitor, keyboard and a mouse. They are bigger than a laptop they are often called working set.

*soybean oil extraction using hexane vs supercritical carbon dioxide - soybean oil is extracted by Soxhlet process using hexane, a toxic and flammable product there an alternative method of extraction is used called supercritical carbon dioxide which is cheap and non flammable solvent.

* bar shop made from tallow vs a liquid hand soap made from synthetic ingredients - bar shop made of tallow are the animal fat and have lather stability and hardness to soap. Liquid soaps are made up of potassium hydroxide. It is used in individual pumps to cleanse and hydrate the skin.

*beef vs chicken- beef are the red meat and it takes upto 24-72 hours to digest depending upon the digestive tracks. While chicken takes 6-8 hours to pass through the stomach and digest in small intestine.