Life Cycle of a Compact Disc (DC)

Life Cycle of a Compact Disc (DC) purport CYCLE ANALYSIS OF A COMPACT DISCCDs have baffle an es displaceial item in everybodys action. Despite its simple structure, it allows you to listen hours of music, to view films on a p forge as well as to line a huge meter of information. For all these reasons, CDs role has increased in the hold few years. Thats way a compact record book is an primal matter of analysis in terms of life cycle and environmental stones throw.In this essay Ill diskuss the briny adverts on the life cycle of this product from its creation to the final stage of its life.MATERIALS ACQUISITIONCDs ar made of many a(prenominal) diametrical materials. The main of them are aluminium, polycarbonate, embellish, gold, dyes and some different materials such(prenominal) as water, glass, silver and nickel.Aluminum is the most abundant alloy in the Earths crust but the common aluminum is not economic sources of the metallic element. Thats why almost all metall ic aluminum is produced from ore bauxite. Smelting of the ore passs in different countries than the mining activity, so it involves its superman.Polycarbonate is a emblem of charge plate which is made from pure(a) ve unsexable oil and natural gas extracted from the Earth. Lacquer is made of acrylic, an different type of tractile. Gold is straight mined from the Earth. Dyes are chemicals made in laboratory, leave-takingly from petroleum products that come from the Earth.Mining is a key process at this point of the life cycle as it supposes the obtaining of the necessary blunt materials that go forth make up the CD. All mining process involves the single-valued function of machinery such as trucks and excavator. Those vehicles consume zipper and release CO2 emission to the atmosphere.In this stage, proposing any improvement is difficult as nowadays there is no other way of getting raw materials from Earths crust but by means of excavators.MATERIALS PROCESSINGMaterials acq uisition is not the previous step to the manufacturing process. roughly mined materials essential be processed before manufacturers laughingstock use them to make CDs.As I mentioned before, bauxite ore is processed into a substance called aluminium oxide by washing, crushing, dissolving, filtering, and harvesting the materials. Alumina is because turned into aluminum by dint of a process called smelting. Then the metal is shaped, rolled, or made into a cast. Regarding this material process, it has to be taken into method of accounting the fact that giganticr deposits of bauxite occur in sealed countries and its processing takes place in different points of the world. This implies transportation from one place to the other and its consequent CO2 emissions.To make plastics, rude oil is extracted from the ground and combined with natural gas and chemicals in a manufacturing or processing plant. In some cases, burning plastics as part of a process can release toxic fumes. More over, the manufacturing of plastic lots creates large quantities of chemical pollutants.In order to determine the carbon footprint due to all those material processes, we have to take into account the energy consumed in manufacturing and processing plant. Energy consumption is kept at a high up level as smelting and some chemical processes require a huge amount of energy to be accomplished.MANUFACTURING PROCESSThe manufacturing process of a CD is complex. An injection molding machine creates the core of the disc, a 1-millimeter dull piece of polycarbonate (plastic). Polycarbonate is melted and poured in a mold. Then, with the aid take out high pressure, a stamper embeds tiny indentations, or pits, with digital information into the plastic mold. Those indentations or pits testament be read by a laser when playing a CD. Therefore, it is an accurate process and it involves some specialized tools and machines.Then, the alleged(prenominal) process sputtering takes places. Through it , the metallizer machine coats the CDs with a thin metal reflective layer ( commonly aluminum). The playback laser reads the information off of the reflective aluminum surface.In order to protect the CD against scratching and corrosion, it receives a layer of lacquer as a protecting coating.Most CDs are covering printed with one to five different colors for a decorative label. imbue printing involves the use of many materials, including stencils, queegees, and inks.In the manufacturing process, a considerable amount of environmental aggressive products are used such as lacquer and inks.PACKAGINGCDs are packaged in clear or change plastic cases or cardboard boxes that are then covered with plastic shrink wrap. This packaging can be made from recycled or raw materials. For example, the plastic used can be from recycled bottles or from crude oil and natural gas extracted from the Earth and combined with chemicals.Manufacturing cardboard require gaffe trees down. This is an importan t and aggressive action against the environment and therefore, it has to be taken into account when evaluating the environmental cost of packaging CDs.TRANSPORTATION/DISTRIBUTIONThe transportation supposes a considerable contribution to carbon footprint. Once discs are packaged, they are sent to all parts in the world where they are distributed. Transportation by plane, truck, or rail requires the use of fossil fuels for energy, which contribute to climate change. Moreover, manufacturing plants usually are located in underdeveloped countries due to economic reasons whereas the main consumption of this product is registered in developed countries. This involves long transport distances and then important CO2 emissions.USEFUL LIFECDs are created with materials that are passing stable. If properly stored and handled, most discs will last for decades. Certain conditions, such as high humidity, or extended periods of high temperatures, rapid temperature changes, and exposure to certain types of light, can damage discs and shorten their useful life. Keeping discs out of ingest sunlight and away from heat and water will help them last longer.Following those easy instructions not only will assuage money, but it will also reduce the discs environmental impingements by preventing scratch off.From my point of view, this stage has an important meaning in terms of waste minimization. Our CDs consumption rate would decrease significantly if handling them properly. Making the useful life longer involves lessen all the process previous to the use, and so reducing the carbon footprint generated by the processing, manufacturing, transport process, etc.REUSE, RECYCLE OR DISPOSALIn order to reduce the discs environmental impacts, the disposal must be seen as the last option. Depending on their condition, discs can be reused or recycled instead of thrown away.ReuseA good way to backup discs out of the garbage is to reuse them. In this sense, one of the reasons why we get ri d of discs is scratches. Minor scratches can be repaired by rubbing a mild abrasive (such as toothpaste) on the non-label side of a disc in a circular motion from the center out. Also, some mercenary refinishers can inexpensively repair your CDs.Another main reason is that the disc is not longer wanted. Unwanted CDs or can be change to some stores, traded with friends, or donated to schools, libraries, or other organizations. Buying used CDs borrow them from the library can also help reduce the environmental impact associated with manufacturing new products.In my opinion this is the better alternative to disposal because unconnected recycle, reusing doesnt involve any manufacturing or smelting process. Therefore less energy will be consumed resulting in a lower carbon footprint.RecycleCDs can be recycled for use in new products. Specialized electronic recycle companies clean, grind, blend, and compound the discs into a high-quality plastic for a variety of uses, including automo tive pains parts, raw materials to make plastics, office equipment, alarm boxes and panels, street lights, and electrical lineage insulation, jewel cases.Most CD recycle companies only accept large stockpiles of old, damaged, or unused from businesses. A few companies will accept littler quantities of discs mailed by somebodys. Once the recyclers receive the CDs, they separate the packaging materials, manuals, and CDs for individual recycling processes. You might consider contacting a CD recycling participation on behalf of your school or school district-collecting CDs for reuse could be a good school or community fundraising project. Check your local earpiece book or search the Internet for a list of recyclers, and be sure to have one in place before you set out collecting CDs for recycling.As with most stages of product life cycles, even recycling has environmental tradeoffs. CD recycling is now an emerging technology, which means that many companies are not yet capable of re cycling these discs. So, while recycling CDs saves natural resources, the trade-off comes from the amount of fuel and energy thats consumed to transport discs long-distances to an confiscate recycling facility.DisposalOnly dispose of your discs when you have no other choice. Always try to share, donate, or trade your discs or drop them off at an appropriate recycling center. CDs and that are thrown away waste energy and result in lost valuable resources.