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Waste to Energy Technologies

Embodied energy

  • 3 things to know
  • A2 1

Overview

Embodied energy and embodied carbon, cradle-to-gate and cradle-to-grave, aluminium's high embodied energy, why recycling saves more than burning, recycling calculations, transport distance, buildings and reducing embodied energy.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Why is embodied energy a growing share of a new building's lifetime energy, and how can it be reduced?

Key term

Why does recycling a material save more energy than burning it in an energy from waste plant?

Key term

Define embodied energy.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Define embodied energy.

    Model answer

    Embodied energy is the total energy used to produce a product. The total covers extracting raw materials, processing, manufacturing and transporting them.

  2. 2

    What is the difference between cradle-to-gate and cradle-to-grave embodied energy?

    Model answer

    Cradle-to-gate counts energy from extraction until the product leaves the factory. Cradle-to-grave also includes use, maintenance and final disposal.

  3. 3

    In what units is the embodied energy of a material usually quoted?

    Model answer

    Embodied energy is usually quoted in megajoules per kilogram (MJ/kg). A product's total is found by multiplying by its mass.

  4. 4

    Why does aluminium have a very high embodied energy?

    Model answer

    Aluminium ore must be mined, refined into alumina and then smelted by electrolysis. The electrolysis stage uses very large amounts of electricity.

  5. 5

    How does recycling preserve embodied energy?

    Model answer

    Recycled material skips the extraction and primary processing stages. Much of the energy already invested in the material is kept in use.

  6. 6

    Why does burning a material for energy recover less than recycling it saves?

    Model answer

    Incineration recovers only the material's calorific value. The energy used to extract, refine and manufacture the material is lost for good.

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