Earth Science

Characteristics of the Earth necessary to support life

 Earth is the only planet known to cater life forms.
 This planet undergone massive change in the environment million years ago to
enable living organisms to thrive and survive in it.
 From single simple microorganisms, Earth’s environment had allowed these
organisms to evolve into a more complex and diverse organisms.

Water
 is one of the important ingredients on the different biological processes
 Absence of this will interfere reactions necessary for life
 Water in earth has different forms:
– solid (ice) in the 2 poles
– liquid along the equator
 Water came from two sources;
– water release through volcanism
– water that came from the icy meteors that bombarded the earth.
Habitable Zone
 the distance from a star at which liquid water could exist on orbiting planets’ surfaces.
 Also known as Goldilocks’ Zone
 In astrobiology, the Goldilocks Zone applies to the range of distances that a planet’s
orbit can be from its star and maintain temperatures on the surface that are just right for
liquid water.

Temperature
 influences how quickly atoms, molecules or organisms move.
Low temperature
 slows down chemical reaction and produces ice that makes liquid water unavailable.
 cause chemicals to react slowly, which interferes with the reactions necessary for life.
High temperature
 can cause break down of important biological molecules
In Earth’s condition, temperature is just right to support life.
Heat Source / Energy Source
Heat
Internal heating of earth
Organisms use light or chemical energy to run their life processes.
 When there is too little sunlight or too few of the chemicals that provide energy to
cells, such as iron or sulfur, organisms die
 Light energy is a problem if it makes a planet too hot or if there are too many
harmful rays, such as ultraviolet
External Heating from the sun
 Earth is at right position from the sun that enables it to harness enough amount of
sunlight.
 Living organisms like plants and photosynthetic bacteria use light as the source of
their energy

Atmosphere
 Traps heat, shields the surface from harmful radiation, and provides chemicals
needed for life, such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
 Provides significant insulation or shielding from the sun and impact of small to medium
size meteorites
 Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) traps heat and avoid
our planet from freezing.
 Ozone (O3) layer shields the Earth’s surface from harmful UV radiation

Nutrients
 an essential factor used to build and maintain organism’s body structure
 In Earth, there are processes that recycle nutrients.
 Without chemicals to make proteins & carbohydrates, organisms cannot grow.
Planets without systems to deliver nutrients to its organisms (e.g., a water cycle or
volcanic activity) cannot support life in Earth
 In Earth, there are processes that recycle nutrients. Water, carbon and oxygen,
phosphate and nitrogen cycles are some of the examples. Volcanism also helps in
cycling the nutrients

“The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for” – Ernest

Hemingway
Earth is the only planet known to have life force. Over 4 billion years ago, the planet
undergone massive change in its surface. The first living organism to thrive on earth are the
microorganisms, like bacteria. Later on, higher forms of life were seen base on the accounts
of the scientists. Because of these, it is a unique planet, in the sense that, there are no other
life forms known from the other planets.
Things that make the Earth habitable
Location
 The location of the Earth in our solar system is just right. It’s not too far nor too
close from the sun.
 Implications:
The Earth is the 3rd planet from the sun. Due to that, there certain characteristics that
allow life to thrive in the planet.

Characteristics of Earth that allows life to thrive in it

Water
 One of the important ingredients on the different biological processes
 It is required for the photosynthesis to happen
 It is important, especially, in living organism because we are made up of cells and
water is responsible to dissolve and transport the different chemical compounds or
organic molecules that are needed by the cells.
 Absence of this in any chemical reaction will interfere the different reactions that
are needed by our body or reactions necessary for life.
 It can be in the form of a solid, liquid, and gas. Solid part is the icy part of the earth
(glaciers), while the liquid water can be found along the surface of the Earth and view it
along the equator.
 Source of water:
Scientist believe that having a vast ocean on the earth are due to the asteroids and
comets that constantly bombarded the Earth during the early phase of it, when it is only
starting to form.
Volcanic Activities that happens on Earth. Since we all know that there is also water
beneath the surface of the Earth, the different volcanic activities that happen is another
source of water.
 Too much water is not a problem or it is okay as long as the water available is not
toxic. Since id it toxic, the cell won’t be able to survive or will interfere with the
chemistry of life.

Habitable Zone
 It is the area between the orbit of Venus and the orbit of Mars. So, we can say that
Venus and Mars are not considered within the habitable zone since they are in the
boundary.
 This also why water exist as liquid on the Earth (because it is in the habitable zone)
 It is also known as Goldilocks’ Zone. Inspired from a nursery story of a girl named
Goldilocks’ who went to a house where there are porridges. She tasted the 3 porridges
where she said that the other one is too cold, the other one is too hot, and the other one
is neither too hot nor too cold. That’s how scientist describe the Habitable zone or
Goldilocks’ Zone where you can find the Earth where is neither too hot or too cold for
life.
 In astrobiology, the Goldilocks’ Zone applies to the range of distances that a planet’s
orbit can be from its star and maintain temperature on the surface that are just right for
liquid water.
 If the temperature gets too hot, the water will evaporate immediately which will lead to
the shortage of water on Earth. If is too cold or too far from the sun, the water will
freeze or turn into ice and water will be unavailable for humans.

Temperature
 It influences how quickly atoms, molecules, or organisms move.
 If the temperature is low, it slows down the chemical reactions that our body
and environment need. It will also influence how atoms and molecules move.
 If the temperature is high, it can cause the breakdown of biological molecule, like
enzymes, and it won’t function properly together with the other organic molecules. It
is being denatured, if it is a protein, it is getting deformed and won’t no longer
functions. Genetic materials like DNA and RNA will start to break. It will also take the
water evaporate quickly.
 In Earth’s Condition, temperature is just right to support life.

Energy Source / Heat Source

 The heat or internal heating of the Earth.
 Heat drives different systems in the Earth necessary to support life.
 Organisms use heat source or the energy source to run different life processes.
 Internal heating of Earth is from radiogenic heat from the radioactive decay of
materials. Usually, the decay of materials happens in the core and the mantle.
 If the sunlight is too little or a planet is too far from the sun, there will be few of the
chemicals that provide energy to cell. Like if a photosynthesis does not continue its
process, it won’t be able to provide organic molecules that are needed by the other
living organisms. If the living organism failed to acquire organic molecules, it
won’t have any energy to survive.
 If the light energy is too much, it will be a problem if it makes a planet too hot like
having too many harmful rays such as ultraviolet rays.
 If it is just enough, just like the Earth, and if there is a steady input of chemical
energy or energy source, all life processes will continuously run. (Organisms use light
or chemical energy to run their life processes)
 External heat from the sun is in the form of radiation. The Earth’s is at right position
from the Sun that enables it to harness enough amount of sunlight. That’s why living
organisms like plants and other photosynthetic bacteria use light as the source of
their energy.

Atmosphere
 Serves as an insulation or shield since it traps heat that comes from the sun, shields the
earth from harmful radiation and for impact of the small to medium sizes of meteorites
 that falls on the surface of the Earth and also provides the chemicals needed for life like
nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide.
 Greenhouse gasses, like carbon dioxide and methane, trap the heat and avoid our planet
from freezing. However, too much of the greenhouse gasses also harms the earth.
 At the same time, talking about the atmosphere, we also have the ozone layer. It
shields the earth from UV radiations.
 When a planet or moon doesn’t have too much atmosphere, it means that they
don’t have sufficient gravity to hold the gasses. If the gas molecules escape to
space, the planet or moon won’t be protected from the UV rays anymore.
 On the other hand, if a planet or moon have too much atmosphere, like Venus’s
atmosphere which is entirely made up of too much greenhouse gasses, making the
surface planet too hot.
 Parts of the atmosphere also chemicals needed for life such as the nitrogen and carbon
dioxide.

Nutrients
 As an essential factor use to build and maintain the organisms’ body structure. If
there’s no nutrients, the built of organisms’ body structure won’t occur.
 One thing that makes the earth habitable, because aside from having nutrients, these
nutrients get recycled like the Carbon Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle, etc.
 The chemicals are being recycled.
 If there aren’t much nutrients, the chemicals, like protein and carbohydrates,
organisms cannot grow. At the same time, it cannot support life if the processes that
are needed as nutrients and are being recycled are no longer available.
 Water, carbon, oxygen, phosphate, and nitrogen are some of the cycles present in
the earth.
 Volcanism, as part of the geologic activity of the earth, also contributes in the cycling
of the nutrients.
 If there’s too much nutrients available in a certain planet or too much nutrients cycle
is active, it also interferes with the organisms’ ability to acquire nutrients.
 All of the nutrient’s cycle or processes given to us are a necessary gift for us to be
able to live comfortably in our planet earth.
 According to Ernest Hemingway, “The earth is a fine place and is worth fighting for.”
Earth System
 (System) An organized group of related objects or components that interact to create
a whole.
 Matter and energy flow through all the systems. All systems have boundaries.
 It is a result of interaction between the two most basic components of the universe:
matter and energy.
o Within the boundary of the Earth is a collection of four interdependent parts called
“spheres.” Sun is not part of the earth system, but it plays a vital role for the
interaction of the different earth system.
o The spheres are closely connected. If there’s a change in one sphere, there would
often results to a change in one or more of the other spheres.
o Changes that take place within an ecosystem are referred to as events. Any change
from one sphere to another is what we call events.
 Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space.
 Energy is defined as the ability to do work
 A system can be described by the way that matter and energy are transferred within the
system or to and from other systems. Matter and energy are the vital components in
the four subsystems.
 Energy can be transferred in a variety of forms, including heat, light, vibrations,
or electromagnetic wave
 Transfer of matter and energy are commonly accompanied by changes in the physical
or chemical properties of the matter
Open Systems
 a system in which both energy and matter are exchanged with the surroundings.
 A lake is also an open system.
Water molecules enter a lake through rainfall and streams.
Water exits a lake through streams, evaporation, and absorption by the ground.
Sunlight and air exchange heat with the lake.
Wind’s energy is transferred to the lake as waves.
Closed System
 a system in which energy, but not matter, is exchanged with the surroundings
 Energy in the form of light and heat can be exchanged through the jar’s sides.
But because the jar is sealed, matter cannot exit or enter the system
 Earth is a close system because there is a minimal matter that gets exchange inside and
outside the Earth. All the resources inside the earth are finite or limited and the only
thing that can be transferred is the energy from the sun.

Earth Subsystem
Atmosphere
 The blanket of gases that surrounds Earth’s surface
 Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. The remaining
1% includes other gases, such as argon, carbon dioxide, and helium
 One of the most important processes by which heat on the earth surface is being
distributed throughout the earth is through atmospheric circulation.
 There is a constant exchange of heat and moisture between the atmosphere and the
hydrosphere through the hydrologic cycle.
Hydrosphere
 About 70% of the Earth is covered with liquid water (hydrosphere) and much of it is in
the form of ocean water
 Only 3% of Earth's water is fresh. Out of 3%, it is divided into form of ice, stream,
lakes, and the ground water.
 Our ocean that makes up the hydrosphere on the surface of earth are important things
for carbon dioxide. Ocean absorb carbon dioxide through the direct exchange with the
atmosphere and indirectly through the weathering of rocks. It is absorbed and
distributed on the surface of the earth through oceanic circulation.
Geosphere /Lithosphere
 includes all of the rock and soil on the surface of the continents and on the ocean floor.
 also includes the solid and molten interior of Earth, which makes up the largest
volume of matter on Earth.
Biosphere
 is the set of all life forms on Earth
 It covers all ecosystems, from the soil to the rainforest, from mangroves to coral
reefs, and from the plankton-rich ocean surface to the deep sea.
 Majority of the life on earth or part of the biosphere, it is the base of the food chain. The
base of the food chain in the biosphere are the photosynthetic organisms. This
comprises all plants, and other photosynthetic bacteria and organisms.
 During photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is being absorbed from the atmosphere and it is
used in the process of photosynthesis.
 Knowing all the different types of the earth spheres or subsystem, matter and energy
flows and cycle between the four to sustain and make life possible on earth. At the same
time, within the earth, it comprises the earth subsystem which interacts with one another
to make life possible We saw the different interaction of the different components.
Their interaction occurs an exchange of materials within system.
 The Earth itself is a closed system, but the different subsystem is an open system.

Matter and energy flows and cycle between the four subsystems to sustain and make life
on Earth possible.

Importance of interaction between systems

 It allows the circulation of important nutrients that form and support life like
carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium and water.
 It also maintains the balance of substances in the different subsystem of the Earth.
Any interference and disturbances in the flow of matter and energy within the 4 subsystems
may cause damage or imbalance to any of the subsystem.
What will happen if there is an extensive interaction between two system that will result to
an imbalance effect to the earth system?
– Overly Populated
– Global warming
– Mining
Knowing all the different spheres of the earth or subsystem, matter and energy flows and
cycle between the four.

Rock Forming Minerals

Learning competencies:
Identify common rock-forming minerals using their physical and chemical properties.
 A mineral is a natural, usually inorganic solid that has a characteristic chemical
composition, an orderly internal structure, and a characteristic set of physical
properties. Mostly, the composition of organic substances are carbon and hydrogen. For
inorganic, it usually has an absence of carbon and hydrogen. Inorganic are not made up
of living things or they are not remains of living things or not part of living thing.
 Some minerals have very distinct colors.
 When you identify minerals, you ask the following questions based on its definition:
First, is the substance solid?
Is the substance inorganic?
Does the substance occur naturally?
Is the substance a solid in crystalline form?
Does the substance have a consistent chemical composition?
 Coal is not a mineral; Steel is not a mineral
 For substance that are in crystalline form, it is a mineral if there is an ordered
arrangement of atoms, molecules, or ions. They are usually occurred in a repeating
unit. (It is a crystalline form that was torn apart until a mineral is created.)
 (An example of fluorite) A mineral and it has a consistent chemical composition. It is
made up of one calcium for every two-fluorite ion. Its internal structure: for every
calcium, there is two fluorite ions attached to it and it is repeated in a certain manner.
It always combines one calcium ion with two fluorites identically . There is an
orderly arrangement of atoms and molecules.

General Characteristics
 Naturally occurring – Mineral should exist naturally
 Inorganic – exclude materials derived from living
organisms Minerals are not derived from living organisms
 Solid – all liquid and gases such as petroleum are not considered mineral
 Ordered structure – atoms are organized in a regular, repetitive geometric patterns
or crystal structure

Physical Properties of Minerals

 Color – some minerals have very distinct colors
Ex: Mineral Sulfur, it is bright yellow; Azurite, having a deep blue color
 Certain elements affect the color of the mineral.
Ex:
Corundum, it is a color less mineral and mainly composed of aluminum and oxygen
atoms. However, some corundum that have traces of elements. If it has a trace of
chromium, another element, it forms the red gem called ruby (a type of corundum).
Sapphire (a type of corundum) has a trace of iron and titanium that brings its color to
blue.
Color is not a reliable source for identification is because there are surfaces of the
minerals that are being weathered or undergoes weathering. If it gets weathered, its
color changes.
Ex: Iron pyrite, its color changes from dark yellow to black when it undergoes
weathering.
 Streak – color of a mineral in powdered form
More reliable clue when identifying mineral. If you rub a mineral against a piece of a
ceramic tile, it will give you the streak. The metallic mineral generally has a dark streak.
 Luster – it is the quality intensity of reflected light exhibited by the mineral
NON-METALLIC LUSTRE
– Dull or Earthy (Bauxite)
– Pearl (Lepidolite)
– Waxy (Chrysoprase)
– Glassy or Vitreous (Quartz)
– Adamantine (Topaz)
– Silky (Tremolite)
 Cleavage and Fracture
Cleavage – tendency of a mineral to split along specific planes of weakness to form
smooth, flat surfaces
Fracture – tendency of mineral to break unevenly into pieces that have curved or
irregular surfaces.
 Hardness – measure of ability of a mineral to resist scratching
Table 1. Mohs Hardness Scale
Mineral Hardness Common Test Mineral Hardness Common Test
Talc 1 easily scratched by Feldspar 6 scratches glass, but
fingernail does not scratch
steel
Gypsum 2 can be scratched Quartz 7 easily scratches
by fingernail both glass and
steel
Calcite 3 barely can be Topaz 8 scratches quartz
scratched by
copper penny
Fluorite 4 easily scratched Corundum 9 scratches topaz
with steel file or
glass
Apatite 5 can be scratched Diamond 10 scratches
by steel file or everything
glass
 Crystal Shape – refers to the overall shape or growth pattern of the mineral
 Isometric or Cubic System – Three axes of equal length intersect at 90° angles.
 Tetragonal System – Three axes intersect at 90° angles. The two horizontal axes
are of equal length. The vertical axis is longer or shorter than
the horizontal axes
 Monoclinic System – Two of the three axes of unequal length intersect at 90°
angles. The third axis is oblique to the others.
 Orthorhombic System – Three axes of unequal length intersect at 90° angles.
 Hexagonal System – Three horizontal axes of the same length intersect at 120°
angles. The vertical axis is longer or shorter than the
horizontal axes.
 Triclinic System – Three axes of unequal length are oblique to one another.
 Others – There are certain unique properties of minerals that actually help in
their identification like magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid
 Magnetite is strongly magnetic
 Sphalerite has distinctive smell
 Halite is salty
 Calcite fizzes with acid as with dolomite but in powdered form.
Specific Gravity – the ratio of the density of the substance to the density of water
Silicate – have specific gravities of 2.6 to 3.4
Ore minerals – with specific gravities of 5 to 8

Chemical Properties
Dana Classification
 Silicate – a mineral that contains a combination of silicon and oxygen and that may
also contain one or more metals. Ex. Feldspar
Non-Silicate Minerals:
Carbonates – compounds that contain a carbonate group (CO3)
Ex: Dolomite, CaMg (CO3)2; Calcite, CaCO3
Halides – compounds that consist of chlorine or fluorine combined with sodium,
potassium, or calcium
Ex: Halite, NaCl; Fluorite, CaF2
Native elements – elements uncombined with other elements
Ex: Silver, Ag ; Copper, Cu
Oxides – compound that contains oxygen and an element other than silicon
Ex: Corundum, Al2O3 ; Hematite, Fe2O3
Sulfates – compounds that contain a sulfate group (S04)
Ex: Gypsum, CaSO4 • 2H2O ; Anhydrite, CaSO4
Sulfides – compounds that consists of one or more elements combined with sulfur
Ex: Galena, PbS ; Pyrite, FeS2
Igneous Rocks:
Extrusive igneous rocks: • Pumice • Vesicular Basalt
Intrusive igneous rocks: • Diorite • Granite
Sedimentary Rocks:
• Conglomerate • Limestone • Sandstone • Siltstone
Metamorphic Rocks:
• Slate • Gneiss • Schist • Marble

Learning Competency:
1. Identifying the characteristics of igneous sedimentary and metamorphic rocks;
2. Classify igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks;
3. Explain the process of the formation of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic
rocks; and
4. Give examples of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.
 Rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals sometime with non mineral
solid particles
Types of Rocks
 Igneous
 Sedimentary
 Metamorphic

Classification of Rocks
Igneous Rocks
 Igneous is derived from a Latin term that means “from fire.”
 These are rocks that are derived from the cooling and solidification of magma or lava
 Rate of cooling as one of the most important factors that control crystal size
 Solidification can occur along the surface of the earth
Intrusive igneous rock
 Rock formed from the cooling and solidification of magma beneath Earth’s surface
 Have large crystals of minerals that formed overtime
 Formed from the magma that cools slowly and as a result these rocks are coarse grained
Extrusive igneous rock
 Rock that forms from the cooling and solidification of lava at Earth’s surface
 Cool quickly and as a result these rocks are fine grained or has lack of crystal growth
Example of different textures of igneous rocks
Coarse grained – ex. Granite
Fine grained – ex. Rhyolite and Basalt
Other textures – porphyritic texture; ex. Porphyritic trachyte, Glassy obsidian, and Pumice
Composition of Igneous Rocks
 The mineral composition of an igneous rock is determined by the chemical
composition of the magma from which the rock formed
 Felsic, mafic and intermediate
Felsic Rock
• forms from magma that contains a large proportion of silica.
• generally has the light coloring of its main mineral components, potassium feldspar
and quartz.
Mafic Rock
• describe magma or igneous rocks that is rich in magnesium and iron and that is
generally dark in color
• Ex. Basalt and Gabro
Intermediate Rock
• contain lower proportions of silica than rocks in the felsic family do but contain higher
proportions of silica than rocks in the mafic family contain.
Intrusive Igneous Rock
• Batholiths
• largest of all intrusions
• intrusive formations that spread over at least 100 km2
• Stocks
• Stocks are similar to batholiths but cover less than 100 km2 at the surface.
• Laccoliths
• When magma flows between rock layers and spreads upward, sometimes pushes the
overlaying rock layers into a dome. The base of the intrusion is parallel to the rock
layer beneath it.
• Sills
• When magma flows between the layers of rock and hardens
• Dikes
• Magma that sometimes forces itself through rock layers by following existing vertical
fractures or by creating new ones and solifies

Sedimentary Rocks
 Formed by the deposition and cementation of mineral or organic particles on the floor
of oceans and other bodies of water at the Earth surface.
 The characteristics of sedimentary rock are determined by the source of the sediment,
the way the sediment was moved, and the conditions under which the sediment was
deposited.
 Two main processes convert loose sediment to sedimentary rock—compaction
and cementation.
 Compaction is the process in which sediment is squeezed and in which the size of the
pore space between sediment grains is reduced by the weight and pressure
of overlaying layers.
 Cementation is the process in which sediments are glued together by minerals that are
deposited by water.

Processes That Form Sedimentary Rocks

When mud is deposited, there may be a lot of space between grains. During compaction, the
grains are squeezed together, and the rock that forms takes up less space.
(Overlying layers squeeze sediment; from 50-60% water to 10-20% water)
When sand is deposited, there are many spaces between the grains. During the cementation,
water deposits minerals such as calcite or quartz in the spaces around the sand grains, which
glues the grains together.
(Pore spaces between sediment grains are empty. → Water moves through pore spaces.
→ Minerals deposited by water cement the grains together.)

Types of Sedimentary Rocks

 Chemical sedimentary rock
forms when the ions from dissolved minerals precipitate out of water because of
charging concentration of chemicals.
Ex: Halite
 Organic Sedimentary rock
rock that forms from the remains of living things
Ex: Coal and Some limestones
Organisms that lives in lakes or oceans take chemicals from the water and produce the
mineral calcium carbonate, CaCo3. They use the CaCo3 to build their shells or skeletons.
When the organisms die, the hard remains that are made of CaCo3 settle to the lake or
ocean floor.
The shells of the dead organisms pile up. Eventually, the layers are compacted and
cemented to form limestone
 Clastic Sedimentary rock
made of rock fragments that are carried away from their source by water, wind, or ice
and left as deposits.
Over time, the individual fragments may become compacted and cemented into solid
rock
Types:
• Conglomerate is composed of rounded, pebble-sized fragments that are held together
by a cement.
• Sandstone is made of small mineral grains that are cemented together.
• Breccia is similar to conglomerate, but breccia contains angular fragments
• Shale is made of flaky clay particles that compress into flat layers.
Metamorphic Rocks
• formed below the surface of the earth through the process of metamorphism with the
recrystallization of minerals in rocks due to changes in pressure and temperature
conditions.
• the process by which heat, pressure, or chemical processes change one type of rock
to another is called metamorphism.
• the type of rock that forms because of metamorphism can indicate the conditions that were
in place when the original rock has changed
Slate (A) is a metamorphic rock that commonly forms in the outer zone of metamorphism
around a body of magma where clay rich rock is exposed to relatively small amounts of
heat.
Hornfels (B) is a metamorphic rock that forms in the innermost zone of metamorphism,
where clay rich rock is exposed to large amounts of heat from the magma.
Contact Metamorphism
When magma comes into contact with existing rock, heat from the magma can change the
structure and mineral composition of the surrounding rock by a process called contact
metamorphism.
Regional Metamorphism
Metamorphism sometimes occurs over an area of thousands of square kilometers during
periods of high tectonic activity, such as when mountain ranges form. The type of
metamorphism that occurs over a large area is called regional metamorphism.
Classification of Metamorphic Rocks
Foliated Rocks
• The metamorphic rock texture in which minerals are arranged in planes or bands is
called foliation.
• Foliated rock can form in one of two ways.
• Extreme pressure may cause the mineral crystals in the rock to realign or regrow to
form parallel bands.
• Foliation also occurs as minerals that have different compositions separate to produce
a series of alternating dark and light bands.
• Ex: Gneiss, Phyllite, Schist
Non foliated - has no foliation or bands
• Most nonfoliated metamorphic rocks share at least one of two main characteristics
• The original rock that is metamorphosed may contain grains of only one mineral
or contains very small amounts of other minerals.
• The original rock may contain grains that are round or square.
• Ex. Quartzite, Marble, Hornfels
Objectives:
• Describe how ore minerals are found;
• Identify the different mining method; and
• Explain the different steps in mineral processing.
• Describe how ore minerals are found, mined, and processed for human use
Group of Mineral Commodities
group examples
gold, silver, copper, iron, manganese,
metallic and semimetallic elements
aluminum
nonmetallic elements potassium, sodium, phosphorus, sulfur
gems diamond, sapphire, agate
industrial materials: construction and sand, clay, building stone, diatomite, talc,
manufacturing mica, zeolites
industrial materials: fertilizer and limestone, phosphate, potash, salt, nitrate,
chemicals fluorite
Energy resources coal, oil, gas, uranium

Mining
– is the process of mineral extraction from a rock seam or ore
– a natural rock or sediment containing one or more valuable mineral.
Two Mining Methods
• Surface mining – utilized to extract ore minerals that are close to Earth's
surface Examples of surface mining:
– open pit mining
– strip mining
– dredging
 Big hole – created by blasting with explosives and drilling
 Strip mining – are surface mining techniques that are used to mine resources that cover
large areas, especially layered resources, such as coal.
(A large machine is removing coal)
 Dredging – is the underwater excavation of a placer deposit by floating equipment
 Underground mining – is used to extract the rocks, minerals and other precious stories
that can be found beneath the earth's surface.
– is a method often used to mine higher-grade, more
localized, or very concentrated resources.
– more expensive and dangerous as compared to surface mining
because miners need to use explosive devices to remove the
minerals from the rocks that cover them.
• All ore minerals occur mixed with less desirable components called gangue.
• The process of physically separating gangue minerals from ore bearing minerals is called
concentrating.
• Separating a desired element from a host mineral by chemical means, including heating is
called smelting.
• taking a metal such as copper and removing other trace metals such as gold or silver is
done through the refining process
Refining is done one of three ways:
1. Materials can either be mechanically separated and processed based on the ore mineral's
unique physical properties, such as recovering placer gold based on its high density.
2. Materials can be heated to chemically separate desired components, such as
refining crude oil into gasoline.
3. Materials can be smelted, in which controlled chemical reactions unbind metal from
the minerals they are contained in, such as when copper is taken out of chalcopyrite
(CuFeS2).

Mineral Processing
• is the process of extracting minerals from the ore, refining them, and preparing these
minerals for use
Primary steps involved in processing minerals
1. Sampling – is the removal of a portion which represents a whole needed for the analysis
of this material.
2. Analysis – this includes chemical, mineral and particle size analysis.
3. Comminution – is the process when the valuable components of the ore are separated
through crushing and grinding.
4. Concentration – involves the separation of the valuable minerals from the raw materials
5. Dewatering – uses the concentration to convert it to usable minerals. This involves
filtration and sedimentation of the suspension and drying of the solid
materials harvested from this suspension.
Objectives:
• Identify the components of a fossil fuel
• Discuss how fossil fuel are formed
• Differentiate the three major types of fossil fuels formation
Non-Renewable Sources
1. Coal
2. Oil
3. Natural Gas
4. Nuclear
Renewable Energy Sources
1. Solar
2. Wind
3. Hydroelectricity
4. Biomass
5. Geothermal
Fossil fuels
– are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried
dead organisms.
– Fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include coal, petroleum and natural
gas.

There are three types of fossil fuels formation: coal, oil, and natural gas
Coal
• It is an important and primary fossil fuel present on Earth.
• Philippines uses approximately 50% coal resource to produce energy and electricity.
• Coal is composed primarily of carbon along with variable quantities of other elements,
chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coalification is the formation of coal from plant material by the processes of diagenesis
and metamorphism.
– Also known as bituminization or carbonification
How coal was formed:
 Swamp (300 million years ago) – Before the dinosaurs, many giant plants died in
swamps.
 Water (100 million years ago) – Over millions of years, the plants wore buried
under water and dirt.
 Heat and pressure turned the dead plants into coal.
Major rank of coal
Anthracite – is the highest rank of coal. It is a hard, brittle, and black lustrous coal,
often referred to as hard coal, containing a high percentage of fixed carbon
and a low percentage of volatile matter.
Bituminous coal – it usually has a high heating value and is the most common type of coal
used in electricity generation
Subbituminous coal – black in color and dull, and has a higher heating value than lignite.
Lignite – also known as brown coal. It is the lowest grade coal with the least concentration
of carbon.
Oil
– It is an organic material, mostly algae, which was buried in mud at the bottom of the
sea and lakes.
– It is used mainly for the production of transportation fuels and petroleum-based products.
Natural gas
– It is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas with the mixture of methane.
– It is the Earth's cleanest fossil fuel and is odorless and colorless in its natural state.
– It is produced from sedimentary rock formation by forcing chemicals, water, and
sand down a well under high pressure.
What is petroleum (oil and gas) and how is it formed?
 Ocean (300-400 million years ago)
– Tiny sea plants and animals died and were buried on the ocean floor. Over
time, they were covered by layers of slit and sand
 Ocean (50-100 million years ago)
– Over millions of years, the remains were buried deeper and deeper. The
enormous heat and pressure turned them into oil and gas.
 Today, we drill down through layers of sand, silt, and rock to reach the rock
formation that contain oil and gas deposits.
The Slow Formation of Source Rock
– A tiny Proportion of this organic matter—about 0.1% transported by water, it
sometimes sinks to the bottom of the sea pr large continental lakes.
– it mixes with inorganic matter, such as clay particles and very fine sand and with
dead marine plankton (microscopic organisms)
– Mud that contains at least 1 to 2% organic matter may be transformed into source
rock, which eventually produces oil and gas deposits.
– The weight of accumulating sediment very slowly pushes the source rock further under
the Earth's crust
– This gradual sinking called subsidence and leads to the formation of sedimentary basins.
– As it sinks below ground, the source rock is subjected to increasingly high temperatures,
the organic matter that makes up the rock is crushed by the weight of the accumulating
sediments
– At one kilometer underground, the temperature is 50°C and pressure is 250 bar.
Under these physical conditions, the nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus atoms are
How Oil and Gas Forms
• At a depth of 2,000 meters, when the temperature reaches 100°C, kerogen starts to release
hydrocarbons:
• Between 2,000 and 3,800 meters, it turns into oil.
• When the source rock sinks further, to between 3,800 and 5,000 meters, production
of liquid hydrocarbons peaks.
• The liquid produced become increasingly lighter and gradually turn into methane gas, the
 lightest hydrocarbon.
• If the organic debris is composed mostly of animal origin, it will produce more oil
than gas. If it is composed mainly of plant debris, the source rock will produce mostly
gas
• With an estimated average sedimentation of 50 meters every million years, it takes
60 million years for dead animals to become liquid hydrocarbons.
How Oil and Gas Migrate
• Starting out from the source rock where they are formed, hydrocarbon molecules, which
are light, set off on an upward journey to the surface. They accumulate in porous rock
and are blocked by impermeable rock, thereby creating oil and gas deposits
Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Sources
Coal Biomass (burning of wood, biofuels such
Oil (or petroleum) as ethanol & biodiesel, or waste)
Natural Gas Hydroelectric power
Other Solar energy
Oil shale Wind energy
Oil sands and tar sands Tidal and Wave energy
Shale gas Geothermal energy
Methane hydrate

Coal
• Organic sedimentary rock formed from plant remains deposited in swamps and marshes.
• The major use of coal is generating electric power.
• Burning coal is one of the largest sources of CO2, a greenhouse gas related to global
warming.

Types (or Ranks) of Coal

Low Ranks
Increasing (Increasing pressure, temperature and depth of burial ↓)
pressure, • Peat
temperature • Lignite
and depth of • Sub-bituminous coal
burial • Bituminous coal
• Anthracite coal
High Rank
Oil and gas
1. Planktonic organisms die, their remains begin to settle to the sea floor under
anoxic conditions (without oxygen).
2. Over time, layer upon layer of sediments accumulate, containing the remains
of planktonic organisms.
3. Thick sequences of sediments are deposited and the planktonic organisms buried in
them are heated and compressed until the organic matter begins to change into
kerogen, a solid, waxy organic material.
4. With the high temperatures and pressures of greater depth of burial, the kerogen
begins to change into hydrocarbons.
5. With even more heat and pressure, the hydrocarbons are broken down into
petroleum (oil) and natural gas.
6. The petroleum and natural gas migrate into porous and permeable sedimentary rocks
such as sandstone, which serves as a petroleum reservoir rock.
7. Oil floats on water, and gas is even lighter than oil, so petroleum and natural gas move
upward within the reservoir rock, until they are stopped by an impermeable
sedimentary layer such as shale, which forms a trap.
8. More and more petroleum and natural gas accumulate and become concentrated in
the trap, forming an oil field.
9. (With even more heat and pressure, the hydrocarbons are broken down into
petroleum (oil) and natural gas.)
10. Geologists use various tools, such as seismic surveys, to study Earth to locate oil
fields beneath the ground. If a location seems promising, drilling may begin.
11. Wells are drilled into the ground in the oil field to extract the petroleum, which is
called crude oil.
12. The crude oil is transported to a refinery, where it is separated by distillation and
other processes into fuels such as gasoline, butane, kerosene, liquid petroleum gas, jet
fuel, diesel fuel, fuel oil, and chemicals used to manufacture plastics.
Oil shale is sedimentary rock containing Tar sands (sometimes called oil sands)
kerogen that has not been heated enough Tar sands, or oil sands, are sandstone that
within Earth to change the kerogen into contain petroleum products that are highly
hydrocarbons. Oil shale can be mined, but viscous, like tar, and thus cannot be drilled
it must be subjected to a high temperature and pumped out of the ground readily like
before petroleum-like liquids can be conventional oil.
separated from the rock. (image)
(image)
Shale gas forms in organic-rich black shales have broken petroleum down into natural gas
(methane).
• Shale has low permeability
• to extract the methane gas, it is necessary to create artificial fractures.
• Wells are drilled to thousands of feet deep, and then drilled horizontally along the
shale bed.
• High-pressure fluids and sand are injected to hydraulically fracture the shale, releasing the
trapped methane gas (fracking).

How are minerals are formed

Mineral Occurrence – concentration of a mineral that is of scientific or technical interest
Mineral Deposits – mineral occurrence of sufficient size and grade or concentration to
enable extraction under the most favorable conditions that is of
scientific or technical interest.
Ore Deposit – mineral deposit that has been tested and known to be economically
profitable to mine
Aggregate – rock or mineral material used as filler in cement, asphalt, plaster, etc.,
generally used to describe nonmetallic deposits
Ore – naturally-occurring material from which a mineral or minerals of economic value can
be extracted.
(Earth’s Layer)

Types of Mineral Resources

Metallic
– show a metallic shine in their appearance
– contains metals in their chemical composition
Nonmetallic
– minerals that do not contain any metals
– talc, fluorite, sulfur, sand,
gravel (pic)
Magnetic Ore Deposit – minerals are concentrated within a body or igneous rock by
magmatic processes such as crystal fractionation, portal melting
and crystal settling.
(Pic)
Fractional crystallization: the residual melt contains high percentage of water and volatile
substances that are favorable for the formation of pegmatites.
Pegmatites are enriched in Lithium, Gold, Boron, rare elements and some other heavy
metals
Crabtree pegmatite (pic)
It was mined for emeralds by a series of owners, which included Tifanny and Company,
between 1894 and the 1990s.
Hydrothermal Ore Deposits
Circulation of reactive hot water solutions through a magma or rocks surrounding an
igneous intrusion. (pic)
Vein type deposits
• A fairly well defined zone of mineralization, usually inclined and typically narrow. (pic)
Disseminated deposits
• are those in which the metal is evenly distributed in generally low concentrations
throughout large masses of rock.
• An important type of disseminated deposits is the porphyry copper deposit, in which
copper deposit, in which copper and molybdenum are found in porphyritic intrusive
rocks. (pic)

Hydrothermal Mineral Deposit

Massive sulfide deposits
• are a type of mineral deposit that forms on or below the seafloor as a result of volcanic
and hydrothermal activity.
• typically composed of metal sulfide minerals such as copper, zinc, lead, gold, and
silver, and can also contain significant amounts of iron, sulfur, and other elements.
(pic)
Stratabound Mineral Deposits
• formed when the dissolved minerals in a hydrothermal fluid precipitate in the pore spaces
of unconsolidated sediments on the bottom of a lake or ocean
• such minerals may contain economic concentrations of lead, zinc and copper, usually
in sulfide form like galena (PbS), sphalerite (ZnS) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2).
(pic)

Sedimentary Ore Deposits

• Minerals are concentrated by chemical precipitation from lake or sea water
• These mineral deposits form as a result of chemical sedimentation, where minerals are
precipitated directly out of water.
Evaporites
• These deposits are formed when saline water evaporates and leaves behind a layer of
salt or other evaporite minerals include halite (rock salt), gypsum, and anhydrite. (pic)
Placer Deposits
• These deposits are formed when heavy minerals are transported and deposited by running
water or glaciers. The valuable minerals are often concentrated in stream beds or beaches,
and include gold, tin, and diamonds. (pic)
Iron Formation
• These deposits are typically found in sedimentary rocks that are more than 2.5 billion
years old, and are made up of alternating layers of iron oxides and silica or chert.
• The iron in these formations was originally deposited in the ocean by hydrothermal fluids
and was then concentrated through a variety of chemical and biological processes. (pic)
Residual Ore Deposits
• A type of deposit that results from the accumulation of valuable materials
through chemical weathering processes.
• During the process, the volume of the original rock is greatly reduced by leaching
Mineral Deposits (Residual Mineral Deposits)
Bauxite is the main source of aluminum ore - found in laterites formed in tropical climates.
Walpa, Australia
Nickeliferous laterites or nickel laterites
• leaching of nickel-rich ultramafic rock dissolves common elements, leaving the insoluble
nickel, magnesium and iron oxide mixed in the soil.

Learning Competencies
• Explain the processes of obtaining energy from underground heat and flowing water.
Renewable Energy Sources
1. Solar
2. Wind
3. Hydroelectric
4. Biomass
5. Geothermal

Geothermal Energy
• Geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and thermos (heat).
• Heat generated beneath the ground
• It covers all techniques used to recover the heat that is naturally present in the
Earth’s subsurface, particularly in aquifers, the rock reservoirs that contain
groundwater.

How is heat from inside the earth tapped as a source of energy for
human use? (w/ pic)
Thermal energy, contained in the earth, can be used directly to supply heat or can be
converted to mechanical or electrical energy.

How Geothermal Energy Works (pic)

Radioactive decay in the Earth’s mantle produces heat.
1. Cool water id injected into the ground.
2. Hot water is pumped up to and heat is used to produce steam.
3. Steam is used to turn turbines, generators.

Types of Geothermal Powerplant

1. Dry Steam Plant (w/ pic)
• It sips directly hot steam beneath the ground through pipes to mobilize generator
turbines.
• The first geothermal power plant was built in 1904 in Tuscany, Italy, where
natural steam erupted from the earth.
2. Flash Steam Plant (w/ pic)
• Take high-pressure hot water from deep inside the earth and convert it to steam to
drive generator turbines.
• When the steam cools, it condenses to water and is injected back into the ground to be
used again. Most geothermal power plants are fresh steam plants
3. Binary Cycle Power Plant (w/ pic)
• Transfer the heat from the geothermal hot water to another liquid.
• The heat causes the second liquid to turn to steam, which is used to drive a
generator turbine.
(pic)

Energy current
– One requirement for water to become energy resource id the presence of current
– water flowing down the sea level, possesses certain amount of potential energy
– The strength of the current is a good reference on where the powerplant may be
constructed.
– volume of water flow and the steepness of the landscape.
– Rivers with high volume of water flowing at great height possess the best potential to
be sources of hydropower.

Hydroelectricity
• Hydropower or hydroelectricity is the conservation of flowing water (mechanical
energy) into electrical energy
• The amount of water in the area determines the efficiency in ??
• In terms of actual production, the volume of water and the height of the
sources determines the rate of power generation.
(pic)
Three main types of hydro plants
• Impoundment facilities
• Pumped storage facilities
• Run-of-river facilities
IMPOUNDMENT
– typically a large hydropower system, uses a dam to store river water in a reservoir.
– Water released from the reservoir flows through a turbine, spinning it, which in
turn activates a generator to produce electricity.
(pic)
PUMPED STORAGE HYDROPOWER
– works like a giant battery
– A PSH facility is able to store the electricity generated by other power sources, like
solar, wind, and nuclear, for later use.
(pic)
DIVERSION
– A diversion, sometimes called a “run-of-river” facility, channel a portion of a river
through a canal and/or a penstock to utilize the natural decline of the river bed elevation to
produce energy.
(pic)
• Damming a river has a significant impact on the regional ecosystem
• In addition, dam failures can be catastrophic
• Hydro plants are not completely free of greenhouse gas emissions.

Water Resources
Learning Competencies:
• Identify the various water resources on Earth
• Explain how different activities affect the quality and availability of water for human use
Distribution of water on Earth
Water is a simple compound, made of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen
bonded together
On land, water is present through streams, falls from the sky, freezes into snowflakes, and
even makes up most us.
Energy Transfer in Everyday life
• water is the most abundant substance on Earth's surface
• 71% of the Earth's surface is covered with water, most of which is found in the oceans.
• 97.5% - Earth's oceans
• 2.5% of the Earth's water is freshwater
• Fresh water is found as ice in glaciers of Greenland and immense ice sheets of Antarctica.
• only 0.4% of freshwater humans can easily ??
• Most liquid freshwater is found under the Earth's surface as
groundwater. (Pic)
(Pic)
• The principal natural components of this cycle are precipitation, infiltration into the soil,
runoff on the surface, groundwater discharge to surface waters and the oceans and
evapotranspiration from water bodies, the soil, and plants.
Sources of Drinking Water
• Improved drinking water sources are those that have potential to deliver safe with by
nature of design and construction
(Pic)
• Stream, Reservoir, Spring, Pond, Lake, River, and Well
• These include piped water tube wells or boreholes; protected dug wells, protected
spring; rainwater
• According to the results of the 2017 APIS (Annual Poverty Indicator’s Survey), 94%
of the 24 million Filipino families have improved source of drinking water

Activities that Affective Quality and Availability of Water for

Human Use
• Water quality describes the condition of the water, including chemical, physical, and
biological characteristics, usually with respect to its sustainability for a particular purpose
such as drinking or swimming
• Water has physical and chemical characteristics.
• physical attributes include temperature, colour, taste, odor and turbidity.
• Temperature of water affects some of the important physical properties and
characteristics of water.
Color
• Colored water give the appearance of being unfit to drink, even though the water may be
perfectly safe for public use.
• can indicate the presence of organic substances, such as algae or humic compounds.
Taste and odor
• are human perceptions of water quality.
• sweet and bitter tastes are produced by more complex organic compounds.
• Organic materials discharges directly to water, such as falling leaves, runoff, etc.,
are sources of tastes and odor-producing compounds released during
biodegradation.
Water availability is defined as the quantity of water that can be used for human purposes
without significant harm to ecosystems or other users.
Water scarcity
• occurs when the amount of water withdrawn from lakes, rivers or groundwater is so great
that water supplies are no longer adequate to satisfy all human ecosystem requirements,
resulting in increased competition between water users and other demands.

Human activities affecting Water Resources

• Population Growth, particularly water–short regions
• Movement of large number of people from the country side to town and cities
• Demands for greater food security and higher living standards
• Increased competition between different uses of water resources
• Pollution from factories, cities, and farmlands
Degradation of ecosystem
– through changes of landscape such as the clearance of forests, the conversion of natural
landscapes to farmland, the growth of cities, the building of roads, and surface mining
Sediments
– are produced in large amounts as a result of land-user change and agriculture.
– farming, clearing forests, building roads, and mining can put too much soil and
particulate matter as sediment in rivers.
– can harm plants and animals
a. carrying toxic chemicals into the water,
b. smothering fish eggs and small organisms used by fish as foods
c. raise water temperature
d. reduce the amount of sunlight penetrating the water

Water Resources Management and Conservation

• Rainwater harvesting for direct consumption and for replenishment of groundwater
• Dams and reservoirs are built to provide additional water storage
• Make wastewater reusable by extensive treatment to remove biodegradable materials,
nutrients and pathogens
• Non potable water is used for irrigation and to replenish aquifers
• In the Middle East, countries in coastal areas practice desalination

Soil Resources
(pic)
Learning Competencies:
• Evaluate why soil is a necessary resource
• Analyze how people’s use of land affects soil
• Devise a sustainable plan on soil protection and conservation for future generation.

Soil
– organic and inorganic materials on the surface of the earth that provide the medium
for plant growth
– develops slowly over time and is composed of many different materials through
the process of weathering
– nonrenewable, finite resources which is generally not recoverable within a human lifespan
– a necessary resource because it helps sustain life on Earth including humans, animals, and
plants.
– helps purify, or clean water as it drains through the ground and into the rivers, lakes,
and oceans.
– decomposers in soil also help recycle nutrients by breaking down the remains of plants
and animals, releasing nutrients that living plants used to grow.
– It also provides a home for variety of living things, for tiny-one celled organisms to small
mammals.
Soil Degradation
– is the physical, chemical and biological decline in soil quality.
– can be loss of organic matter, decline in soil fertility, salinization, acidification,
pollution, compaction and subsidence

Human Activities that Affect the Quality and Quantity of Soil

Three major human activities that cause soil degradation
• Farming
• Construction of Structure
• Waste disposal

Farming
• one of the traditional sources of income in our country done by planting crops or raising
livestock
Positive Effects of Farming
• Organic manures and other organic fertilizers
• irrigation and drainage
Negative Effect of Farming
• Tillage can cause direct damage to soil microorganisms and potentially expose those
to new predators.
• Pesticides
• applied veterinary medicines

Waste Disposal
• Improper waste disposal will result to soil pollution

Construction of Structure
• Construction activities such as grading and filling, reduce soil quality construction sites

Soil Conservation
• Forest protection • Plant trees
• Buffer strips • Crop rotation
• No till farming • Watering the soil
• Fewer concrete surfaces • Maintaining ph
• Plant windbreak areas • Indigenous crop
• Monitoring grazing • Afforestation
• Dams • No soil compacting
• Terrace planting • Control storm water
WASTE
• is generated by human activities in all economic sectors and is definitely regarded as an
unavailable by-product of economic activities.
• The generated of waste reflects loss of materials and energy and imposes economic
costs on society for its collection, treatment and disposal.
• The United Nations Environment described wastes as unwanted or unusable materials
which are disposed of or are intended to be disposed of or required to be disposed of by the
provisions of national law.

Kinds of Waste
Solid Waste
• This type of wastes is in solid form like domestic, commercia and industrial wastes such
as plastics, Styrofoam, papers, scrap iron and sludge from a wastewater treatment plant or
air control facility.
Liquid Waste
• type of wastes is in liquid form such as chemicals, oils, and waste water from ponds and
manufacturing industries. It includes sewage as well as wastewater from industrial
processes and agricultural processing.
Gaseous Waste
• Most of the gaseous wastes produced in the chemical industries are produced as
byproducts of the industrial processes.
• Among the commonly produced gaseous chemical waste, carbon containing gaseous waste
is the most common gaseous waste that includes carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide,
methane, ethane

Classification of Waste
Biodegradable Non-Biodegradable Hazardous Non-hazardous
These wastes can be These wastes cannot Substances unsafe to Substances safe to
degradable: be degradable: use commercially, use commercially,
Example: Example: industrially, industrially,
paper bottles agriculturally or agriculturally and
woods plastics economically and economically. These
fruits machines have the following substances usually
cans properties: create disposal
ignitability, problems.
corrosivity,
reactivity, and
toxicity
Biodegradable waste
• These are the wastes that come from our kitchen and it includes food remains, garden
waste, etc.
• decomposes over a period of time depending on the material.
Non-Biodegradable waste
• These are the wastes which include old newspapers broken glasses pieces, plastics, etc.
• Dry wastes can be recycled and can be reused.

Hazardous Waste
• includes all types of rubbish that are flammable, toxic, corrosive and reactive.

WASTE ACCORDING TO GENERATION

Municipal Solid Waste
• Solid wastes that include household garbage, rubbish, construction and demolition debris,
sanitation residues, packaging materials, trade refuges and other managed by the any
municipality
Industrial Wastes
• Liquid and solid wastes that are generated by manufacturing and processing units of
various industries like chemical, petroleum, coal, metal, gas, sanitary and papers.
Agricultural Wastes
• Wastes generate from farming activities. These substances are mostly biodegradable.
Fishery Wastes
• Waste generated due to fishery activities like fish viscera, fish bones and scales.
• These are extensively found in coastal and estuarine areas.
Radioactive waste
• Wastes containing radioactive materials.
• These are commonly by-products of nuclear processes.
Biomedical Wastes
• Solid or liquid wastes including containers, intermediate or end products generated during
diagnosis, treatment and research activities of medical sciences.
E-Wastes
• Electronic wastes generated from any modern establishments.
• may be described as discarded electrical or electronic devices.
• electronic scrap components may contain, contaminants such as lead, cadmium, and
beryllium or brominated flame retardants.

CHARACTERISTIC OF WASTES
1. Corrosive:
these are wastes that include acids or bases that are capable of corroding mental
containers, e.g., acids or alkaline solution, rust remover, battery acid and caustic hot
tank waste.
2. Ignitability:
this is waste that can create fires under certain condition, e.g., waste oils and solvent
3. Reactivity:
these are unstable in nature, they cause explosions, toxic fumes when heated, e.g.,
lithium-sulfur batteries and explosives.
4. Toxicity:
waste which are harmful or fatal when ingested or absorb, e.g., are the household
products in everyday homes that are improperly disposed of such as old batteries,
pesticides, paint, and car oil.
5. Non-Hazardous waste:
is any type of industrial waste which, according to regulations, cannot be added to
a dumpster or sewage line, e.g., garbage, sludge, municipal trash.
6. Hazardous waste:
The most common examples of hazardous waste found within the home include paints,
batteries, solvents, cleaning agents and pesticides, heavy metals, and chemical sludges.
7. Radioactive: high and low-level radioactive waste
• Low-Level Radioactive Wastes (or LLRW) is a regulatory term defined as the
broad group or class of radioactive waste that is not included in the following
classes of radioactive waste:
• Spent nuclear fuel. Fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor after use.
High-level radioactive wastes are the highly radioactive materials produced as a
byproduct of the reactions that occur inside nuclear reactors.
High-level waste take one of two forms: Spent (used) reactor fuel when it is accepted
for disposal. Waste materials remaining after spent fuel is reprocessed.
8. Mixed waste: Radioactive organic liquids, radio-active heavy metals
Mixed hazardous waste is waste which fails into two or more different categories of
hazardous materials. Examples include radioactive contaminated phenol/chloroform, or
blood labeled with a radionuclide.

MAJOR WASTE TREATMENTS AND DISPOSAL

METHODS:
1. Thermal Treatment
• refers to the process that use heat to treat waste materials
Some of the most commonly used thermal waste treatment techniques
A. Incineration is one of the most common waste treatments.
• This approach involves the combustion of waste material in the presence of oxygen. It
is commonly used as a means of recovering energy for electricity or heating.
• The advantages of this approach are;
it is quickly reduced waste volume, lessens transportation costs and decreases harmful
greenhouse gas emissions.
B. Gasification and Pyrolysis are two similar methods, both of which decompose organic
waste materials by exposing waste to low amounts of oxygen and very high
temperature.
• Pyrolysis uses absolutely no oxygen while gasification allows a very low amount of
oxygen in the process.
• Gasification is more advantageous as it allows the burning process to recover
energy without causing air pollution.
C. Open Burning
• is a legacy thermal waste treatment that is environmentally harmful.
 • The incinerators used in such process have no pollution control devices.
2. Dumps and Landfills.
A. Sanitary landfills provide the most commonly used waste disposal solution that
desired to eliminate or reduce the risk of environmental or public health hazards due
to waste disposal.
B. Controlled dumps are more or less the same as sanitary landfills. These dumps
comply with many of the requirements for being a sanitary landfill but may lack
one or two.
C. Bioreactor landfills are the result of recent technological research.
• These landfills use superior microbiological processes to speed up waste
decomposition.
• The controlling feature is the continuous addition of liquid to sustain optimal
moisture for microbial digestion.
• The liquid is added by re-circulating the landfill leachate. When the amount of
leachate is not adequate, liquid waste such as sewage sludge is used.
3. Biological Waste Treatment
A. Composting is another most frequently used waste disposal or treatment
• The most common composting techniques include static pile composting, vermin-
composting, windrow composting and in-vessel composting.
B. Anaerobic Digestion also uses biological processes to decompose organic materials.

3RS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

Reduce Reuse Recycle
The best way to manage It makes economic and A series of steps that takes a
waste is to not produce it: environmental sense to used material and processes
– Avoid disposable goods reuse products: remanufactures and sells it
e.g., paper plates, – Reuse products for the as a new product.
napkins, razors and same purpose
lighters
– Avoid over-packaged
goods
e.g., foil, paper and
plastics
CAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN
SOLID WASTE
• Population growth
• Increase in industrial manufacturing
• Urbanization
• Modernization, technological advancement and increase
in global population created rising in demand for food
and other essentials.
Some of the main waste disposal methods include:
1. Incineration – The burning of waste materials at high temperatures to transform them into
gases or residue.
2. Recycling – The conversion of waste material into new products.
3. Open Dumpling – A simple and inexpensive method which involves the
deliberate disposal of garbage in an open space.
4. Ocean Dumpling – Occurs when sewage, garbage, construction debris, hazardous
chemicals etc. are intentionally discarded at sea by ships, aircrafts
and other man-made machine.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF IMPROPER WASTE

DISPOSAL
Soil Contamination
• the toxic materials can be absorbed into the plants
Air contamination
• Wastes that release dioxins are also dangerous and pose a health risk when they
diffuse into the air that we breathe.
• Landfill gas produced by the decomposing wastes, can be explosive and can harm nearby
communities.
Water contamination
• Untreated sewages can destroy and suffocate marine habitats, such as corals.
• Contaminated water is also dangerous and harmful to humans who consume fish and other
marine life.
Bad impact on human health
• Exposure to improperly handled wastes can cause skin irritations, blood infections,
respiratory problems, growth problems, and even reproductive issues.
Impact on animals and marine life
• Animals who consume grasses near contaminated areas or landfills are also at risk of
poisoning due to the toxins that seeps into the soil
Disease-carrying pests
• Mosquitoes breed in cans and tires that collect water, and can vary disease such as
malaria and dengue
• Rats find food and shelter in landfills and sewage, and they cacarry disease such as
leptospirosis
Missed recycling opportunities
• There is revenue in recycling
• Cities that do not implement proper removal and recycling of wastes miss out on the
resources that can be reused and on the employment opportunities.
Causes extreme climate changes
• Incinerators produce a variety of pollutants: nitrogen oxide, particulate matter,
sulfur dioxide, ozone, and carbon dioxide