Ecological Footprint 1

Running Head: ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

Ecological Footprint of Refrigerator

Julian Pozzi

Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

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Table of Contents

I. Abstract___________________3

II. Introduction________________4

III. Energy Efficiency___________4

IV. Aluminum__________________5

V. CFC, HCFC, HFC____________7

VI. Discarding of Refrigerator_____9

VII. Conclusion________________9

VIII. Appendix________________11

IX. Bibliography________________13
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Abstract

The following piece discusses the ecological footprint of the average household

refrigerator. The refrigerator has always been an energy hog. It uses up more electricity

than any other item in the average household. Although it has improved tremendously in

its energy efficiency there is still room for improvement. The refrigerator is mainly

comprised of aluminum as this isn’t always true yet the majority of refrigerators are

mostly made up of aluminum. The footprint begins with the process of extracting

aluminum from aluminum ore. This process begins with the environmental issues caused

by mining and eventually during the process of aluminum extraction. There are effects on

the water from released by products in waste water and emissions in the air releasing

harmful green house gases. The refrigerants and insulation of refrigerators are the other

main components and hold potential for releasing chlorofluorocarbons,

hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or hydrofluorocarbons. The pollution and energy used in the

process of producing and running a refrigerator outlined throughout the paper and gives

the reader a new perspective on the refrigerator in their kitchen.

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Introduction

The domestic refrigerator has elevated the standard of living for the developed

world. The refrigerator freezes our meats for months, saves us trips to the grocery store,

and encourages a healthy diet by preserving healthy, yet short lived fruits and vegetables.

The refrigerator is undoubtedly a success story; however it does hold a heavy footprint on

the environment. Most people would only think about the amount of electricity a

refrigerator uses. This amount is certainly more than any other average house hold

appliance or electronic. But most wouldn’t think about where the materials that piece the

refrigerator come from. They probably wouldn’t think about the processes of retrieving

these materials, producing them, and the environmental impacts applied from them. The

refrigerator’s ecological footprint begins with the production of the raw materials that go

into assembling the refrigerator. The production and transferring of these materials

require energy and a lot of the energy is required for the process in producing aluminum.

Aluminum makes up the majority of the refrigerator. The process used to keep the foods

constantly cold has a huge impact as well in potential of releasing green house gases.

Energy Efficiency

The past 40 years has been of great success in terms of energy use by domestic

refrigerators as they use 20 to 30 percent less energy (Barkenbus, 2006, p.3).

Refrigerators take a while to reach their expiration date which is a problem. This is a

problem more so for the older models rather than the newer models. Older aged

refrigerators tend to use 2.5 times more energy than when they were first purchased. The

average energy used in refrigerators in 2001 is twice that of the newest models in 2006

(Barkenbus, 2006, p. 5). There are 114 million homes in the united states and it is
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estimated that there are 130 million refrigerators in these homes and these refrigerators

make up 15% of the electricity used in these homes (Barkenbus, 2006, p. 7).

Aluminum

The majority of a domestic refrigerator consists of aluminum. Aluminum is used

as the foundation of a refrigerator because of its physical traits. Aluminum has a low

density, making it a very light material, yet it is still a strong and durable material. Its

strength and corrosion-resistant traits allow for a very reliable material for manufacturers

to produce. The International Aluminum Institute (IAI), a global forum of the world’s

aluminum producers which represents 80% of world primary aluminum production.

According to IAI 50 million tons of aluminum is produced annually. Aluminum is a very

popular material as only 17 million tons of copper and just 8 million tons of lead is

produced annually, making aluminum the second most popular metal after steel and the

most used non-ferrous metal (Appendix A).

Naturally aluminum is not found as a free element, it is mostly found in bauxite

ore and is eventually put through an alumina refining process (Appendix B). The most

common practice used to mine the bauxite ore is strip mining. Strip mining removes

precious top soil which results in dangerous material being transported to local water

systems by way of runoff. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, minerals

which include zinc, sodium, selenium, and sulfate increase in levels in these nearby water

systems threatening the fish and other inhabitants Strip mining also leaves problems for

reclamation. The soil tends to be overly compacted making tree growth difficult. The area

normally grows back grasses leaving the forest fragmented (Environmental Protection

Agency).
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Further issues transpire in the production of aluminum from the ore. The bauxite

which aluminum is refined from is not mined in the United States. The greatest portion of

bauxite mined is in Australia. Once bauxite is transferred to the US it is ready for alumina

refining. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s report (2007), U.S. Energy

Requirements for Aluminum Production, two percent of the total energy used in

processing aluminum from ore is from the transportation of ore to the U.S (p. 24). The

process used in the production of aluminum uses a significant amount of energy

(Appendix C). The report states for every kilogram of aluminum produced from alumina,

9.03 kilowatt hours of energy are used (U.S. Department of Energy, 2007, p.19). The

U.S. uses 16.52 kilowatt hours (10^9) a year in the smelting of aluminum (U.S.

Department of Energy, 2007, p. 13). This report states that “smelting requires 46 percent

of the total energy consumed in U.S. manufacturing of aluminum” (U.S. Department of

Energy, 2007, p. 14).

The production of aluminum from ore produces environmentally dangerous

emissions. A report, Energy and Environmental Profile of the U.S. Aluminum Industry,

written by N. Margolis (1997) of Energetics Incorporated, reports the different air

emissions from the process of producing aluminum (p. 22). The first process which is

refining alumina produces some air particulates. Electrolysis is used in the process of

smelting which extracts the aluminum from the ore. The production of electrical

conductors, known as anodes, release fluorides and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. A

study done by E. Egli, S. Durrenberger, and P. Fitze (2004) revealed that the fluorides

released into the atmosphere from nearby aluminum smelting plants were affecting the

nearby soils. Fluorine deposits in the soil lead to an increase in humus content and in
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effect caused an increase in the pH levels of the soil (p.5). The smelting process in

producing aluminum releases carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, fluorides,

and perfluorocarbons. Estimates of 11.7 kg of carbon dioxide are released for every kg of

aluminum produced in the process of smelting. “EPA estimates that annual

…[perfluorocarbon] emissions from U.S. aluminum smelting are about 27,000 tons”

(Margolis, 1997, p. 57).

This process of producing aluminum also produces significant amounts of

wastewater and solid waste byproducts. Margolis reports that the refining of alumina and

the production of electric conduction produces waste water containing starch, sand,

fluorides and caustic. In the process of refining alumina known as the Bayer process, a

bauxite residue byproduct is created. This byproduct is most commonly known for its red

color and adapted the common name red mud. The cause for the red colored byproduct is

from the high concentration of iron compounds. The bauxite residue has a ph level near

13 because of the alkaline sodium compounds and contains traces of heavy metals and

radioactive elements like uranium (International Aluminum Institute). L.Y. Li (2001),

author of A study of Iron Mineral Transformation to Reduce Red Mud Tailings, explains

that the disposal of red mud is constructed of three major problems. One being the

enormous amount of land area needed to store the residue, ground water contamination,

and spillage of red mud from damaged pipelines (p. 2). These issues not only put the

environment into a potential hazardous state but indeed jeopardize human health.

CFC, HCFC, HFC

The refrigerator would not be what it is today without the all important insulation

that produces cool air for the refrigerator. But the insulation used in refrigerators holds an
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awful burden on the ozone. Most refrigerator insulation used chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)

as a refrigerant before there was a “CFC phase-out”. It was in 1974 when it was

discovered that CFCs were causing stratospheric ozone depletion from the release of

chlorine atoms exerting extreme solar radiation (Powell, 2002, p. 1). In 1987 the

Montreal Protocol officially banned the use CFCs in aerosol cans and refrigerants. The

Montreal Protocol has successfully reduced the trace amounts of CFCs in the atmosphere

tremendously (Appendix D). The evidence of a depleting ozone lead to

hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) as the replacement of CFC as a refrigerant. HCFCs do

still cause ozone depletion but at a much less extreme. According to The Alliance for

Responsible Atmoshere Policy, HCFCs are 98% less ozone depleting and 80% shorter

lived in the atmosphere than CFCs (The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy).

Today Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) are used as the refrigerant in the polyurethane

foam insulation and which still acts as green house gas when released into the

atmosphere. The releasing of 1 kg of HFC is equivalent to 1300 kg of carbon dioxide

(Lindley, 2003, p. 2). The production of HFCs produces a spent catalyst which is a

dangerous byproduct. A. McCulloch and A.A. Lindley describe the process of disposing

of spent catalyst, “at an average rate of 1 kg ton^-1 of product is essentially an inert

transition metal oxyfluoride that is treated as special waste and sent to a secure

landfill…that has been suitably engineered to obviate leaching of the contents” (Lindley,

2003, p. 5). For every ton of HFC-134a produced .39 tons of fluorspar, .15 tons of crude

oil, .17 tons of natural gas, .21 tons limestone, .16 tons of sulphur, 3.1 tons of sodium

chloride, and 25 tons of water are required. The cost of energy in transporting the

finished product of HFC-134a is equivalent to .04 tons of carbon dioxide. One ton of
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HFC-134a released into the atmosphere is equal to 2.1 tons of carbon dioxide (Lindley,

2003, p.7).

Discarding of Refrigerators

The durability of many refrigerators raises concern in the fact that still there are

refrigerators being used which still contain dangerous green house gas refrigerants. Soon

they will be replaced and discarded. Companies offer discounts for providing the

previous owner’s refrigerator when purchasing a new one so the refrigerant can be

disposed of properly. The CFC, HCFC, or HFC that is still present in the abandoned

refrigerator can be drained out with ease. The CFC, HCFC, or HFC that is present in the

polyurethane foam is incinerated. The rest of the metals that remain are recycled. A.J.D.

Lambert and M.L.M Stoop state that “incineration is the best recycling option from a

global warming point of view (Stoop, 2000, p. 7). The only problem with the

incineration of the insulation foam is that some recycalbe material attached to the foam is

incinerated (Stoop, 2000, p. 7).

Conclusion

There is a lot of energy put into producing the materials that are found in the

refrigerator. The mining for aluminum ore shows clear degradation to the landscape

through disturbed forest. The process of extracting the aluminum from the ore uses up a

huge portion of energy and releases many harmful chemicals into the environment. The

transporting of materials uses energy as well as the material that travels from one end of

the planet to the other. The other material being the refrigerant may possibly hold the

largest footprint on the enviornment from the release of so much green house gas. This

clearly has the largest effect being effective in the future and causing climate change
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from the destruction of the ozone layer. There is a lot of material that can be recycled in

refrigerators that can reduce the amount of producing aluminum. And with proper

disposal the harmful CFC, HCFC, and HFC chemicals can be contained properly.
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Appendix

A. The international Aluminum Institute estimates these numbers of produced metals

from the amount of both primary produced and recycled production in the year 2006
(International Aluminum Institute).
B. This shows a diagram from the U.S. department of energy’s report showing the life
cycle of aluminum (U.S. Department of Energy, 2007)

C. U.S. Department of Energy, p. 15

D. This chart shows the sum of CFC production decreasing after 1988 and the increase in
sum of HCFCs in 10^3 metric tons (The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy).
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Bibliography

Barkenbus, J. (2006). Putting Energy Efficiency in a Sustainablity Context. Environment

, 11.

Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Mid-Atlantic Mountaintop Mining. Retrieved

February 20, 2011, from EPA: http://www.epa.gov/region03/mtntop/index.htm

International Aluminum Institut. (n.d.). Story of Aluminum. Retrieved March 1, 2011,

from world aluminum: http://world-aluminium.org/About+Aluminium/Story+of

Lindley, A. M. (2003). From Mine to Refrigeration: a life cycle inventory analysis of the
production of HFC-134a. International Journal of Refrigeration , 865-872.

Stoop, A. L. (2000). Processing of Discarded Houselhold Refrigerators: Lessons from

Dutch Example. Journal of Cleaner Production , 9.

The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy. (n.d.). HCFCs. Retrieved March 1,
2011, from arap.org: http://www.arap.org/docs/hcfc.html

U.S. Department of Energy. (2007). U.S. Energy Requirements for Aluminum

Production.