Ceramic coffee mugs take the cake.
Life cycle of a ceramic mug.
Manufacturing porcelain materials used in making the porcelain are drawn from the earth such as clay and other minerals including feldspar flint and silica.
Hocking compared three types of reusable drinking cups ceramic glass and reusable plastic to two types of disposable cups paper and polystyrene foam.
Taste is just one factor you ll want to consider when selecting a mug.
The energy of manufacture of reusable cups is vastly larger than the.
Ceramic coffee mugs take the cake.
Here s a look at how plastic stainless steel and ceramic coffee mugs impact a brew s taste.
Whereas the paper cup includes only three different unit processes.
The life cycle of ceramic cups processes are divided into four unit processes.
Plastic metal and ceramic.
The choice of coffee cups can have an impact on our planet.
Ceramic mug life cycle.
Background of the study with over 1 6 billion cups of coffee consumed a day worldwide 1.
The material you settle on will have an impact on your coffee s flavor.
This post however will focus solely on.
A ceramic mug has to be forged in a kiln and it takes energy to get to those high temperatures.
Mixing once the materials are gathered they are mixed with water and.
Production packaging and use while the waste disposal is part of the use process figure 7.
Next in rank is the transportation of the one way cups from the producer to the distributor.
Ceramic mugs might also be washed in more energy efficient dishwashers drastically cutting down on the carbon in the life cycle assessment.
For one way cups pp pe coated cardboard and pla used at small indoor events the production phase of the cups dominates the environmental profiles.
The life cycle is considered to be made up of seven stages.
Production use washing and waste treatment figures 5 and 6.
What s the best choice based on the situation.
There are three main options.
While my personal favorite mug is a plastic tumbler it shares a home in our cupboard with my roommate s stainless steel travel mug and our large collection of ceramic mugs.
That mug will also have to be washed which requires water and you guessed it more energy to heat that water.
Making disposable and reusable mugs requires resources.
Let s also not forget the packaging that mug came in when you bought it.
Although ceramics are energy intensive to make and wash you can lower these numbers by washing with cold water or using.
The aim of this paper is to conduct a life cycle assessment study of ceramic tiles single fired glazed stoneware in order to identify the stages that produce the greatest impact on the environment and the materials and or processes that make the largest contribution to that impact.
To compare these four options i turned to the life cycle assessment lca which assesses the environmental impact of a product from cradle to grave.
This classic life cycle energy analysis was performed by university of victoria professor of chemistry martin b.
1 mining the clay 2 atomising the clay 3.