Blog Post 3

 Blog Post 3

1. The glass that is on every iPhone, also known as Gorilla Glass, is an extra-durable glass hybrid made from “chemically-strengthened alkali-aluminosilicate” in either a factory in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, USA, or in Shizuoka, Japan (Tech Target, 2013; Corning, 2010). An iPhone’s lithium-ion batteries in recent years have come from one of two companies. One is the Albemarle Corporation, which has brine mines (as lithium-ion’s main ingredients are usually pegmatites or salt lake brines) in Greenbushes, Australia, Clayton Valley, Nevada, and in Salar de Atacama, Chile. The other main supplier for Apple is Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM), whose main mining operations are based in northern Chile’s Tarapacá and Antofagasta desert regions (Albemarle, 2022; SQM, 2018). 

2.    

1. My product, especially the lithium battery component, has direct and harmful effects on the environment. The evaporated brine mining fluid mixture of chemicals like manganese, potassium, borax, and brine salts, as well as, hydrochloric acid and leftover lithium cathodes can both seep into groundwater sources and contaminate surface water. A famous instance of this was in 2016 when a Chinese lithium factory waste leaked out into the Liqi River near the Tibetan plateau and killed much of the fish and the livestock grazing near the river. Another example is the actual massive loss of water in general due to the unbelievable amount of water used for lithium mining. In places like Chile’s Salar de Atacama, mining has cost the region, which depends on the harvesting of crops like quinoa and livestock such as llamas, over 65% of its water has been dried/used up. The contamination has gotten so bad in places like Salar de Atacama that the remaining streams and waterways now have an “unnatural blue hue” to them (Katwala, 2018). The corrosive resources needed to make lithium-ion batteries have negative effects to soil as its acidity erodes any nutrients in the soil, harming crops and the fertility of the soil. All this evidence supports that lithium mining not only decimates the habitat around it, but also steadily kills off the biodiversity in the region the mining is done in.

2. Gorilla Glass does not seem to use any chemicals, maybe besides their secret compound alkali-aluminosilicate formula, in their production that I could find. The only fossil fuel that Gorilla Glass truly needs to be produced seems to be just natural gas as the heat source for melting the glass as intended (Tech Target, 2013; Corning, 2020). The mining of lithium-ion ore and its manufacturing of the battery does use chemicals like manganese, potassium, borax, and salts for the chemical cocktail that is leftover from brine mining (Krosofsky, 2020). Others also include hydrochloric acid, which is used to process lithium batteries, and lithium cathodes (lithium-ion used-up electro-chemical remnants, the leftover waste). While not all life-threatening, the effects of mining lithium are certainly felt, as the leftover mining chemicals can either seep into waterways or be evaporated into the air. These chemicals then are either breathed in or drank by locals, livestock, and crops who use the air and water around them daily, with many of these mining fluids being classified as “forever chemicals”, causing widespread crop failure and large numbers of livestock deaths (Katwala, 2018; IER, 2020). 

3. While glass production, and lithium mining especially, do not create as much CO2 or other toxic fumes/air pollutants as other energy source production processes do, some details about glass production relate to such. During the normal process of melting raw materials like glass, emissions of CO2 are quite common as natural gas is used to help heat the glass to its melting point. However, the breakdown of compounds in glass-like sulfate and nitrogen can cause “acidification and formation of smog.”(AGC Glass Europe, 2022) The presence of acidification, and especially smog, can cause the air quality of any region to drop to a less-desirable amount. Conclusively, yes, glass production can contribute to carbon dioxide emissions as well as to a possible, but not  certain, chance of worsening air quality due to the melting of glass and other compounds. Meanwhile, lithium-carbonate mining has direct effects that cause air quality issues. The corrosive metals and chemicals used in batteries can seep into waterways and can deeply contaminate the environment that the waterway provides. A more direct relation through lithium batteries is the processes in which some companies dispose of used/depleted lithium cell units, in which they burn such, and thus contribute to carbon emissions and a waste of lithium (IER, 2020). Another example is the chemicals leftover from brine mining/forming lithium-carbonate that evaporate into the atmosphere that has been known to cause human respiratory health problems, which include: potassium, salt, borax, manganese, and hydrochloric acid (Katwala, 2018).

3.   

1.  Most Apple products, including iPhones, are shipped via air freight services like FedEx and UPS (Shen, 2015). My dad and I bought my most recent iPhone at our local Apple Store at Mayfair Mall.

2.  For sure, the lithium-ion batteries travel the longest distance to get to where I live. Out of the two components, the lithium-ion batteries, and the Gorilla Glass, the Gorilla Glass is much more of a “local” product/component of the iPhone versus the lithium-ion batteries, even if the batteries were made in specifically in Albemarle’s Nevada mining site.

3. Depending on what waste is being described, it varies how much waste there is. Packaging for either iPhone or its ingredients, Gorilla Glass and lithium-ion batteries is relatively basic and/or minimal, and Gorilla Glass, besides using natural glass, does not have much other waste than that besides some emissions (Shen, 2015; Pettitt, 2019). However, both ingredients travel by either truck and/or plane, so there are emissions that come from both being transported. Meanwhile, lithium-ion batteries and their leftovers from brine mining, have various sources of waste. There is the chemical cocktail that is left from the mining fluid used to extricate lithium cell batteries made up of borax, potassium, manganese, and salts that evaporates into the air, causing air quality issues, or seeping into local watersheds/waterways. Another primary source of waste is the hydrochloric acid used to create the lithium-ion form which can also evaporate, causing wasteful harm to surrounding areas (Katwala, 2018). In brine mining, there is also a gigantic waste of water, as “500,000 gallons” to 2 million liters “of water per ton of lithium extracted” are used, which not only severely wastes water resources, but also wastes water that the region and its animal, human, and agricultural inhabitants need (Krosofsky, 2020; Simpkins, 2021). Lastly, the remnants of the used-up electro-chemicals, or lithium cathodes, are extremely hard to get rid of and cannot be reused, as the leftovers form into a weird acidic electrochemical “soup”-like substance that is burned (Katwala, 2018).

4.   

1. These impacts are local because they affect the resources that the inhabitants of lithium-mined regions use on a daily basis, like fertile soil for crops and clean, drinkable/usable water. Many of the areas that are affected by lithium mining depend on the water sources that they have as it is integral to their way to make a living, to feed their families, and be able to literally breathe, eat, and drink without being poisoned. Lithium mining affects all of these different facets of their daily lives, whether the inhabited region is in Chile, China, Nevada, Australia, or others.

2. I would say any region/place that is mined for lithium carbonate for lithium batteries would be undoubtedly and overwhelmingly bearing the environmental impact that the iPhone battery, makes. 

3. These impacts are global because lithium mining uses an insane amount of water just to mine for the resources necessary for each ton of lithium. When water sources are dried up, there becomes less biodiversity, which not only affects the local region but also affects the climate. It can also affect the livestock/crops grown in the regions that are mined, as some of these crops/livestock products are sold internationally and can be transported to places like the local grocery store.

4. The lithium mining business is a global market and since at least half of the world has a smartphone from the past 10 years (iPhone or not), it is hard not to find someone who does not use lithium batteries or smartphone screen cases every day. Heck, our days are sometimes controlled by how much battery life we have on our phones, and we often wake up each morning and check our phones and see what is on their screen. 

5. In the link below is a video about how Gorilla Glass, the hybrid glass compound used to make iPhone screens, is manufactured right here in the USA. While they do not give the exact specifics about what certain chemicals they use, they do give a general overview of how the final product is kept together.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/08/how-apple-iphone-gorilla-glass-is-made-corning-factory.html.  

Cited Works:

Katwala, A. (May 8, 2018). The Spiraling Environmental Cost of Our Lithium Battery Addiction. Wired UK. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact. 

IER. (November 12, 2020). The Environmental Impact of Lithium Batteries. Institute for Energy Research. https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/the-environmental-impact-of-lithium-batteries/.  

Simpkins, L. G. (September 23, 2021). The Side Effects of Lithium Mining. Welcome Collection. https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/YTdnPhIAACIAGuF3. 

Krosofsky, A. (October 22, 2020). Fracking vs. Lithium Mining: What’s the Difference?. Green Matters. https://www.greenmatters.com/p/fracking-vs-lithium-mining. 

Shen, L. (April 27, 2015). iPhone Commodity Chain. Ohio State University. https://u.osu.edu/iphonecommoditychain/5-transportation-warehousing/. 

Albemarle. (2022). Lithium Resources. Albemarle Corporation. https://www.albemarle.com/businesses/lithium/resources--recycling/lithium-resources. 

Tech Target Contributor. (April 2013). What is Gorilla Glass?. Tech Target. https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Gorilla-Glass. 

Corning. (2020). What is Corning Gorilla Glass and How is it Made?. Corning Incorporated. https://www.corning.com/gorillaglass/worldwide/en/a-look-behind-corning-gorilla-glass.html. 

SQM S.A. (2018). SQM Present in the Communities. Sociedad Química y Minera. https://www.sqm.com/en/en-comunidad/comunidades/#pozo-almonte__tab. 

AGC Glass Europe. (2022). Environmental Impact. AGC Glass Europe. https://www.agc-glass.eu/en/sustainability/environmental-achievements/environmental-impact. 

Pettitt, J. (February 9, 2019). Go Inside the Factory that Makes the iPhone’s Gorilla Glass. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/08/how-apple-iphone-gorilla-glass-is-made-corning-factory.html. 

Corning. (2010). FAQs. Corning Incorporated. https://web.archive.org/web/20101209145937/http://corninggorillaglass.com/faqs/all.