Technological materials and their

environmental impact

Technical materials
Technical materials is the name given to all materials used to build objects that are
obtained from raw materials.
Raw materials are obtained directly from nature. Examples of raw materials include
wool (obtained from sheep and other animals), wood (extracted from tree trunks)
and marble (a mineral).

Raw materials are prepared or refined to obtain natural materials. Wool, wood and
marble are natural materials (the sheep are sheared and the wool is washed; the
tree trunks are cleaned and cut, etc).

By processing natural materials, we can obtain other types of materials. For

example, we can obtain plastic from oil and make paper from wood. These
materials are called processed materials.

Technical materials can be both natural and processed.

They can be classified as:
​ Woods
​ Metals
​ Plastics
​ Textiles
​ Construction materials

Materials Types and examples

Woods Natural: pine, beech, oak, cherry, ebony,

etc.
 Wood products (or wood derivatives):
plywood, chipboard, paper, cork,
cardboard, etc.

Metals Metals: iron, silver, aluminium, gold,

copper, etc.
Alloys: brass, bronze, steel, cast iron,
etc.

Plastics Natural: rubber, latex...

Processed petroleum materials: PVC,
melamine, silicone, nylon, etc.

Textiles Natural: wool, silk, cotton, hemp, linen,

etc.
Processed materials: lycra, nylon,
viscose, polyester, etc.

Construction materials Natural: marble, slate, clay, plaster,

etc.Processed materials: glass, cement,
concrete, bricks, tiles, etc.

Raw material: a material that is obtained directly from nature.

Natural material: a raw material that has been prepared or refined.
Processed material: a natural material that has been processed.

Choosing materials
All products used by humans in our daily activities are designed to perform their
functions correctly. To be able to do this, they need to be made with the right
materials. Which material is best for each case? Why are things made out of one
material and not another?
When we choose the material for making an object, we can consider different
criteria, depending on our needs. Each material has certain properties that make it
suited to a certain use.
These are just a few examples, but there are many more criteria that we could
consider, depending on the function of the object we are going to build: whether it
is a good conductor of electricity, whether it is insulated, waterproof, colourless, etc.
When you start building in the workshop, you too will have to choose the best
materials for each object so you need to know and be able to identify their basic
properties.

The properties of materials are usually grouped into different types. The main ones
are sensory, mechanical and physical.

Hard: difficult to scratch.

Soft: easy to scratch.
Tough: difficult to break when hit.
Brittle: easy to break when hit.
Elastic: can be deformed and returns to its original shape.
Plastic: can be deformed but does not return to its original shape.
Malleable: can be flattened into sheets.
Ductile: can be shaped into threads or wires.
Conductor: a material that lets electricity, heat or sound pass through it.
Insulator: a material that does not let electricity, heat or sound pass through it.

Sensory properties
These are properties related to our senses: colour, feel, texture, brightness,
transparency, etc.
For example, the glass of a window is made of transparent (not opaque) materials
that let the light in; cutlery for babies is made of plastic materials, which is safer for
their mouths than metal cutlery; jewellery is made of metallic materials (gold and
silver) with a high sheen, etc.

Mechanical properties
These properties are related to the response of the materials to the forces that act
on them.
Materials can be:
Hard, if they are difficult to scratch, Soft​, if they scratch easily, such as
such as diamond. modelling clay.
 Tough, if they can withstand impact, Brittle​, if they cannot withstand
such as a golf club. impact, such as diamond or glass.

Elastic, if they return to their original Plastic, if they stay deformed after we
form when we stop stretching them, perform an action to them, such as
such as a rubber band. clay.

Malleable, if they can easily be Ductile​, if they can easily be shaped

flattened into sheets, such as gold. into threads or wires, such as nylon.

Physical properties

These properties are related to the response of the materials to physical

phenomena such as electricity, magnetism, temperature, etc.
Materials can be:

Conductors:
● Electrical conductors such as copper allow electricity to flow through them.
● Thermal conductors let heat pass through them. Examples include metals,
which heat easily.
● Sound conductors such as glass let sound pass through them easily.

Insulators
● Electrical insulators such as plastic do not let electricity flow through them.
● Thermal insulators such as wood do not heat easily.
● Sound insulators such as cork prevent sound from being transmitted easily

Other properties
There are many other properties that we can consider when we choose a material,
such as environmental properties (toxicity or ease of recycling, for example) and
chemical properties (such as resistance to oxidation, for example)

Wood
One of the most common materials in the technology workshop is wood, which we
can use in many different projects.
Wood is the solid, rigid part found underneath the bark of tree trunks. It is a tough
material that is an insulator of heat and electricity, a sound conductor, and is
resistant and porous.

Before we can use it, wood must be prepared or refined in different ways: it must be
dried and cleaned, and certain finishing treatments must be applied to it (for
example, woodworm protection with chemicals); woodworm is an insect that feeds
on wood and can quickly destroy it if the wood is not protected.

Wood: the solid, rigid part found underneath the bark of tree trunks
Wood product or wood derivative: a cheap material made from wood, such as
plywood, chipboard or paper.

Types of wood
There are many different types of wood because there are many different types of
trees that it is obtained from.
● Softwoods come from coniferous trees, such as pine, fir and poplar. These
woods are very easy to work with, cheap and of uniform quality.
● Woods from deciduous trees, such as oak, beech or chestnut, are
hardwoods. These types of wood are more expensive and difficult to work
with, but they give a better-quality finish.

Are some properties problematic?

Sometimes, properties of a material considered advantageous for one project can be
problematic for other work. Examples include:
Porous wood is very lightweight, but it absorbs water in humid environments and
can swell and bow (conversely, it tends to shrink when it is too dry).
Wood burns easily, which is an advantage for fuel, but is a problem if we want to
protect furniture in a house fire.
Special varnishes and paints are available to make wood waterproof or fireproof, as
needed

Wood products (or wood derivatives)

In the workshop, we usually work with wood derivatives, which are cheaper and
more versatile for our projects. We will use these ones the most
Plywood. It is a man-made wood formed by an odd number of thin wood layers
that are laid on top of each other and bonded together with adhesive. Plywood
sheets are sturdy and very uniform.

Chipboard. It is a man-made wood obtained from wood chips that are mixed with
resin and then pressed. Chipboard panels can have a thin plastic coating on them,
like the ones we see on school desks.

Paper. It is obtained by forming a paste out of wood and plant fibres. This material
is not very sturdy and rips easily, but it is easy to cut, paste and fold.

Cardboard. It is made by compressing several layers of paper while it is wet to

thicken it and produce a heavier texture.

Cork. It is obtained from the bark of the cork oak. It is a waterproof, lightweight
material and a very good insulator of electricity, heat and sound.

Does using wood have an environmental impact?

Wood is a biodegradable material, so it decomposes in normal environmental
conditions. For this reason, it is considered an environmentally friendly material.
However, there are two major problems with using wood incorrectly:
The indiscriminate felling of trees, which leads to deforestation, soil erosion and
unbalanced ecosystems.
The pollution caused by the chemical processes needed to make paper, which uses
highly polluting products.

But we can reuse!

Use both sides of the sheet. If one side has already been used, you could use the
other side to prepare your exams, do practical exercises, print unimportant things,
draw, etc.

Metals
Metallic materials have been around since ancient times. They have even given
names to different periods of history: Iron Age, Bronze Age, Copper Age, etc.
Metals are hard materials and good conductors of heat, electricity and sound. They
expand and contract with temperature, oxidise easily and are cold to the touch;
some metals also have magnetic properties.
We extract metals from minerals in the Earth's crust. To obtain them, we need to
mine for them. The part of the mineral that we obtain metal from is called ore; the
rest of the mineral is called gangue.
We usually find them as alloys and not in their pure form. An alloy is a mixture of
two or more metals, or of a metal and non-metallic components (phosphorus,
carbon, silicon, etc.).

Metal: material extracted from minerals.

Ferrous metal: a metal that contains mainly iron.
Non-ferrous metal: a metal that does not have iron in its composition.

Classifying metals
Metals that do not have iron in their composition are called non-ferrous metals.
Metals that contain mainly iron, whether pure or alloyed with carbon, are called
ferrous metals.

NON-FERROUS METALS​
Copper is a bright, red-coloured metal that has been used since ancient times to
make ornaments, coins and even weapons. It is a very good conductor of heat and
electricity. In the workshop, you can find it in wires, water and gas pipes, motor
windings, etc.

Tin is a silver-coloured shiny metal that is very resistant to corrosion and very
ductile and malleable. When it is heated to temperatures above 400 °C, it turns to
liquid. In the workshop, you can find it in the metal coils used as filler material in
soldering.

Aluminium is a shiny, white, cheap and easy to recycle metal. It is also very
lightweight, a good conductor of heat and electricity, and it is non-toxic so it is used
in food packaging.

Zinc is bluish-white in colour and one of the least common metals. It is very
resistant to corrosion and oxidation, so it is often used to coat and protect other
metals (mainly iron and steel).
Other non-ferrous metals. There are many metals with a wide variety of uses:
titanium is used in surgery to replace bones because the human body does not
reject it; gold and silver are widely used in jewellery; nickel is included in the alloys
used to mint coins; etc.

Depending on their percentage of carbon, ferrous materials can be classified as iron,

steel and cast iron.

FERROUS METALS​
Iron contains less than 0.1% carbon. It is soft, ductile and malleable, rusts easily
and is also very brittle because it has a low concentration of carbon. As a result, it
does not have many applications (a very useful one is the construction of magnets,
given its magnetic properties).

Steel is made mainly from iron, with 0.1% to 2% carbon. It is a hard, very durable
and economical metal, so it is widely used in industry. It is found in many
components in the workshop, such as nuts and bolts.

Cast iron is made from iron and 2% to 6.67% carbon. It is hard but brittle. It is used
in the manufacture of engines, machine tools structures, manhole covers,
streetlights, etc.

Does using metals have an environmental impact?

The mining of ore affects the landscape, produces noise and dust, releases gases
and destroys habitats.
When the ore is processed to obtain metal, gases are formed that release heavy
metals (lead, cadmium, etc.) into the atmosphere. These metals pollute the air and
water and can have carcinogenic effects on humans.
In processes to obtain steel, a lot of CO2 is released. CO2 is the gas responsible for
the greenhouse effect.

But we can reuse!

Recycling metallic products saves energy compared to their production from ore.
Because ferrous materials are magnetic, we can use magnets to locate them in
waste, so they are easy to recover