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Environmental Engineering
2
Natural Resources
Dr. Eng. Amr H. Ali
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Lesson Objectives
Natural Resources Definition
Types of natural resources
Details of resources
Water resources
Mineral resources
Food resources
Energy resources
Conservation
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Natural Resources
Nothing in nature is a resource.
Some things become resources.
Resources are life
Air, water, soil, sunlight, minerals,
forest, wild life: we must breathe, eat
and have shelter to live.
To meet our needs and wants we use
resources in many different ways.
Natural resources: material that comes
from our natural environment (raw)
In economics: needs = demands; wants:
supply

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Natural Resources
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Natural resources categories
Renewable

Are the
resources which
can be
replenished in a
short period of
time.
Perpetual

Are non-
renewable
resources that
can be recycled.
Non-
Renewable

Are the
resources which
cannot be
recycled .
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Resources
Perpetual
Renewable
Non-Renewable
Direct solar
energy
Winds, tides,
flowing water
Water Air Soil
Plants &
Animals
Fossil fuels
Metallic
minerals
Non-metallic
minerals
Natural resources categories
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Three Rs to save environment
The three Rs to save the environment are Reduce, Recycle & Reuse.

Reduce means using less of natural resources and avoiding
wastage of natural resources.
Recycle is a
process to change
materials (waste)
into new products
to prevent waste
of potentially
useful materials
Reuse means using
things again and
again like the
plastic bottles that
can be again used
for storing things
in the kitchen.
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Water sources
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Water sources
Surface Ground Auxiliary snow
Rivers
Streams
Torrents
Tanks
Spring
Lakes
Reservoirs

Open wells
Tube wells
Artesian wells
Percolation
tanks
Sewage
disposal
Tailrace of
hydroelectric
project
Drainage outfall
Flood absorbing
reservoirs
Colliery and
industrial
effluents

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Total available sources in world
Storage component
Volume of water (10
12
m
3
)
Oceans 1350400
Ice-caps and glaciers 26000
Groundwater and Soil
moisture
7150
Fresh-water Lakes 125
Saline lakes 105
Rivers 1.7
Atmosphere 13
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Use of water
Productive
use

Water is
primary used
for irrigation of
food crops,
fodder crops,
medical herbs, ..
Etc.
Consumptive
use

Water is
consumed in
exhaustive
quantities for
domestic purpose
such as drinking ,
cooking, washing,
..etc.
Commercial
use

Water consumed
for carrying out
commercial
activities.
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Dams
Advantages of dams
i) Irrigation of crops.
ii) Producing electricity.
iii) Supplying water to
towns and cities.
iv) To control floods.


Disadvantages of dams
i) Social problems :- It displaces a large
number of people who have to be rehabilitated.
ii) Economic problems :- It is expensive and
uses a huge amount of public money.
iii) Environmental problems :- It causes
deforestation and loss of biodiversity.

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13
Water Scarcity in 2025
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resources
By the year 2025 nearly 2 billion people will live in
regions or countries with absolute water scarcity,
even allowing for high levels of irrigation efficiency.
Year
World
Population (b)
2010 6.8
2020 7.6
2030 8.2
2040 8.7
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Mineral resources
Mineral resources are defined as
elements , chemical compounds, minerals
or rocks that are concentrated in a
form that can be extracted to obtain a
usable commodity.
Minerals Rocks
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Erosion
Transportation
Weathering
Deposition
Igneous rock
Granite,
pumice,
basalt
Sedimentary
rock
Sandstone,
limestone
Heat, pressure
Cooling
Heat, pressure,
stress
Magma
(molten rock)
Melting
Metamorphic rock
Slate, marble,
gneiss, quartzite
Origin & Distribution of Mineral Resources
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Classification of minerals
Metallic minerals
I. are those from which we get metals and can be melted to
obtain new products. These minerals are basically found in the
form of ores.
II. Iron, cooper, bauxite, tin, manganese are some examples.
III. These are generally associated with igneous rocks.
IV. They are usually hard and have shines or luster of their own.
V. They are ductile and malleable.
Non-Metallic Minerals
I. Non-metallic minerals are those which do not yield new
products on melting.
II. Coal, salt, clay, marble are some examples.
III. These are generally associated with sedimentary rocks.
IV. They are not so hard and have no shine or luster of their own.
V. They are not ductile and malleable.
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Environmental effects of extracting
and using mineral resources
Mining

Exploration , Extraction
Processing
Transportation,
Purification ,
Manufacturing
Use
Transmission to
individuals , eventual use
Distributed land: Mining
accidents, health hazards ,
mine waste dumping, oil
spills
Solid waste: radioactive
material, air , water & soil
pollution, Noise , safety &
health hazards & ugliness
Noise, ugliness, thermal
water ,air, soil pollution,
solid wastes.
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Food resources
27,000 plant species exist.
15 plants and 8 animals supply 90% of
our food
Wheat, rice, and corn are half the
calories people eat
66% of people eat mainly rice, wheat,
&corn (grains)
Animals provides us with food that are
particular rich in protein such as fish,
meat, milk, that comes from livestock.

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Important foods in terms
of production
Plant crop Types of crop
World production
(1,000 metric tons)
Sugarcane Sugar plant (stem) 1,254,856
Corn (maize) Cereal grain 609,181
Rice, paddy Cereal grain 592,831
Wheat Cereal grain 582,691
White Potato Ground crop (tuber) 308,194
Cassava Ground crop (root) 178,868
Soyabean Legume 176,638
Barely Cereal grain 141,219
Sweet potato Ground crop (root) 135,918
Sorghum Cereal grain 58,149
peanuts Legume 35,096
Oats Cereal grain 27,278
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agriculture
Industrialized agriculture-Use large amounts
of fossil fuel energy, water, commercial
fertilizers and pesticides to produce huge
quantities of single crops or livestock animals
for sale.
Traditional agriculture-practiced by 2.7
people on earth
Traditional subsistence agriculture-produce
enough food to stay alive
Traditional Intensive agriculture-farmers
increase inputs of human and draft labor,
fertilizer and water to get a higher yield per
area of cultivated land to produce enough food
for families, and their income
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World food problem
Reasons for
problems:
Population growth
Increasing
affluence
Degradation and
loss of cropland
Little growth in
irrigation
Decline in global
fertilizer
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Energy resources
Energy is the ability to do work. It
surrounding us in all aspects of
life.
Renewable energy can be generated
without decay of source as solar,
wind, geothermal, and hydro energy.
Non- Renewable energy that comes
from the ground and is not replaced
in relatively short time as fossils
fuels, coal and gas.

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World Wide Energy Production
15.2%
alternative
84.8%
fossil
fuels
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Why to conserve it?
We have a limited resources
available.
Our demands are increasing day by
day.
It is possible that the non-
renewable energy will be
exhausted.
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Alternate energy sources
Solar Geothermal Hydropower
Tidal Wind Biomass
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Conservation
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Project
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