Natural raw materials are resources found in nature used to make products, including rocks, plants, petroleum, and animal products. Crude oil and natural gas are commonly used as fuel, while minerals and stones can be mined for various purposes. Trees and plants can be used for paper and fabrics. The term “natural” can refer to environmentally friendly or unsustainable harvesting practices.
Natural raw materials are all the resources found in nature and which will be used to make products. There are many different types of raw materials that are routinely used in this way, including rocks and minerals, plants, petroleum, natural gas, and animal products. After these materials have been harvested and before they are processed, they are considered natural raw materials.
Some of the most common natural raw materials are used as fuel. Crude oil and natural gas are both extracted from the ground, where they were created naturally over thousands or even millions of years. Once extracted, crude oil is refined into a variety of energy sources, including gasoline.
Other natural raw materials are also extracted from the ground. Minerals, such as gold and silver, and stones, such as alabaster, marble and slate, are all raw materials that can be used for a variety of purposes. In many cases, these types of materials can be mined intact from the earth, although some require special processing to remove them from the other stones in which they are set. Gemstones and even plain rock that can be used for gravel are also natural raw materials that are mined from the earth.
The plants and trees that produce paper are also natural raw materials. Trees can be used for lumber or mulch to use as tan bark or paper, and plants such as papyrus can also be used to make paper products. These materials are in their raw state before being made into products, although raw lumber sheets or bags of garden mulch can still be considered raw materials. Some plant and animal products can also be used to make fabrics. Wool, which is hair that has been shaved off a sheep, cotton, hemp, and other textile plants can be grown and used to make fabrics.
Any material that comes from the earth and can be made into a usable product is a natural raw material, but many people use the term natural to designate an environmentally friendly product. This may mean that the material has been harvested sustainably or that it has been harvested without harming the ecosystem. It is also possible that the term natural has the opposite meaning, referring to raw materials that come from natural environments, such as old-growth forests, that cannot be sustainably harvested.
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