scholarly journals A joint use of emergy evaluation, carbon footprint and economic analysis for sustainability assessment of grain system in China during 2000–2015

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 2822-2835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-long WANG ◽  
Wei WANG ◽  
Yue-shan GUAN ◽  
Yuan-ran XIAN ◽  
Zhi-xin HUANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Emergy Evaluation

SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT OF THE REPLACEMENT OF CLAY BRICK WALLS WITH IN-SITU COMPOSITE SANDWICH WALLS

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna Lawania ◽  
Natalie Lloyd ◽  
Wahidul K. Biswas
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Clay Brick ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
In Situ Composite ◽  
Clay Bricks ◽  
Composite Sandwich ◽  
Ghg Reduction

Clay bricks are used for house construction in Western Australia. Clay bricks produce large amounts of construction and demolition waste, and have a large carbon footprint. In order to achieve energy savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, there is a need to use an alternative wall system. The objective of this paper is to undertake a sustainability assessment of the replacement of clay brick walls with in-situ composite sandwich walls (CSW). A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool has been applied to assess the carbon footprint and embodied energy consumption for non-insulated and insulated brick and CSW. The LCA analysis identified the stages or inputs/process causing the most significant impacts for determining further improvement opportunities. The findings indicate that a significant GHG reduction and energy saving can be achieved.

scholarly journals A Resilience and Environmentally Sustainable Assessment Framework (RESAF) for Domestic Building Materials in Saudi Arabia

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3092
Author(s):  
Mohammad S. M. Almulhim ◽  
Dexter V. L. Hunt ◽  
Chris D. F. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Assessment Framework ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
The Impact

In Saudi Arabia, the carbon footprint and energy use that results from using concrete in construction is a major negative contributor to the environmental effects of building materials. Likewise, the impact of annual cooling and heating energy demands has an equally prominent role to play. These demands need to be assessed and benchmarked in order that reduction targets can be set. Saudi Arabia presents its own unique context and local conditions, which creates a challenge when utilizing generic frameworks for assessing the environmental impact of domestic buildings. In meeting this aim, this paper presents a resilience and environmental sustainability assessment framework (RESAF) developed specifically for domestic buildings in Saudi Arabia. RESAF helps designers/builders to minimize the carbon footprint of the building fabric and reduce in-use energy demands of domestic buildings in Saudi Arabia. This paper shows how this framework can be used to reduce, by approximately 23%, the carbon impact from construction materials, primarily by substituting a portion of cement for pulverized fly ash (PFA) or ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS). A reduction of 19% in annual cooling and heating energy demand were additionally achieved throughout the building’s life, simply by increasing insulation and using triple-glazed windows. The importance of passing these alternative solutions through the resilience filter is highlighted, not least questioning whether they are really fit-for-purpose.

scholarly journals Carbon Footprint Assessment in the Life-Cycle Design of Concrete Structures in the Tropics: A Case Study of Residential Buildings in Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-34
Author(s):  
Farnaz Jahandideh ◽  
Sudharshan N. Raman ◽  
Maslina Jamil ◽  
Zubair I. Syed
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Co2 Emission ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Concrete Structures ◽  
Life Cycle Design ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Construction Operation

With the exponential growth in development of cities and increasing demand for construction, which is one of the factors in environmental degradation, the need for CO2 emissions control is essential. In order to balance carbon emissions along the life-cycle of concrete structures; in this paper, we have analysed the carbon emissions and assessed the carbon footprint of selected concrete structures in a tropical city. For this purpose, the carbon footprint has been evaluated using Life-Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) approach at different stages concrete structures’ life-cycle, which are production, construction, operation, and demolition stages, where the CO2 footprint of two residential buildings in Malaysia have been analysed as case studies. The findings indicated that the energy consumption, and the production phase in the life-cycle of a concrete structure are the main contributors of CO2 emission. In addition, detailed analysis of the carbon cycle in structures and their interaction with other components involved in the regional eco-system can lead to a significant reduction in CO2 emission, and thus to the improvement in reducing environmental deterioration and its consequences. Moreover, optimised design and customisation to the constituents of concrete, as well as improving citizens’ consumption agenda can significantly reduce the carbon emission of concrete structures.

Industry-University Student Collaboration to Develop Sustainability Metric for Concrete Tie Production

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Sutton ◽  
Pasi T. Lautala ◽  
George R. Dewey ◽  
Pelle N. Duong
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
University Student ◽  
Production Plant ◽  
Short Introduction ◽  
Student Collaboration ◽  
Wholly Owned Subsidiary ◽  
Sustainability Model

This paper presents the sustainability assessment and a prototype sustainability model, completed by students in the Michigan Tech University (MTU) Transportation Enterprise (TE), for a concrete tie production plant owned by L.B. Foster’s wholly owned subsidiary, CXT, Inc. (CXT), located in Spokane, WA. The paper will provide a short introduction of the Undergraduate Enterprise Program at Michigan Tech, discuss the organizational commitments, coordination and communication needed between partners to conduct the project and highlight some of the challenges and lessons learned during the project. It will summarize the outcomes of the project investigations and modeling efforts with emphasis on the prototype environmental sustainability model to calculate the carbon footprint of the CXT plant and to assess possible areas of improvement. The paper will also review parallel research conducted on recycling methods for concrete ties.

Sustainability assessment of selected biowastes as feedstocks for biofuel and biomaterial production by emergy evaluation in five African countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 100-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Saladini ◽  
Said A. Vuai ◽  
Benard K. Langat ◽  
Mathias Gustavsson ◽  
Richard Bayitse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Emergy Evaluation

Layer analysis of CO2 sources in the US economic supply chains: an input output LCA study

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (10) ◽  
pp. 2171-2193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gokhan Egilmez ◽  
N. Muhammad Aslaam Mohamed Abdul Ghani ◽  
Ridvan Gedik
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Chain Structure ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
Supply Chain Structure

Purpose Carbon footprint assessment requires a holistic approach, where all possible lifecycle stages of products from raw material extraction to the end of life are considered. The purpose of this paper is to develop an analytical sustainability assessment framework to assess the carbon footprint of US economic supply chains from two perspectives: supply chain layers (tiers) and carbon footprint sources. Design/methodology/approach The methodology consists of two phases. In the first phase, the data were collected from EORA input output and environmental impact assessment database. In the second phase, 48 input-output-based lifecycle assessment models were developed (seven CO2 sources and total CO2 impact, and six supply chain tiers). In the third phase, the results are analyzed by using data visualization, data analytics, and statistical approaches in order to identify the heavy carbon emitter industries and their percentage shares in the supply chains by each layer and the CO2 source. Findings Vast majority of carbon footprint was found to be attributed to the power generation, petroleum refineries, used and secondhand goods, natural gas distribution, scrap, and truck transportation. These industries dominated the entire supply chain structure and found to be the top drivers in all six layers. Practical implications This study decomposes the sources of the total carbon footprint of US economic supply chains into six layers and assesses the percentage contribution of each sector in each layer. Thus, it paves the way for quantifying the carbon footprint of each layer in today’s complex supply chain structure and highlights the importance of handling CO2 source in each layer separately while maintaining a holistic focus on the overall carbon footprint impacts in the big picture. In practice, one size fits all type of policy making may not be as effective as it could be expected. Originality/value This paper provides a two-dimensional viewpoint for tracing/analyzing carbon footprint across a national economy. In the first dimension, the national economic system is divided into six layers. In the second dimension, carbon footprint analysis is performed considering specific CO2 sources, including energy production, solvent, cement and minerals, agricultural burning, natural decay, and waste. Thus, this paper contributes to the state-of-art sustainability assessment by providing a comprehensive overview of CO2 sources in the US economic supply chains.

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