scholarly journals Sustainable Reuse of Military Facilities with a Carbon Inventory: Kinmen, Taiwan

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1810
Author(s):  
Hua-Yueh Liu
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Cell System ◽  
Military Government ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Military Facilities ◽  
Construction Operation

Military government was lifted from Kinmen in 1992. The opening-up of cross-strait relations transformed the island into a tourist destination. This transformation led to electricity and water shortages in Kinmen. With the reduction in the number of troops, military facilities fell into disuse and are now being released for local government use. The aim of this project was to monitor the carbon footprint of a reused military facility during renovation of the facility. The LCBA-Neuma system, a local carbon survey software developed by the Low Carbon Building Alliance (LCBA) and National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, was used in this project. The system analyzes the carbon footprint of the various phases of the building life cycle (LC) during renovation and carbon compensation strategies were employed to achieve the low carbon target. This project has pioneered the transformation of a disused military facility using this approach. The carbon footprint of energy uses during post-construction operation (CFeu) accounted for the majority of carbon emissions among all stages, at 1,088,632.19 kgCO2e/60y, while the carbon footprint of the new building materials (CFm) was the second highest, at 214,983.66 kgCO2e/60y. Installation of a solar cell system of 25.2 kWp on the rooftop as a carbon offset measure compensated for an estimated 66.1% of the total life-cycle carbon emissions. The findings of this study show that the process of reusing old military facilities can achieve the ultimate goal of zero carbon construction and sustainable development.

scholarly journals Digital Twin Aided Sustainability and Vulnerability Audit for Subway Stations

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 7873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakdirat Kaewunruen ◽  
Shijie Peng ◽  
Olisa Phil-Ebosie
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Information Model ◽  
Subway Station ◽  
Digital Twin ◽  
Subway Stations ◽  
The Cost

Digital twin (DT) or so-called ‘building information model (BIM)’ has brought great revolution to the current building industry. Its applications to life cycle management of buildings and infrastructures can further increase the social and economic benefits. As a complete information model, a digital twin integrates the information of a project from different stages of the life cycle into a model, in order to facilitate better asset management and communicate through data visualizations with participants. This paper unprecedently introduces a digital-twin aided life cycle assessment to evaluate a subway station. Dadongmen subway station in Hefei was used as a case study. This new study benchmarks the cost estimation and carbon emission at each life cycle stage of the project. The cost in the construction stage of the project is the highest, accounting for 78% of the total cost. However, the amount of carbon emissions in the operation and maintenance is higher than the amount during the production of building materials, accounting for 67%. Among them, concrete only accounts for 43.66% of the carbon emissions of building materials, even though concrete was mainly used for constructing the metro station. Steel bar and aluminum alloy have carbon emissions of 29.73% and 17.64%, respectively. In addition, emerging risks of the subway stations can be identified. The digital twin has been used to illustrate vulnerability and potential solutions to emerging risks, and to assess the suitability through life cycle cost and carbon footprint. This initiative is relatively new to the industry. The new insight into life cycle assessment or LCA (especially carbon footprint over the life cycle) integrated with digital twin applications will enable sustainable development that will enhance resilience of metro railway systems globally.

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.

A Case Study of Carbon Footprint on Liquor Packaging

2012 ◽  
Vol 262 ◽  
pp. 577-580
Author(s):  
Ya Bo Fu ◽  
Wen Cai Xu ◽  
Yan Ru Jiang ◽  
Ge Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Glass Bottle ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Green Packaging ◽  
Whole Life Cycle

The increasing concern on low carbon and environment protection has aroused a broader awareness of the sustainable development issues to be given to the environmental impacts of packaging products through the whole life cycle. The research of carbon footprint takes the high lights among these studies. The calculation of carbon emissions on commodities has shown many advantages on estimation of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this work, glass bottle liquor packaging was selected as the researching object, its equivalent carbon emissions were investigated by hybrid life cycle method. Through the carbon emissions research of the processes during the whole life cycle including raw materials’ production, packaging process, transportation, consumption and recycling, the carbon footprint on liquor packaging was calculated. The results indicated that the transportation and production of glass bottle contribute the most parts of total carbon emissions, which provides a case support for energy conservation and the development of green packaging.

Discussion about Calculation Principle of Carbon Emission in Low-Carbon Architectures

2011 ◽  
Vol 213 ◽  
pp. 302-305
Author(s):  
Xiao Fei Zhu ◽  
Da Wei Lv
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Carbon Emission ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Equipment Manufacturing ◽  
Reduce Carbon Dioxide

There are more and more low-carbon architectures around us gradually. Low-carbon architectures is to decrease the use of renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, reduce carbon dioxide emissions during materials and equipment manufacturing, construction and the whole life of building use. According to calculating carbon emissions of the building materials in production, construction, using and removal, and the process of calculation, the total sum of carbon emissions in the life cycle was calculated.

scholarly journals Knowledge Mapping of Carbon Footprint Research in a LCA Perspective: A Visual Analysis Using CiteSpace

Processes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 818
Author(s):  
Shihu Zhong ◽  
Rong Chen ◽  
Fei Song ◽  
Yanmin Xu
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Dairy Industry ◽  
Knowledge Map ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Beef Production ◽  
Citespace Analysis

Carbon emissions are inevitably linked to lifestyle and consumption behaviours, and the concept of “carbon footprinting” is now well-recognised beyond academia. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is one of the primary tools for assessing carbon footprints. The aim of this paper is to present a systematic review of literatures focusing on carbon footprint calculated with life cycle assessment. We used CiteSpace software to draw the knowledge map of related research to identify and trace the knowledge base and frontier terminology. It was found that the LCA application in respects of carbon footprint studies was completed mainly for the following aspect: beef production and dairy industry, seafood and fishery, nutrition, urban structure and energy use. The CiteSpace analysis showed the development path of the above aspects, for example, beef production and dairy industry has been a long-term topic in this kind of research, while the topic of nutrition appeared in recent years. There was also a cluster of literature discussing footprint evaluation tools, such as comparing LCA with input–output analysis. The CiteSpace analysis indicated that earlier methodological literature still plays an important role in recent research. Moreover, through the analysis of burst keywords, it was found that agriculture productions (dairy, meat, fish, crop) as well as global climate issues (greenhouse gases emission, global warming potential) have always been the areas of concern, which matches the result of co-citation analysis. Building materials (low-carbon building, natural buildings, sustainable buildings) and soil issues (soil carbon sequestration, soil organic carbon) are the topics of recent concern, which could arouse the attention of follower-up researchers.

scholarly journals Estimation Method of Carbon Emissions in the Embodied Phase of Low Carbon Building

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Hongwei Liu ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Yafei Sun ◽  
Yanshu Wang ◽  
Haichun Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Carbon Emission ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Estimation Method ◽  
Carbon Surface ◽  
Emission Sources ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Emission Quota ◽  
Whole Life Cycle

The carbon emission at the embodied phase is a complex combination, extending the life cycle of the building, defining the process of the embodied phase scientifically and finding out the direct and indirect carbon emission sources in the embodied phase. Building materials have the characteristics of “low carbon surface, hidden high carbon.” Emission factor calculation method is used to establish carbon emission model for building materials. Considering the effect of design optimization on the carbon emissions of the whole life cycle of the building, a low carbon level system is set up to optimize the target of low carbon design. In the construction phase, the carbon emission sources, emission boundary, and calculation model are determined according to the subdivisional engineering division method. Through a series of process decomposition, the total amount of carbon emissions at the embodied phase can be obtained, and the carbon emission quota list at the embodied phase can be compiled to provide technical support for the carbon trading mechanism of the building.

scholarly journals Carbon Emission Estimation of Assembled Composite Concrete Beams during Construction

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1810
Author(s):  
Kaitong Xu ◽  
Haibo Kang ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Ping Jiang ◽  
Na Li
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Emission Reduction ◽  
Carbon Emission ◽  
Composite Beams ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Construction Process ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Carbon Emission Reduction ◽  
The Government

At present, the issue of carbon emissions from buildings has become a hot topic, and carbon emission reduction is also becoming a political and economic contest for countries. As a result, the government and researchers have gradually begun to attach great importance to the industrialization of low-carbon and energy-saving buildings. The rise of prefabricated buildings has promoted a major transformation of the construction methods in the construction industry, which is conducive to reducing the consumption of resources and energy, and of great significance in promoting the low-carbon emission reduction of industrial buildings. This article mainly studies the calculation model for carbon emissions of the three-stage life cycle of component production, logistics transportation, and on-site installation in the whole construction process of composite beams for prefabricated buildings. The construction of CG-2 composite beams in Fujian province, China, was taken as the example. Based on the life cycle assessment method, carbon emissions from the actual construction process of composite beams were evaluated, and that generated by the composite beam components during the transportation stage by using diesel, gasoline, and electric energy consumption methods were compared in detail. The results show that (1) the carbon emissions generated by composite beams during the production stage were relatively high, accounting for 80.8% of the total carbon emissions, while during the transport stage and installation stage, they only accounted for 7.6% and 11.6%, respectively; and (2) during the transportation stage with three different energy-consuming trucks, the carbon emissions from diesel fuel trucks were higher, reaching 186.05 kg, followed by gasoline trucks, which generated about 115.68 kg; electric trucks produced the lowest, only 12.24 kg.

scholarly journals Definition of LCA Guidelines in the Geothermal Sector to Enhance Result Comparability

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Laura Parisi ◽  
Melanie Douziech ◽  
Lorenzo Tosti ◽  
Paula Pérez-López ◽  
Barbara Mendecka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Geothermal Energy ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Geothermal Systems ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Low Carbon Economy ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
Construction Operation

Geothermal energy could play a crucial role in the European energy market and future scenarios focused on sustainable development. Thanks to its constant supply of concentrated energy, it can support the transition towards a low-carbon economy. In the energy sector, the decision-making process should always be supported by a holistic science-based approach to allow a comprehensive environmental assessment of the technological system, such as the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. In the geothermal sector, the decision-making is particularly difficult due to the large variability of reported results on environmental performance across studies. This calls for harmonized guidelines on how to conduct LCAs of geothermal systems to enhance transparency and results comparability, by ensuring consistent methodological choices and providing indications for harmonized results reporting. This work identifies the main critical aspects of performing an LCA of geothermal systems and provides solutions and technical guidance to harmonize its application. The proposed methodological approach is based on experts’ knowledge from both the geothermal and LCA sectors. The recommendations cover all the life cycle phases of geothermal energy production (i.e., construction, operation, maintenance and end of life) as well as a selection of LCA key elements thus providing a thorough base for concerted LCA guidelines for the geothermal sector. The application of such harmonized LCA framework can ensure comparability among LCA results from different geothermal systems and other renewable energy technologies.

scholarly journals Comparative Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Saving and Carbon Reduction Performance of Reinforced Concrete and Timber Stadiums—A Case Study in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Dong ◽  
Tongyu Qin ◽  
Siyuan Zhou ◽  
Lu Huang ◽  
Rui Bo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Reinforced Concrete ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Rc Buildings ◽  
Carbon Reduction ◽  
The Government

Many stadiums will be built in China in the next few decades due to increasing public interest in physical exercise and the incentive policies issued by the government under its National Fitness Program. This paper investigates the energy saving and carbon reduction performance of timber stadiums in China in comparison with stadiums constructed using conventional building materials, based on both life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) and life cycle carbon assessment (LCCA). The authors select five representative cities in five climate zones in China as the simulation environment, simulate energy use in the operation phase of stadiums constructed from reinforced concrete (RC) and timber, and compare the RC and timber stadiums in terms of their life cycle energy consumption and carbon emissions. The LCEA results reveal that the energy saving potential afforded by timber stadiums is 11.05%, 12.14%, 8.15%, 4.61% and 4.62% lower than those of RC buildings in “severely cold,” “cold,” “hot summer, cold winter,” “hot summer, warm winter,” and “temperate” regions, respectively. The LCCA results demonstrate that the carbon emissions of timber stadiums are 15.85%, 15.86%, 18.88%, 19.22% and 22.47% lower than those of RC buildings for the regions above, respectively. This demonstrates that in China, timber stadiums have better energy conservation and carbon reduction potential than RC stadiums, based on life cycle assessment. Thus, policy makers are advised to encourage the promotion of timber stadiums in China to achieve the goal of sustainable energy development for public buildings.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document