scholarly journals Gypsum, Geopolymers, and Starch—Alternative Binders for Bio-Based Building Materials: A Review and Life-Cycle Assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Girts Bumanis ◽  
Laura Vitola ◽  
Ina Pundiene ◽  
Maris Sinka ◽  
Diana Bajare
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Initial Moisture Content ◽  
Limited Application ◽  
Ecological Building ◽  
Thermal Conductivity Λ

To decrease the environmental impact of the construction industry, energy-efficient insulation materials with low embodied production energy are needed. Lime-hemp concrete is traditionally recognized as such a material; however, the drawbacks of this type of material are associated with low strength gain, high initial moisture content, and limited application. Therefore, this review article discusses alternatives to lime-hemp concrete that would achieve similar thermal properties with an equivalent or lower environmental impact. Binders such as gypsum, geopolymers, and starch are proposed as alternatives, due to their performance and low environmental impact, and available research is summarized and discussed in this paper. The summarized results show that low-density thermal insulation bio-composites with a density of 200–400 kg/m3 and thermal conductivity (λ) of 0.06–0.09 W/(m × K) can be obtained with gypsum and geopolymer binders. However, by using a starch binder it is possible to produce ecological building materials with a density of approximately 100 kg/m3 and thermal conductivity (λ) as low as 0.04 W/(m × K). In addition, a preliminary life cycle assessment was carried out to evaluate the environmental impact of reviewed bio-composites. The results indicate that such bio-composites have a low environmental impact, similar to lime-hemp concrete.

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment between Ordinary Gypsum Plasterboard and Functional Phase-Change Gypsum Plasterboard

2020 ◽  
Vol 993 ◽  
pp. 1473-1480
Author(s):  
Yan Jiao Zhang ◽  
Li Ping Ma ◽  
Shi Wei Ren ◽  
Meng Chi Huang ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Renewable Resource ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Main Stage ◽  
Depletion Potential

With the emphasis of national policies on green manufacturing and the recognition of the people for green development, expanding the green assessment of products will be the general trend. In this study the life cycle assessment method was used to compile a list of resources, energy consumption and pollutant emissions during the life cycle of typical ordinary gypsum plasterboard and functional phase-change gypsum plasterboard, the key environmental impact indicators of both products during the life cycle calculated, the key stages affecting the environmental performance of products analyzed and identified, and the difference in environmental impacts between phase-change gypsum plasterboard and ordinary gypsum plasterboard compared and analyzed, for guiding the selection of green building materials and the development of ecological building materials. The results show that the global warming potential of phase-change gypsum plasterboard is 3.42 kgCO2 equivalent/m2, the non-renewable resource depletion potential is 2.25×10-5 kgSb equivalent/m2, the respiratory inorganic is 1.97×10-3 kgPM2.5 equivalent/m2, the eutrophication is 1.21×10-3 kgPO43- equivalent/m2, and the acidification is 9.47×10-3 kgSO2 equivalent/m2. Compared with ordinary gypsum plasterboard, the phase-change gypsum plasterboard shows the biggest increase by 874.03% in non-renewable resource depletion potential. The major environmental impact of ordinary gypsum plasterboard in the life cycle is mainly from energy use, and the transport process is the main stage of eutrophication. The use of phase-change materials in the phase-change gypsum plasterboard is the main stage causing environmental impact.

scholarly journals An Epitome of Building Floor Systems by Means of LCA Criteria

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 5442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yovanna Elena Valencia-Barba ◽  
José Manuel Gómez-Soberón ◽  
María Consolación Gómez-Soberón ◽  
Fernando López-Gayarre
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Environmental Profile ◽  
Life Cycle Stages ◽  
Floor Systems ◽  
Floor System ◽  
Homogeneous Unit

Studies of the elements that make up the structure of a building have generally focused on topics related to their physical and structural capacities. Although research has been carried out into environmental impact during the life cycle stages, the environmental profile is far from established. This research aims to reduce the gap in the knowledge of this subject, offering useful information to professionals in the construction industry, which will enable them to consider environmental aspects when choosing the best construction systems. The present study applies the methodology of the life cycle assessment (LCA), to analyze and compare four floor construction systems in two different scenarios (“A” with a functional homogeneous unit of 1 m2 and “B” with 1 m² made up of the percentages of the floor system and the special areas of the building). The analysis is performed using the LCA Manager software, along with the Ecoinvent 3.1 database and with a cradle to handover perspective (A1–A5). Comparison was made using two environmental impact methodologies, Eco-indicator 99 and CML 2001. The results highlight the stages A1–A3 as those that generate the greatest environmental impact. Comparing the environmental profiles of the different floor systems, one-way floor systems I and II had the best environmental scores, 30% less than two-way floor system III and 50% less than slab floor system IV.

A Review of the Application of LCA for Sustainable Buildings in Asia

2013 ◽  
Vol 724-725 ◽  
pp. 1597-1601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Faiz Abd Rashid ◽  
Sumiani Yusoff ◽  
Noorsaidi Mahat
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Building Industry ◽  
Sustainable Buildings ◽  
Iso 14040 ◽  
Operational Phase

The introduction of life cycle assessment (LCA) to the building industry is important due to its ability to systematically quantify every environmental impact involved in every process from cradle to grave. Within the last two decades, research on LCA has increased considerably covering from manufacturing of building materials and construction processes. However, the LCA application for buildings in Asia are limited and fragmented due to different research objectives, type of buildings and locations. This paper has attempted to collect and review the application of LCA in the building industry in Asia from the selected publications over the last 12 years, from 2001 to 2012. The result shows that most LCA research basic methodology is based on International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 14040 series but with variance. It is found that the operational phase consume highest energy and concrete responsible for the highest total embodied energy and environmental impact. It also suggested that building material with low initial embodied energy does not necessarily have low life cycle energy. Overall, findings from LCA studies can help to make informed decisions in terms of environmental impact and help realizing sustainable buildings in the future.

scholarly journals Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Analysis of Sewage Sludge Recycling Systems in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiawen Zhang ◽  
Toru Matsumoto
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Sludge Treatment ◽  
Heat Utilization ◽  
Sludge Recycling ◽  
Recycling Systems

With the acceleration of economic development and urbanization in China, sewage sludge generation has sharply increased. To maximize energy regeneration and resource recovery, it is crucial to analyze the environmental impact and sustainability of different sewage sludge recycling systems based on life cycle assessment. This study analyzed four sewage sludge recycling systems in China through life cycle assessment using the ReCipe method, namely aerobic composting, anaerobic digestion and biomass utilization, incineration, and heat utilization and using for building materials. In particular, the key pollution processes and pollutants in sewage sludge recycling systems were analyzed. The results demonstrated that aerobic composting is the most environmentally optimal scenario for reducing emissions and energy consumption. The lowest environmental impact and operating costs were achieved by making bricks and using them as building materials; this was the optimal scenario for sludge treatment and recycling. In contrast, incineration and heat utilization had the highest impact on health and marine toxicity. Anaerobic digestion and biomass utilization had the highest impact on climate change, terrestrial acidification, photochemical oxidant formation, and particulate matter formation. In the future, policy designers should prioritize building material creation for sludge treatment and recycling.

Study on Typical Visible Light Photocatalytic Liquid under the Life Cycle Assessment

2019 ◽  
Vol 944 ◽  
pp. 1152-1157
Author(s):  
Yan Jiao Zhang ◽  
Wen Xiu Liu ◽  
Wen Bin Cao ◽  
Chun Zhi Zhao ◽  
Jia Jun Peng
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Visible Light ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Main Stage ◽  
Liquid Products ◽  
Visible Light Photocatalytic

With people's increasing demands for the improvement of air quality and quality of life, the demand for new decorative materials with air purification function will be increasing. This study is based on a life cycle assessment (LCA)-based approach to develop a list of resources, energy consumption and pollutant emissions in the life cycle of typical visible light photocatalytic liquid products, to calculate the important environmental impact of visible light photocatalytic liquid products, and to analyze and identify the critical stages affecting environmental performance of product, to guide the selection of green buildings and the development of ecological building materials. The results show that, for the purpose of visible light photocatalytic liquid, the global warming potential is 40.97kgCO2 equivalent/t, the abiotic depletion potential is 9.34×10-5kgSb equivalent/t, the respiratory inorganic index is 7.88×10-2kgPM2.5 equivalent/t, and the eutrophication is 4.13×10-2kgPO43-equivalent/t, acidification effect is 0.34kgSO2 equivalent/t; and the environmental impact in the product life cycle for the purpose of this study are mainly resulted from energy use, and transport process represents the main stage of eutrophication.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Primary Building Materials in Support of G-SEED Life Cycle Assessment in South Korea

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyojin Lim ◽  
Sungho Tae ◽  
Seungjun Roh
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Unit Value ◽  
Design Documents

In recent years, much research has been conducted internationally to quantitatively evaluate the environmental impact of buildings in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address associated environmental problems. With this in mind, the Green Standard for Energy and Environmental Design (G-SEED) in South Korea was revised in 2016. However, the various possible evaluation methods make it difficult to conduct building life cycle assessment. Moreover, compared to research on residential buildings, life cycle assessment research on non-residential buildings is scarce. Therefore, this study analyzes primary building materials for life cycle assessment of current non-residential buildings to support Korean G-SEED requirements. Design documents for various non-residential buildings are obtained, and the types and numbers of materials used in production are determined. Next, the primary building materials contributing high cumulative weight based on the ISO14040 series of standards are analyzed. We then review the most commonly-used building materials while considering non-residential building types and structures. In addition, construction material reliability is evaluated using the environmental impact unit value. With our results, by suggesting the primary building materials in non-residential buildings, efficient life cycle assessment of non-residential buildings is possible in terms of time and cost.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Building Renovation Measures–Trade-off between Building Materials and Energy

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Ramírez-Villegas ◽  
Ola Eriksson ◽  
Thomas Olofsson
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Cold Climate ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Building Stock

The scope of this study is to assess how different energy efficient renovation strategies affect the environmental impacts of a multi-family house in a Nordic climate within district heating systems. The European Union has set ambitious targets to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2030. There is special attention on reducing the life cycle emissions in the buildings sector. However, the focus has often been on new buildings, although existing buildings represent great potential within the building stock in Europe. In this study, four different renovation scenarios were analyzed with the commercially available life cycle assessment software that follows the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) standard. This study covers all life cycle steps from the cradle to the grave for a residential building in Borlänge, Sweden, where renewable energy dominates. The four scenarios included reduced indoor temperature, improved thermal properties of building material components and heat recovery for the ventilation system. One finding is that changing installations gives an environmental impact comparable to renovations that include both ventilation and building facilities. In addition, the life cycle steps that have the greatest environmental impact in all scenarios are the operational energy use and the building and installation processes. Renovation measures had a major impact on energy use due to the cold climate and low solar irradiation in the heating season. An interesting aspect, however, is that the building materials and the construction processes gave a significant amount of environmental impact.

scholarly journals Environmental Benefit of Alternative Binders in Construction Industry: Life Cycle Assessment

Environments ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Girts Bumanis ◽  
Aleksandrs Korjakins ◽  
Diana Bajare
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Environmental Benefit

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with Portland cement (PC) production is ranked as the highest among the construction materials and it is estimated that 8% of the worlds CO2 discharges is due to PC production. As an average, the production of PC clinker including calcination process generates 0.81 kg of carbon dioxide per one kg of cement. Hence, new approaches which limit the negative environmental impacts of cement production and are aimed at the development of advanced methodologies are introduced. Implementation of lower energy consumption materials in production, which could moderately substitute PC in binders, can be addressed as one of the probable methods in mitigating environmental risks. Therefore, alternative binders fit into the most promising solutions. Present research investigates the environmental impact of the building sector, if an alternative to PC binder is used. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used in this research to assess the environmental impact of the alternative ternary gypsum-PC-pozzolan binder in the production of mortar, and the environmental benefits were calculated and compared to traditional cement-based building materials. Phosphogypsum was considered as a secondary raw material, as in the current approach it is collected in open stacks bringing environmental concerns. SimaPro LCA software with the Ecoinvent database was used for most of the calculation processes. Results indicate that with alternative binders up to 30% of energy can be saved and 57 wt.% of CO2 emissions can be reduced, bringing positive impact on the construction industries contribution to the environment.

Packaging environmental impact on seafood supply chains: A review of life cycle assessment studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheila Almeida ◽  
Philippe Loubet ◽  
Tamíris Pacheco da Costa ◽  
Paula Quinteiro ◽  
Jara Laso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Supply Chains

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of an Innovative Compact Hybrid Electrical-Thermal Storage System for Residential Buildings in Mediterranean Climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5322
Author(s):  
Gabriel Zsembinszki ◽  
Noelia Llantoy ◽  
Valeria Palomba ◽  
Andrea Frazzica ◽  
Mattia Dallapiccola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Mediterranean Climate ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Electrical Consumption ◽  
The Impact

The buildings sector is one of the least sustainable activities in the world, accounting for around 40% of the total global energy demand. With the aim to reduce the environmental impact of this sector, the use of renewable energy sources coupled with energy storage systems in buildings has been investigated in recent years. Innovative solutions for cooling, heating, and domestic hot water in buildings can contribute to the buildings’ decarbonization by achieving a reduction of building electrical consumption needed to keep comfortable conditions. However, the environmental impact of a new system is not only related to its electrical consumption from the grid, but also to the environmental load produced in the manufacturing and disposal stages of system components. This study investigates the environmental impact of an innovative system proposed for residential buildings in Mediterranean climate through a life cycle assessment. The results show that, due to the complexity of the system, the manufacturing and disposal stages have a high environmental impact, which is not compensated by the reduction of the impact during the operational stage. A parametric study was also performed to investigate the effect of the design of the storage system on the overall system impact.

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