Recent Developments on Life Cycle Assessment of Building Materials

2020 ◽  
Vol 993 ◽  
pp. 1534-1544
Author(s):  
Ning Liu ◽  
Yu Liu ◽  
Xian Zheng Gong ◽  
Li Wei Hao ◽  
Feng Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Glass Ceramics ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ecological Design ◽  
Lca Case Studies ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Production Technologies ◽  
Green Manufacture

In recent years, the building materials industry in China has made great progress in the R&D of energy conservation, emission reduction and cleaner production technologies, in order to implement sustainable development policy. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is one of the mainstream method to analyze the environmental impact of product during its life cycle, which plays an important role on ecological design of building materials and development of green manufacture technology in recent year. This paper reviewed the LCA studies of building materials. Firstly, the development of China's building materials industry and technical framework of LCA standardized by ISO14040/14044 were introduced. Moreover, the typical LCA case studies of cement, glass, ceramics, wall materials, insulation materials and other building materials were reviewed. At last, some prospects for future research and development in this field were put forward.

Social Life-Cycle Assessment for Building Materials

2021 ◽  
pp. 476-504
Author(s):  
Liz Kutschke
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Performance Standards ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Science Theory

The goal of sustainable design and development is threefold, including economic, environmental, and social sustainability. While there are well-established methods for assessing the economic and environmental performance of products and buildings, the determination of social performance is less clear. This chapter explores the emerging field of social life cycle assessment (S-LCA), particularly as it relates to building materials and construction. This chapter includes 1) an introduction to and overview of S-LCA, summarized case studies of S-LCA; 2) a discussion of the relevance of S-LCA in sustainable design practice and education; 3) an examination of the role of environmental life cycle assessment (E-LCA) in building performance standards and certifications as a model for the incorporation of S-LCA; and 4) a reflection on areas for future research, including the addition of social science theory and practice for methodology, criteria, and metric development.

Social Life-Cycle Assessment for Building Materials

2020 ◽  
pp. 217-250
Author(s):  
Liz Kutschke
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Performance Standards ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Science Theory

The goal of sustainable design and development is threefold, including economic, environmental, and social sustainability. While there are well-established methods for assessing the economic and environmental performance of products and buildings, the determination of social performance is less clear. This chapter explores the emerging field of social life cycle assessment (S-LCA), particularly as it relates to building materials and construction. This chapter includes 1) an introduction to and overview of S-LCA, summarized case studies of S-LCA; 2) a discussion of the relevance of S-LCA in sustainable design practice and education; 3) an examination of the role of environmental life cycle assessment (E-LCA) in building performance standards and certifications as a model for the incorporation of S-LCA; and 4) a reflection on areas for future research, including the addition of social science theory and practice for methodology, criteria, and metric development.

scholarly journals Application of Plastic Wastes in Construction Materials: A Review Using the Concept of Life-Cycle Assessment in the Context of Recent Research for Future Perspectives

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3549
Author(s):  
Tulane Rodrigues da Silva ◽  
Afonso Rangel Garcez de Azevedo ◽  
Daiane Cecchin ◽  
Markssuel Teixeira Marvila ◽  
Mugahed Amran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Plastic Wastes ◽  
Solid Waste Generation ◽  
Alternative Processes

The urbanization process contributes to the growth of solid waste generation and causes an increase in environmental impacts and failures in the management of solid waste. The number of dumps is a concern due to the limited implementation and safe disposal of this waste. The interest in sustainable techniques has been growing in relation to waste management, which is largely absorbed by the civil construction sector. This work aimed to review plastic waste, especially polyethylene terephthalate (PET), that can be incorporated with construction materials, such as concrete, mortars, asphalt mixtures, and paving. The use of life-cycle assessment (LCA) is related, as a tool that allows the sustainability of products and processes to be enhanced in the long term. After analyzing the recent literature, it was identified that studies related to plastic wastes in construction materials concentrate sustainability around the alternative destination of waste. Since the plastic waste from different production chains are obtained, it was possible to affirm the need for a broader assessment, such as the LCA, providing greater quantification of data making the alternative processes and products more sustainable. The study contributes to enhance sustainability in alternative building materials through LCA.

Life cycle assessment of carbon capture and storage/utilization: From current state to future research directions and opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 103309
Author(s):  
Tatiane Tobias da Cruz ◽  
José A. Perrella Balestieri ◽  
João M. de Toledo Silva ◽  
Mateus R.N. Vilanova ◽  
Otávio J. Oliveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Current State ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
And Storage

scholarly journals Environmental Life-Cycle Assessment of Arable Crop Production Technologies Compared to Different Harvesting Work Systems in Short Rotation Energy Plantations

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-68
Author(s):  
András Polgár ◽  
Zoltán Kovács ◽  
Veronika Elekné Fodor ◽  
András Bidló
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Short Rotation ◽  
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Arable Crop ◽  
Production Technologies ◽  
Energy Plantations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Rotation Energy

Abstract Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) was developed as a tool for sustainable, decision-supporting environmental management. Applying agricultural sector-LCA in order to achieve both internal (comparative) and external (efficiency enhancing) benefits is a priority. Since the life-cycle assessment of products and processes attracts great interest, applying the method in agriculture is relevant. Our study undertakes a comparative environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA) of local arable crop production technologies used for the main cultivated plants: maize, sunflower, lucerne, cereals, and canola (environmental data in the territorial approach calculated on a 1 ha unit and in the quantitative approach calculated on 1 t of produce). We prepared an environmental inventory of the arable crop production technologies, constructed the life-cycle models, and executed the impact assessment. We also compiled an environmental ranking of technologies. In the impact interpretation, we compared the results with the values of short rotation energy plantations in each impact category. We analysed carbon footprints closely. The obtained results help better assess environmental impacts, climate risks, and climate change as they pertain to arable crop production technologies, which advances the selection of appropriate technologies adjusted to environmental sensitivities.

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.

scholarly journals Pig manure treatment with housefly (Musca domestica) rearing – an environmental life cycle assessment

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Roffeis ◽  
B. Muys ◽  
J. Almeida ◽  
E. Mathijs ◽  
W.M.J. Achten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Pig Manure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Land Occupation ◽  
Manure Treatment ◽  
Conceptual Design Phase ◽  
Depletion Potential

The largest portion of a product’s environmental impacts and costs of manufacturing and use results from decisions taken in the conceptual design phase long before its market entry. To foster sustainable production patterns, applying life cycle assessment in the early product development stage is gaining importance. Following recent scientific studies on using dipteran fly species for waste management, this paper presents an assessment of two insect-based manure treatment systems. Considering the necessity of manure treatment in regions with concentrated animal operations, reducing excess manure volumes with the means of insects presents a potentially convenient method to combine waste reduction and nutrient recovery. An analytical comparison of rearing houseflies on fresh and pre-treated pig manure is reported with reference to agricultural land occupation, water and fossil depletion potential. Based on ex-ante modelled industrial scale rearing systems, the driving factors of performance and environmentally sensitive aspects of the rearing process have been assessed. Expressed per kg manure dry matter reduction, the estimated agricultural land occupation varied between 1.4 and 2.7 m2yr, fossil depletion potential ranged from 1.9 to 3.4 kgoil eq and the obtained water depletion potential was calculated from 36.4 to 65.6 m3. System improvement potential was identified for heating related energy usage and water consumption. The geographical context and the utility of the co-products, i.e. residue substrates and insect products, were determined as influential variables to the application potential of this novel manure treatment concept. The results of this study, applied at the earliest stages of the design of the process, assist evaluation of the feasibility of such a system and provide guidance for future research and development activities.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Valuation of Biochar Production: Two Case Studies in Belgium

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 2166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Rajabi Hamedani ◽  
Tom Kuppens ◽  
Robert Malina ◽  
Enrico Bocci ◽  
Andrea Colantoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Pig Manure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
The Impact

It is unclear whether the production of biochar is economically feasible. As a consequence, firms do not often invest in biochar production plants. However, biochar production and application might be desirable from a societal perspective as it might entail net environmental benefits. Hence, the aim of this work has been to assess and monetize the environmental impacts of biochar production systems so that the environmental aspects can be integrated with the economic and social ones later on to quantify the total return for society. Therefore, a life cycle analysis (LCA) has been performed for two potential biochar production systems in Belgium based on two different feedstocks: (i) willow and (ii) pig manure. First, the environmental impacts of the two biochar production systems are assessed from a life cycle perspective, assuming one ton of biochar as the functional unit. Therefore, LCA using SimaPro software has been performed both on the midpoint and endpoint level. Biochar production from willow achieves better results compared to biochar from pig manure for all environmental impact categories considered. In a second step, monetary valuation has been applied to the LCA results in order to weigh environmental benefits against environmental costs using the Ecotax, Ecovalue, and Stepwise approach. Consequently, sensitivity analysis investigates the impact of variation in NPK savings and byproducts of the biochar production process on monetized life cycle assessment results. As a result, it is suggested that biochar production from willow is preferred to biochar production from pig manure from an environmental point of view. In future research, those monetized environmental impacts will be integrated within existing techno-economic models that calculate the financial viability from an investor’s point of view, so that the total return for society can be quantified and the preferred biochar production system from a societal point of view can be identified.

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.

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