LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF EMBODIED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IN BUILDINGS Lucas Pessoto1,2; Fernanda Belizario Silva1,2; Vanderley M. John1 1
Polytechnic School – USP; 2 Institute for Technological Research
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Objective Assess how the main construction materials contribute to the embodied environmental impact of buildings, based on Life Cycle Assessment (ABNT, 2009).
Materials and methods 1) Quantitative survey of materials that makes up a low-income single family house; 2) Modeling of the building’s life cycle inventory, from cradle to gate, using the ecoinvent LCA database; 3) Calculation of the environmental impact results on Simapro software, for the impact categories provided in EN 15804 (CEN, 2014): AD-e: abiotic depletion - elements; AD-f: abiotic depletion – fossil fuels; GWP: global warming potential; ODP: ozone depletion; POCP: photochemical ozone creation; AP: acidification; EP: eutrophication; 4) Analysis of the material’s contribution to the building’s embodied impact.
Results Construction minerals (aggregates, ceramics and cement) concentrate more than 90% of the building’s mass, being 58% only of aggregates (Figure 1). The same is not observed for environmental impact categories, where other materials, with small relative mass, have relevant contributions, like steel for all categories except AD-e; zinc, for AP, EP and mainly AD-e; and copper for AD-e, POCP, AP and EP. Ceramic materials and cement concentrate more than 50% of impact results for AD-f, GWP and ODP, and more than 40% for POCP and AP. Aggregates do not stand out in any of the impact categories.
EP AP POCP ODP GWP AD-f AD-e Mass
ceramics cement aggregates steel aluminium zinc copper polymers others 0,0
0,2
0,4
0,6
0,8
1,0
Figure 1: Materials contribution for mass and impact results of the building.
Conclusions Materials with high fossil fuel depletion (AD-f) in their manufacturing process (ceramics, cement and steel) stand out for most impact categories (except AD-e). Copper and zinc are determinants for AD-e, AP and EP. The cradle to gate LCA of the studied materials reveals that even those with small relative mass can have an important contribution to building’s environmental impacts. This shows the importance of the products’ environmental assessment by all manufacturers, as well as the mobilization of the various sectors to reduce environmental impacts on construction.
References ABNT. ABNT NBR ISO 14040 - Gestão ambiental - Avaliação do ciclo de vida Princípios e estrutura. Rio de Janeiro, 2009. CEN. DIN EN 15804: Sustainability of construction works - Environmental product declarations - Core rules for the product category of construction products. Berlim, 2014.
