Carbon dioxide from earthworks: a bottom-up approach

Hughes, L.; Phear, Alan; Nicholson, Duncan; Pantelidou, Heleni; Soga, Kenichi; Guthrie, Peter; Kidd, Alex; Fraser, Niall J.

doi:10.1680/cien.2011.164.2.66

Cited by 37 publications

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“…cofferdams, foundations, large embankments, tunnels as well as a larger range of retention options. For example Chau et al (2011) and Hughes et al (2011) present embodied energy or embodied carbon calculation examples of other types of geotechnical infrastructure. Furthermore, the materials requirement for each geotechnical structure in a large range of ground profiles should be tested, e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The application of a detailed embodied energy calculation approach to civil engineering infrastructure is so far limited (e.g. soil retaining walls by Chau et al, 2006 andInui et al, 2011; basement construction by Chau et al, 2008; earthworks by Hughes et al, 2011;tunnels, piled foundations and embankments by Chau et al, 2011). Perhaps it is because such studies appear to be more complicated and less meaningful than ones for the buildings for the following reasons (Inui et al, 2011): (1) the design option is strongly site-specific, (2) less design varieties are available, (3) installation processes described at the design stage often does not reflect what actually happens on sites, partly due to complicated geotechnical profiles and/or conditions around the site; and (4) their service lives are long compared to buildings, and relatively negligible amount of operational energy is required, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Embodied energy: Soil retaining geosystems

et al. 2011

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Embodied energy is defined as the total energy in joules that can be attributed to bringing an item to its existing state. This paper attempts to quantify the amount of energy that is put into constructing geotechnical structures. In this study, several common retaining wall options are designed for (i) a hypothetical highway widening project based on a typical condition in London, (ii) basement construction of actual high rise buildings in London and (iii) embankments and cuttings as part of an actual highway road widening project. The embodied energy of each design was computed. Results show that the largest variance on embodied energy is the design solutions and within a given design the materials energy dominates over the installation energy and the transportation energy. The choice of Embodied Energy Intensity (EEI) of materials, particularly steel and concrete, is shown to have a large influence on the magnitude of embodied energy. When comparing among different designs of soil retaining structures, a recycled steel wall system generally has less embodied energy than the equivalent concrete wall system, which is more efficient than the equivalent virgin steel system. Results of the three case studies collectively indicate that minimizing materials usage is the key for reducing embodied energy in soil retention projects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Embodied energy: Soil retaining geosystems

et al. 2011

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“…Hughes et al, 2011;Inui et al, 2011). The construction industry consumes massive amounts of both new and recycled materials (e.g.…”

Section: Embodied Materials Ghgsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greenhouse gas considerations in rail infrastructure in the UK

Saxe

Casey

Guthrie

et al. 2016

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering

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Transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions account for an increasing proportion of total emissions in the UK and globally. The provision of rail transit is popularly proposed to reduce transport GHG emissions, but the provision of new infrastructure is itself GHG intensive. Understanding of the GHG emissions impact of rail projects is limited and very few longitudinal studies have been carried out. Existing assessments are often limited both in their scope and the factors considered. A holistic understanding of GHG impacts must include an assessment of capital GHG emissions, operational energy and maintenance as well as an assessment of ridership mode shift and mode share impacts and the relationship between transit infrastructure and land use. This paper explores rail infrastructure projects and their associated GHG emissions. Guidance is given on the aspects of rail planning, design and construction that must be considered to more fully understand the associated GHG impacts.

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“…Formed by extracting data from peer-reviewed literature, the ICE database lists EE and EC information for over 200 different materials that are commonly used in the construction industry (Hammond and Jones 2008a). It has been employed in a variety of embodied carbon studies including work by Hughes et al (2011) (EIC 2013). Unlike the ICE database, which specifically focuses on the EE/EC of materials, the EcoInvent database provides data for a wide range of life cycle indicators.…”

Section: Embodied Carbon Data For Geosyntheticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obtaining reliable embodied carbon values for geosynthetics

Raja

Dixon

Fowmes

et al. 2015

Geosynthetics International

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Changing climate and the damaging effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) on the environment, has led to awareness throughout the construction industry of the need to deliver more sustainable solutions. Robust and rigorous carbon footprinting procedures for assessing solutions and projects can help to identify where action can be taken to reduce CO2 emissions. It also promotes the marketing of those solutions and methods that produce lower CO2 emissions. Geosynthetics often provide a cost-efficient alternative to more ‘traditional’ construction techniques. Recently, work by the Waste and Resources Action Programme in the UK has shown that geosynthetic solutions can also produce much lower CO2 emissions. However, there are still questions as to the reliability of such calculations. Although the methodologies employed are relatively consistent worldwide, the accuracy of the embodied carbon data available for use in calculations remains uncertain. Geosynthetic products are not specifically included in the embodied carbon construction materials databases most commonly employed in Europe, and often generic values for polypropylene and polyethylene are used. This paper presents a study in which the embodied carbon data for geosynthetic products was calculated using first-hand manufacturing process data. The values calculated for two categories of geosynthetics were considerably lower than commonly employed database values. Nonwoven geotextiles had an average embodied carbon value of 2.35 tCO2e/t, with values for example geogrids of 2.97 tCO2e/t for extruded and 2.36 tCO2e/t woven.

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Carbon dioxide from earthworks: a bottom-up approach

Cited by 37 publications

References 0 publications

Embodied energy: Soil retaining geosystems

Embodied energy: Soil retaining geosystems

Greenhouse gas considerations in rail infrastructure in the UK

Obtaining reliable embodied carbon values for geosynthetics

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