Circularity and LCA - material pathways: the cascade potential and cascade database of an in-use building product

Abstract

Improving circularity in the building sector entails ensuring greater material efficiency to avoid virgin material extraction. To assist stakeholders in decisions regarding salvaging an in-use building product, the potential further uses of this salvaged product and its materials should be determined. In other words, its cascade potential should be determined given circular strategies, i.e. to reuse, repurpose, repair sequentially. To predict the cascade potential, a database is required that combines (acquired) product data, assembly characteristics and process data, e.g., info on the process to melt old steel. This database is referred to as a cascade database. The aim of this research is to study steps to form this database, specifically, the combination of product passports and an LCA process database. Hereto, major existing European data tools are considered. For product data, material passports and digital product passports initiatives are identified and compared. For process data, LCA databases are considered. Interactions between these data tools are a possible way to set up a partial cascade database. A workflow is then described- on how to acquire data on the cascade potential of a product from such a database. We note that the cascade database also relies on extensive (economic) forecast models, data collection and stakeholder interaction. Setting up such an extensive database and generating all possible cascading paths is a challenging, if not unachievable, feat. Nevertheless, even limited applications of this database might help reach a more circular economy.

Circularity and LCA - material pathways: cascade potential and cascade environmental impact of an in-use building product

“…Data on the possible further uses of products , and the environmental impact, can assist stakeholders in disassembly and design decisions. We note that, to predict further uses of a product, a database is needed, which is addressed in a complimentary article [15].…”

“…Ample data is needed to model and predict technically possible cascade tree graphs and circular systems. Information is needed on a products technical lifetime, on how each strategy may alter material properties (e.g., recycling of wood, plastic or steel [28]) , and possible uses for this material given its changed properties [15]. Several aspects discussed in this section, (circular strategies, product quality, disassembly) have been studied in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).…”

An Approach to Advance Circular Practices in the Maritime Industry through a Database as a Bridging Solution

“…One of the innovative solutions to address these issues are Material Passports (MP), which can be utilised case-by-case to assist decision-makers regarding the most favourable circular end-of-life practices amongst the 6R. For instance, in the construction industry, Schaubroeck et al [46] have emphasised the importance of material pathways, the cascade database, and its potential in in-use buildings.…”

“…Despite the variations in terminology, all these terms refer to a tool or database that provides information about the materials used in a product or building, enabling better management of resources and promoting circular economy principles. Indeed, MPs are defined as data sets that describe the features of a product in order to analyse the product's current use as well as its potential for end-of-life opportunities such as reuse and recycling [46]. The features may include the material composition of the product, such as valuable metals or rare earth elements, as well as the products' subcomponents and parts, as they can be utilised separately from the prime product at the end-of-life stage.…”