Environmental burdens of External Thermal Insulation Systems. Expanded Polystyrene vs. Mineral Wool: Case Study from Poland

Abstract

The external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) improves the energy efficiency of buildings, and nowadays, this method is the most popular to insulate buildings in many European Union (EU) countries. The article presents the impact of producing ETICS with expanded polystyrene (EPS) or mineral wool (MW) on the natural environment using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The data used in the calculations, related to 2017 real production, were obtained from the externally verified inventory from five manufacturing plants located in different regions of Poland. The LCA of the examined products covered modules from A1 to A3 (cradle-to-gate), according to EN 15804 standard. The study determines and analyses the values of basic indicators related to environmental impacts and environmental aspects of resource use. It comprises indicators calculated for 1 m2 ETICS for five thicknesses of the mentioned thermal insulation materials. Results show that for all environmental indicators, MW systems are characterized by a more negative environmental impact than the equivalent systems with EPS. The study aims to highlight knowledge about ETICS sustainability. The data presented in work are essential for assessment in terms of the sustainable development of ETICS. Such an evaluation is not just a need for the future but a necessity for the present.

Mechanical Properties of Polyurethane Adhesive Bonds in a Mineral Wool-Based External Thermal Insulation Composite System for Timber Frame Buildings

“…External thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS) are among the most popular methods for improving the energy efficiency of buildings in Europe [ 1 ]. The first ETICS were installed in the 1960s in Germany and later in Switzerland and Austria [ 2 ].…”

“…This is more than half of the forecasted European volume of about 215–230 million m 2 . Turkey holds the dominant position concerning individual countries, and Poland, with 40 million m 2 per year, is in the second place [ 1 , 2 ].…”

“…ETICS includes the thermal insulation material fixed to the substrate and the top finishing layer made directly on site, without an air gap or intermediate layers. For many years, expanded polystyrene (EPS) and mineral wool (MW) have been the most commonly used insulation materials in ETICS, followed by other factory-made thermal insulation products such as extruded polystyrene (XPS), polyurethane foam (PUR), phenolic foam (PF) and expanded cork (ICB) [ 1 , 4 ]. The ETICS finishing layer consists of a reinforcement layer made of a base coat with glass fibre mesh embedded and a finishing coat (renders).…”

“…The ETICS finishing layer consists of a reinforcement layer made of a base coat with glass fibre mesh embedded and a finishing coat (renders). Some systems also contain key coating, primers and decorative coats [ 1 , 5 , 6 ].…”

“…Apart from expanded polystyrene, the second most common thermal insulation material used in ETICS is mineral wool. In Central Europe, the share of ETICS with EPS is about 84% and with MW about 12%, while in the rest of Europe, it ranges from 60 to 88% and from 9 to 25%, respectively [ 1 , 2 ]. Standard ETICS applications are rock wool in the form of factory-made boards as defined in EN 13162 [ 24 ], in which the fibres are either dispersed (standard boards) or oriented parallel to each other and perpendicular to the slab surface (lamella boards).…”