Life cycle assessment of building construction materials: case study for a housing complex

Abstract

In the present work, environmental impacts of building materials used in the construction of a housing project in the city of São Gonçalo, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have been assessed through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology in order not only to assist the decision-making of private and public nature, but also to promote life cycle thinking in the construction industry. Based on the guidelines set by ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, the LCA methodology has been applied with available databases and SimaPro program. The results show a considerable consumption of non-renewable energy, intensification of global warming and toxicity to human health. Moreover, this study exposes a necessity of action on the chain of production of steel, cement and ceramic materials mainly. Ceramic materials usage is also a factor the must be observed in detail due its elevated consumption.Keywords: life cycle assessment; building materials; civil construction; environmental impacts, sustainability. ResumenEn el presente trabajo, los impactos ambientales de los materiales de construcción utilizados en la ejecución de un proyecto de vivienda en la ciudad de São Gonçalo, estado de Río de Janeiro, Brasil, se han evaluado a través de la metodología del Evaluación de Ciclo de Vida (ECV) con el fin de, no sólo ayudar a la toma de decisiones de carácter privado y público, sino también para promover el concepto de pensamiento ciclo de vida en la industria de la construcción. Teniendo como base las directrices de la normativa ISO 14040 e ISO 14044, la metodología del ACV se ha aplicado utilizando las bases de datos disponibles y el programa SimaPro. Los resultados muestran un consumo considerable de energía no renovable, la intensificación del calentamiento global y de la toxicidad para la salud humana. Por otra parte, este estudio expone la necesidad de la acción en la cadena de producción de acero, cemento y materiales cerámicos, principalmente. Utilización de materiales cerámicos también debe ser observada teniendo en cuenta su elevado consumo.Palabras Claves: evaluación de ciclo de vida, materiales de construcción; construcción civil; impactos medioambientales, sostenibilidad.

Getting Environmental Information from Construction Cost Databases: Applications in Brazilian Courses and Environmental Assessment

“…In the second case, environmental studies use the structure of the unit compositions to identify the activities involved and to analyze the process flow (e.g., inputs/outputs, mass/energy). Among the themes in this group, the evaluation of the sustainability of the materials used [44,45], the comparison of construction systems and the proposition of more sustainable practices [49,50] as well as pollution emission and energy efficiency [11,15,51] can be considered.…”

“…Management tools often associated with the cost databases use are also shown in Table 2, such as Bills of Quantities [43], Gantt Chart and ABC Curve [46], and Material Flow Analysis [44].…”

“…In the Brazilian construction market, national and regional cost databases were cited [7,[44][45][46][47], the Price Composition Table (TCPO) [24] and the National System of Cost and Construction Indexes Survey (SINAPI) [39], as well as a regional base, the Construction Budget System Sergipe (ORSE) [59], which has also been applied in other regions in studies and comparative studies [60].…”

“…Figure 3 shows the flow adopted for the selection of databases and their main characteristics. (a) Selected Brazilian cost databases -SINAPI, TCPO and ORSE-SINAPI, TCPO e ORSE TCPO and SINAPI are considered the main bases of national coverage [44,45,71] while the ORSE is a base that has recently expanded its area of operation [7,60].…”

“…The internal hierarchy of these systems of classification of works and services are directly related to the work breakdown structure (WBS). Thus, as observed in the review, the analytical budget generated according to these cost databases can also be used as a source to identify the constructive phases and the flow of materials and services (inputs and outputs) [7,44,45,77].…”