Environmental Impacts of Reinforced Concrete Buildings: Comparing Common and Sustainable Materials: A Case Study
The world is currently grappling with the two critical issues of global warming and climate change, which are primarily caused by the emission of greenhouse gases. The construction industry and buildings significantly contribute to these emissions, accounting for roughly 40% of the total greenhouse...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Construction Materials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7108/4/1/1 |
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| author | Niyousha Fallah Chamasemani Massih Kelishadi Hasan Mostafaei Mohammad Amin Dehghani Najvani Mohammadreza Mashayekhi |
| author_facet | Niyousha Fallah Chamasemani Massih Kelishadi Hasan Mostafaei Mohammad Amin Dehghani Najvani Mohammadreza Mashayekhi |
| author_sort | Niyousha Fallah Chamasemani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The world is currently grappling with the two critical issues of global warming and climate change, which are primarily caused by the emission of greenhouse gases. The construction industry and buildings significantly contribute to these emissions, accounting for roughly 40% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. In response to this pressing issue, environmental organizations and governments have pushed the construction industry to adopt environmentally friendly practices to reduce their carbon footprint. This has led to a greater emphasis on designing and planning sustainable buildings that are in line with the principles of sustainable development. Hence, it is imperative to evaluate buildings in terms of their greenhouse gas emissions and explore ways to reduce them. This research examines the impact of material selection on the carbon footprint of reinforced concrete buildings, aiming to reduce embodied carbon. For this purpose, two reinforced concrete buildings are designed for their embodied carbon to quantify their environmental impact. The first building employs commonly used materials such as ceramics, clay bricks, stone, and plaster. In contrast, the second building incorporates sustainable materials such as cork, plywood, and rockwool. According to the findings, using sustainable materials in the second building leads to a 41.0% reduction in the carbon footprint of the construction process. Additionally, using sustainable materials can mitigate pollution levels in the three categories of endangerment to human health, ecosystem pollution, and resource consumption by 31.4%, 23.7%, and 33.3%, respectively. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:25:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e68da7e4f25d45b29eb43602dd7cf021 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-7108 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:25:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Construction Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-e68da7e4f25d45b29eb43602dd7cf0212024-03-27T13:32:12ZengMDPI AGConstruction Materials2673-71082023-12-014111510.3390/constrmater4010001Environmental Impacts of Reinforced Concrete Buildings: Comparing Common and Sustainable Materials: A Case StudyNiyousha Fallah Chamasemani0Massih Kelishadi1Hasan Mostafaei2Mohammad Amin Dehghani Najvani3Mohammadreza Mashayekhi4School of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, P.za L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Civil Engineering, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan 81551-39998, IranSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, AustraliaDepartment of Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, MSC01 1070, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USADepartment of Civil Engineering, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran 1999-143344, IranThe world is currently grappling with the two critical issues of global warming and climate change, which are primarily caused by the emission of greenhouse gases. The construction industry and buildings significantly contribute to these emissions, accounting for roughly 40% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. In response to this pressing issue, environmental organizations and governments have pushed the construction industry to adopt environmentally friendly practices to reduce their carbon footprint. This has led to a greater emphasis on designing and planning sustainable buildings that are in line with the principles of sustainable development. Hence, it is imperative to evaluate buildings in terms of their greenhouse gas emissions and explore ways to reduce them. This research examines the impact of material selection on the carbon footprint of reinforced concrete buildings, aiming to reduce embodied carbon. For this purpose, two reinforced concrete buildings are designed for their embodied carbon to quantify their environmental impact. The first building employs commonly used materials such as ceramics, clay bricks, stone, and plaster. In contrast, the second building incorporates sustainable materials such as cork, plywood, and rockwool. According to the findings, using sustainable materials in the second building leads to a 41.0% reduction in the carbon footprint of the construction process. Additionally, using sustainable materials can mitigate pollution levels in the three categories of endangerment to human health, ecosystem pollution, and resource consumption by 31.4%, 23.7%, and 33.3%, respectively.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7108/4/1/1life cycle assessment (LCA)carbon footprint analysis (CFA)reinforced concrete buildingssustainable constructionSimaPro |
| spellingShingle | Niyousha Fallah Chamasemani Massih Kelishadi Hasan Mostafaei Mohammad Amin Dehghani Najvani Mohammadreza Mashayekhi Environmental Impacts of Reinforced Concrete Buildings: Comparing Common and Sustainable Materials: A Case Study Construction Materials life cycle assessment (LCA) carbon footprint analysis (CFA) reinforced concrete buildings sustainable construction SimaPro |
| title | Environmental Impacts of Reinforced Concrete Buildings: Comparing Common and Sustainable Materials: A Case Study |
| title_full | Environmental Impacts of Reinforced Concrete Buildings: Comparing Common and Sustainable Materials: A Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Environmental Impacts of Reinforced Concrete Buildings: Comparing Common and Sustainable Materials: A Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental Impacts of Reinforced Concrete Buildings: Comparing Common and Sustainable Materials: A Case Study |
| title_short | Environmental Impacts of Reinforced Concrete Buildings: Comparing Common and Sustainable Materials: A Case Study |
| title_sort | environmental impacts of reinforced concrete buildings comparing common and sustainable materials a case study |
| topic | life cycle assessment (LCA) carbon footprint analysis (CFA) reinforced concrete buildings sustainable construction SimaPro |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7108/4/1/1 |
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