Manuel Duarte Pinheiro

Construction and demolition waste indicators

The construction industry is one of the biggest and most active sectors of the European Union (EU), consuming more raw materials and energy than any other economic activity. Furthermore, construction waste is the commonest waste produced in the EU. Current EU legislation sets out to implement construction and demolition waste (CDW) prevention and recycling measures. However it lacks tools to accelerate the development of a sector as bound by tradition as the building industry. The main objective of the present study was to determine indicators to estimate the amount of CDW generated on site both globally and by waste stream. CDW generation was estimated for six specific sectors: new residential construction, new non-residential construction, residential demolition, non-residential demolition, residential refurbishment, and non-residential refurbishment. The data needed to develop the indicators was collected through an exhaustive survey of previous international studies. The indicators determined suggest that the average composition of waste generated on site is mostly concrete and ceramic materials. Specifically for new residential and new non-residential construction the production of concrete waste in buildings with a reinforced concrete structure lies between 17.8 and 32.9 kg m−2 and between 18.3 and 40.1 kg m−2, respectively. For the residential and non-residential demolition sectors the production of this waste stream in buildings with a reinforced concrete structure varies from 492 to 840 kg m−2 and from 401 to 768 kg/m−2, respectively. For the residential and non-residential refurbishment sectors the production of concrete waste in buildings lies between 18.9 and 45.9 kg/m−2 and between 18.9 and 191.2 kg/m−2, respectively.

NativeLCA - a systematic approach for the selection of environmental datasets as generic data: application to construction products in a national context

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to propose guidelines for the selection of an accurate life cycle assessment (LCA) dataset of building products to be used as generic data for a national context.MethodsThe guidelines are structured within a methodology, called NativeLCA. First, a review of available datasets for construction products is presented such as generic LCA and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) databases for both national (e.g. France, Germany, Spain etc.) and European context. Secondly, a method is proposed to choose appropriate generic datasets by means of a hybrid methodology. A meta-analysis is conducted in the first step on the sample of collected datasets from the literature. When relevant, product-specific data (EPD of the different producers) are averaged to represent an average data or existing generic data are adapted to be more suitable for the context. Then, a data quality assessment enables to rank the different datasets according to the goal and scope of the study.Results and discussionThis study provides consistent guidelines that can be used by building LCA practitioners to select relevant datasets depending on their goal and scope. A full case study for stone wool boards illustrates and demonstrates the applicability and usefulness of the proposed methodology, namely in the selection of a coherent dataset as generic data for a national context. This work highlights the issues in terms of choice and adaptation of existing data for a national context. Industry data cannot be adapted due to confidentiality issues unlike unit process generic data. The use of data quality indicators then helps to select the relevant generic data for each context according to user needs.ConclusionsWhile further efforts are needed to develop regional and sector-specific LCA databases adapted for each national context, the proposed guidelines showed that the current use or adaptation of existing data, if consistently done, can lead practitioners to increase the reliability of building LCA studies according to their goal and scope definition.

Environmental life cycle assessment of coarse natural and recycled aggregates for concrete

Purpose: To present a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of natural and recycled coarse aggregates used in concrete production. Methods: LCA was used to compare the environmental impacts of three alternative of procurement of coarse aggregates for concrete production: extraction and processing of natural aggregates; recycling of demolished concrete either using a fixed or a mobile plant. Site-specific data supplied by companies were used to model the life cycle of these aggregates. A sensitivity analysis was also made for the critical stages of these three life cycles. Results and conclusion: This paper presents and analyses innovative LCA data of production of coarse aggregates, both natural and recycled (from mobile or fixed recycling plants). The recycling process of aggregates has to be optimised, following a selective demolition of buildings that maximises waste recovery, reuse and recycling. The use of these aggregates in the production of concrete is more favourable than natural aggregates only in terms of land use and respiratory inorganics, but coarse recycled aggregates can present a better environmental performance than natural ones if fine recycled aggregates are also used in concrete production instead of being sent to a landfill. These results are, however, very sensitive to the transportation distances.

Insulation Cork Boards—Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material

Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB) are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A “cradle-to-cradle” environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows (i.e., uptakes and emissions), including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage—the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation—the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date “cradle-to-cradle” environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards.

Linguistic dynamic simulation - a new approach

A new dynamic modeling methodology, SLIN, allows for the analysis of systems defined by linguistic variables. SLIN applies a set of logical rules which include base, tactical, strategic and structural change. To make the transition from qualitative to quantitative modes, logical rules are also used. SLIN is advanta geously implemented in a very high-level language such as PRO LOG. A simple ecological modeling problem illustrates SLINs potential applications.

“GLOBAL” Modelling for Water Quality Planning

Abstract Water quality planning models including ”fuzzy“ control options are hard to formulate using traditional solution methods. This paper introduces a new methodology attempting to effectively deal with fuzzyness, applying logical principles. An illustrative example is included.

Sustainability Performance in Sport Facilities Management

Sport facilities have a major environmental impact in addition to a strong public profile and social responsibility. Big facilities, as football stadiums, over different life cycles use resources like energy, water, and materials; need transport; and have many other environmental, social, and economic impacts. Progressive sports and facilities managers are more conscious of their responsibilities to reduce energy, water usage, and waste production and not only to reduce environmental impacts which may also reduce costs.