A Life-Cycle Approach to Investigate the Potential of Novel Biobased Construction Materials toward a Circular Built Environment

Naomi Keena (), Marco Raugei, Mae-ling Lokko, Mohamed Aly Etman, Vicki Achnani, Barbara K. Reck and Anna Dyson
Additional contact information
Naomi Keena: Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C2, Canada
Marco Raugei: School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, Oxford Brookes University, Wheatley, Oxford OX33 1HX, UK
Mae-ling Lokko: Yale Center for Ecosystems in Architecture (Yale CEA), Yale School of Architecture, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
Mohamed Aly Etman: Yale Center for Ecosystems in Architecture (Yale CEA), Yale School of Architecture, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
Vicki Achnani: Yale Center for Ecosystems in Architecture (Yale CEA), Yale School of Architecture, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
Barbara K. Reck: Center for Industrial Ecology, Yale School of the Environment, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
Anna Dyson: Yale Center for Ecosystems in Architecture (Yale CEA), Yale School of Architecture, New Haven, CT 06511, USA

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-19

Abstract: Conventional construction materials which rely on a fossil-based, nonrenewable extractive economy are typically associated with an entrenched linear economic approach to production. Current research indicates the clear interrelationships between the production and use of construction materials and anthropogenic climate change. This paper investigates the potential for emerging high-performance biobased construction materials, produced sustainably and/or using waste byproducts, to enable a more environmentally sustainable approach to the built environment. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is employed to compare three wall assemblies using local biobased materials in Montreal (Canada), Nairobi (Kenya), and Accra (Ghana) vs. a traditional construction using gypsum boards and rockwool insulation. Global warming potential, nonrenewable cumulative energy demand, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, and freshwater consumption (FWC) are considered. Scenarios include options for design for disassembly (DfD), as well as potential future alternatives for electricity supply in Kenya and Ghana. Results indicate that all biobased alternatives have lower (often significantly so) life-cycle impacts per functional unit, compared to the traditional construction. DfD strategies are also shown to result in −10% to −50% impact reductions. The results for both African countries exhibit a large dependence on the electricity source used for manufacturing, with significant potential for future decarbonization, but also some associated tradeoffs in terms of acidification and eutrophication.

Keywords: sustainable construction; biobased materials; coconut; bamboo; life-cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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