Comparative Study on the Environmental Impact of Traditional Clay Bricks Mixed with Organic Waste Using Life Cycle Analysis

José Adolfo Lozano-Miralles, Manuel Jesús Hermoso-Orzáez, Carmen Martínez-García and José Ignacio Rojas-Sola
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José Adolfo Lozano-Miralles: Department of Engineering Graphics, Design and Projects, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaen, Spain
Manuel Jesús Hermoso-Orzáez: Department of Engineering Graphics, Design and Projects, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaen, Spain
Carmen Martínez-García: Department of Chemical, Environmental and Material Engineering, High Polytechnic School of Linares, University of Jaen, Linares Scientific and Technological Campus, Cinturon Sur, s/n, 23700 Linares, Spain
José Ignacio Rojas-Sola: Department of Engineering Graphics, Design and Projects, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaen, Spain

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: The construction industry is responsible for 40–45% of primary energy consumption in Europe. Therefore, it is essential to find new materials with a lower environmental impact to achieve sustainable buildings. The objective of this study was to carry out the life cycle analysis (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of baked clay bricks incorporating organic waste. The scope of this comparative study of LCA covers cradle to gate and involves the extraction of clay and organic waste from the brick, transport, crushing, modelling, drying and cooking. Local sustainability within a circular economy strategy is used as a laboratory test. The energy used during the cooking process of the bricks modified with organic waste, the gas emission concentrate and the emission factors are quantified experimentally in the laboratory. Potential environmental impacts are analysed and compared using the ReCiPe midpoint LCA method using SimaPro 8.0.5.13. These results achieved from this method are compared with those obtained with a second method—Impact 2002+ v2.12. The results of LCA show that the incorporation of organic waste in bricks is favourable from an environmental point of view and is a promising alternative approach in terms of environmental impacts, as it leads to a decrease of 15–20% in all the impact categories studied. Therefore, the suitability of the use of organic additives in clay bricks was confirmed, as this addition was shown to improve their efficiency and sustainability, thus reducing the environmental impact.

Keywords: life-cycle analysis (LCA); sustainable materials; sustainability; climate impact; bioclimatic architecture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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