A1–A5 Embodied Carbon Assessment to Evaluate Bio-Based Components in Façade System Modules

Luca Morganti, Laura Vandi, Julen Astudillo Larraz, Javier García-Jaca, Arsenio Navarro Muedra and Alessandro Pracucci ()
Additional contact information
Luca Morganti: Focchi Spa, Via Cornacchiara 805, 47824 Rimini, Italy
Laura Vandi: Focchi Spa, Via Cornacchiara 805, 47824 Rimini, Italy
Julen Astudillo Larraz: TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Area Anardi 5, 20730 Azpeitia, Spain
Javier García-Jaca: TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Area Anardi 5, 20730 Azpeitia, Spain
Arsenio Navarro Muedra: AIMPLAS Technological Institute of Polymers, 46980 Valencia, Spain
Alessandro Pracucci: Focchi Spa, Via Cornacchiara 805, 47824 Rimini, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-25

Abstract: As the construction industry moves toward sustainable building practices, incorporating wood-based materials into building envelope systems has become a priority. This paper investigates the environmental impact of three custom bio-composite Façade System Modules (FSMs) through an Embodied Carbon Assessment (ECA), focused on the Global Warming Potential indicator of life cycle stages from cradle to practical completion (A1–A5). The evaluated FSMs were developed within the Basajaun H2020 project (G.A. 862942), by substituting and combining conventional materials with other bio-composite products to form hybrids from bio-based polymers and wood. A benchmark ECA was conducted, simulating alternative FSMs devised with common practice solutions for the curtain wall façade to facilitate a comprehensive comparison. The life cycle inventory encompassed detailed technical information, fostering the utilization of primary data for accuracy. The study particularly highlights considerations over three technological systems of the modules that incorporate increased use of wood-based components and a novel bio-composite material: the frame profiles, the insulation equipment, and the seal system. Despite the challenges due to the Basajaun FSMs’ weight, the findings reveal that replacing the currently used materials with wood-based materials and bio-composites reduced the embodied emissions, particularly substituting aluminum frame profiles. The insights presented here offer indicators toward circular, environmentally conscious, bio-composed building envelopes, emphasizing the need for continued analysis and refinements as a consequence of increasing the accuracy of the available primary data from the supply chain and concerning end-of-life scenarios.

Keywords: bio-based building products; bio-based materials in construction; pultruded bio-composite profiles; green buildings; embodied carbon assessment; carbon footprint; modular façade systems; sustainable construction; building envelopes; innovative design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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