Analysis of CO2 Emission Characteristics of Concrete Used at Construction Sites

Abstract

Abstract:As the greenhouse gas reduction goal of 37% below business-as-usual (BAU) by 2030, the construction industry is recognized as an anti-environment industry for mass consumption/mass waste; thus, members of the industry are requested to make efforts to transform it into an environment-friendly industry. Concrete, a common construction material, is known to emit large amounts of environmentally hazardous waste during the processes related to its production, construction, maintenance, and demolition. The amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the product is specified in a ready-mixed concrete report whenever concrete is sold commercially. Hence, there have been many studies addressing the quantitative evaluation and reduction of the environmental effects of concrete. This study aims to introduce a method for assessing the amount of carbon dioxide emission from the processes of producing concrete. Moreover, we measured the quantities of CO 2 emission of about 10 under-construction projects, including office buildings, apartment buildings, and high-rise residential buildings in South Korea. Using the assessment result, we analyzed the CO 2 reduction performance of an office building in South Korea and drew conclusions about measures for reducing CO 2 emission.

Impacts of Global Warming and Sea Level Rise on Service Life of Chloride-Exposed Concrete Structures

“…To address the weak points of previous studies [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], this study considers the effect of sea level rise on service life. A probabilistic model is proposed for evaluating the service life of coastal concrete structures resulting from global warming and sea level rise.…”

“…A CO 2 emission reduction method at the construction stage was proposed. However, these LCA frameworks [8][9][10][11] do not consider the effect of global warming on service life.…”

“…Since the rise in sea level was not taken into account, previous models [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] underestimate the rates of chloride ingress and steel corrosion and overestimate the service life of coastal concrete. To address the weak points of previous studies [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], this study considers the effect of sea level rise on service life.…”

“…Compared with normal concrete, internal cured HPC can allow a 63% reduction in life cycle cost. Kim et al [11] evaluated CO 2 emission of marine concrete used at construction sites. A CO 2 emission reduction method at the construction stage was proposed.…”

“…However, the previous studies [12][13][14][15][16][17] mainly focused on the effect of global warming on chloride ingress. The effect of sea level rise on chloride ingress was not considered in the studies [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. With the rise in sea level, the distance between the coast and structure decreases, the surface chloride concentration increases, and, consequently, the rate of chloride ingress and the rate of corrosion both increase as well.…”