Environmental Potential of Earth-Based Building Materials: Key Facts and Issues from a Life Cycle Assessment Perspective

Ventura, Anne; Ouellet‐Plamondon, Claudiane; Röck, Martin; Hecht, Torben; Roy, Vincent; Higuera, Paula; Lecompte, T.; Faria, Paulina; Hamard, Erwan; Morel, Jean‐Claude; Habert, Guillaume

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-83297-1_8

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(98 reference statements)

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“…Upscaling earth construction faces obstacles in convincing stakeholders about the environmental benefits of building with earth [18]. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are needed since manufacturers cannot count solely on intuitive environmental claims to maintain success in an increasingly competitive industry [14].…”

Section: Environmental Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent LCA studies on EBM show promising results for earth blocks compared to conventional building materials in nearly all life cycle phases. The highest environmental impacts are attributed to transportation and the amount of stabiliser if any [18]. Thus, minimising transportation using locally available resources and reducing or refusing an amount of stabiliser such as lime and cement can significantly improve the environmental footprint of earth blocks [25].…”

Section: Environmental Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, minimising transportation using locally available resources and reducing or refusing an amount of stabiliser such as lime and cement can significantly improve the environmental footprint of earth blocks [25]. Moreover, stabilised earth blocks have a reduced capacity to passively contribute to humidity regulation, thus requiring more energy to achieve hygrothermal comfort during the use phase [18,23]. In addition, stabilisation is an irreversible chemical process, whereas non-stabilised earth blocks can be crushed or plasticised with water, dried and sieved to return to their original constituents [3,16].…”

Section: Environmental Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Challenges to upscale earth block masonry in Western Europe from a life cycle perspective

Pelicaen

Passarelli

Knapen

2023

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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Earth block masonry (EBM) has the potential to be reintegrated as an environmentally sound alternative to conventional masonry systems. However, applications with EBM are rare in highly industrialised contexts. Therefore, overcoming the obstacles impeding its entrance into mainstream construction is critical to enable upscaling. This study aims to identify the priority challenges of EBM in Western Europe. Literature on the barriers to upscale earth construction and EBM was reviewed and verified by interviewing earth block manufacturers in Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland. The challenges were grouped into six categories: technical, environmental, economic, sociological, political, and organisational. The data were analysed from a life cycle perspective in light of the transition to a circular built environment. The results show a discrepancy between research and practice to meet the current needs and ambitions of the manufacturers. Despite being largely unexplored, knowledge of end-of-life (EOL) scenarios may catalyse the upscaling of EBM. This outcome implies the importance of integrating the EOL phase in future studies on the barriers of EBM and matching research topics with the demands from practice following a multidisciplinary approach.

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Section: Environmental Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Environmental Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Environmental Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Challenges to upscale earth block masonry in Western Europe from a life cycle perspective

Pelicaen

Passarelli

Knapen

2023

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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“…The distance of transported material (in tonne.km) must also be considered as this can quickly become an impacting factor in the case of EA. The transport of soil extracted off-site can multiply by 3 the environmental impact for the production of an earthen brick [35]. In this case, the location of the soil is crucial, the scale adopted is no longer that of a country but that of a region or a maximum radius.…”

Section: The Decision Criteria For Relevant Use Of Eamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of this comparison involves adapting the design to the material for the manufacturing, construction, operation, and disposal phases (A1-3,5; B6-7; C3-4). Ventura et al [35] warn, however, that comparisons at the level of the whole building are generally unfavourable to raw earth for high-rise buildings. A three-storey earthen building has a 19% higher GWP and CED impact than a one storey earthen building due to the need to thicken the walls to increase their resistance.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Developing an integrated BIM/LCA framework to assess the sustainability of using earthen architecture

Estève

Beckett

Pedreschi

et al. 2022

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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The construction industry is responsible for one-quarter of the solid waste generated globally, much of which is excavated soil. Repurposing this soil for the use of earthen architecture (EA) will reduce a considerable amount of this waste. However, little research has been conducted on how to assess the use of EA within the architectural, engineering, environmental and economic context, and in comparison with other construction system solutions. This paper presents the development of an integrated building information modelling (BIM) and life cycle assessment (LCA) framework to explore what advantages EA may have, based on the client’s needs and the building’s requirements. The decision-making conditions and criteria for the use of EA are firstly identified in an extensive literature review supported by interviews with decision-makers. A workflow is secondly proposed to apply a LCA evaluating the decision criteria in a BIM tool at the early-design stages. This method allows for the evaluation and comparison of choice criteria as functional requirements of the building and objectives set by the decision-makers. The flexibility of setting input parameters in this tool increases the visibility of the potential benefits of EA over other construction systems. Along with this approach, upcoming applications on case studies will aim to be replicable by designers, based on their practices and design tools, to support clients in their choice of using EA.

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Verstärkter Lehm für niederfeste Bauteile: erste Untersuchungsergebnisse

Vaculik,

Cruz,

Rezaie

et al. 2023

ce papers

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KurzfassungDer weltweit steigende Rohstoffverbrauch führt zu steigenden CO2‐Emissionen, welche zu einem nicht unerheblichen Teil von der Zementindustrie verursacht werden. Eine vielversprechende Möglichkeit, um klimaneutral zu bauen, ist der Einsatz von Lehm als bewährten Baustoff, der für seine raumklimaregulierenden Eigenschaften und leichte Verarbeitbarkeit bekannt ist. Herausforderungen beim allgemeinen Lehmbau sind das starke Schwinden sowie der erforderliche Witterungsschutz. Die Endfestigkeiten sind im Allgemeinen für den Bausektor unzureichend. Ein vielversprechender Ansatz besteht darin, den Ton mit mineralischen Zusätzen zu stabilisieren, um die mechanischen Eigenschaften insgesamt zu verbessern.Erste Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Verwendung von Portlandzement und calciniertem Ton als Bindemittel die Festigkeit des verstärkten Tonmörtels um min. 10 MPa erhöht. Gleichzeitig schneidet diese Methode in Bezug auf die Ökobilanz besser ab als die alleinige Verwendung von Zement zur Verstärkung von Ton. Unter Verwendung von 10 M.‐% Additiven konnte eine Druckfestigkeitssteigerung von bis zu 550 % erzielt werden. Auch das Schwindverhalten konnte minimiert und parallel dazu der Wasserwiderstand erhöht werden. Die Ergebnisse der hier durchgeführten Untersuchungen zeigen eine praktikable Alternative zu Normalbeton im Niedrigfestigkeitsbereich.

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Environmental Potential of Earth-Based Building Materials: Key Facts and Issues from a Life Cycle Assessment Perspective

Cited by 11 publications

References 53 publications

Challenges to upscale earth block masonry in Western Europe from a life cycle perspective

Challenges to upscale earth block masonry in Western Europe from a life cycle perspective

Developing an integrated BIM/LCA framework to assess the sustainability of using earthen architecture

Verstärkter Lehm für niederfeste Bauteile: erste Untersuchungsergebnisse

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