The Emerging Role of Plant-Based Building Materials in the Construction Industry—A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

The emergence of plant-based building materials is supported by several factors, such as shortages, adverse effects, and quality deficits of conventional resources, strict legislative frameworks targeting the realization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and growing environmental awareness on the individual and stakeholder levels. To support these findings, this paper aimed to assess the relevance of these green materials in the construction industry and highlight the most widespread and thoroughly studied plant-based compounds in the literature, using bibliometric analysis. By evaluating 977 publications from 453 sources, the results show that the total number of relevant papers has increased yearly, while most belonged to the engineering discipline. Most articles were dedicated to one or more of the SDGs, which was confirmed by the more comprehensive representation and elaboration of “green”, “environmental”, and “sustainability” aspects regarding the topics of “materials” and “building” as the most frequent terms. Additionally, a wide range of plant-based building materials are thoroughly evaluated in the literature; these are primarily used to improve conventional materials’ mechanical properties, while many are also tested as substitutes for conventional ones. In conclusion, the green transition in the construction industry is aided by the scientific community by proposing plant-based supplements and alternatives to well-known materials and practices; however, further in-depth studies are needed to verify the applicability of such novelties to gain uniform acceptance and foster the expansion of sustainability initiatives in the sector.

Sustainable Biocomposites: Harnessing the Potential of Waste Seed-Based Fillers in Eco-Friendly Materials

“…This was in passing to as-received materials, not involving an incineration stage, in the case of palm date seeds, as, e.g., the filler for bricks, therefore in combination with traditional construction materials, such as clay and straw, where it overcame the performance of olive husk [156]. Potential was also shown by coconut shells in the construction industry, often in the form of use of ashes in concrete [157], yet also in the ligneous form for the production of aggregates [158] or fiberboards [159]; however, coconut shells do border into the field of natural fibers, whose use has widely been widely recognized in the literature [160]. The use of coconut shell aggregates demonstrated to be adapted for replacement of naturally extracted aggregates concrete (NAC), offering in a Class III concrete a compression strength at 3 and 28 days equal to 93% and 88% NAC, which was therefore considered acceptable for use [161].…”

Water, Resources, and Resilience: Insights from Diverse Environmental Studies

“…Furthermore, this collection places significant emphasis on the harnessing of advanced technologies and analytical tools, as these have emerged as indispensable instruments in refining our understanding, efficient management, and judicious utilization of water resources [13][14][15]. Computational modeling, data-driven analyses, and the adept use of geographic information systems are fundamental in several of the articles, facilitating precise assessments, predictive simulations, and the identification of emerging trends [16][17][18][19].…”