Abstract
The transition from a linear to a circular economy is essential to reduce the environmental burden of our society. A key issue is to prevent a shift of the environmental burdens and take the consequences of a decision into account, for example based on a consequential life cycle assessment (LCA). However, limited practical guidance is available on how to implement consequential LCA in the context of the construction sector. Therefore, the aim of this study is twofold. First, to quantify the potential environmental and burdens of introducing circular design alternatives for internal wall assemblies to the Belgian market. Second, to review the methodological implications on the results of a consequential LCA with a particular focus on consistently identifying marginal suppliers and substitution routes, acknowledging the time dependence and closed-loop nature of the design alternatives.In total seven wall assemblies are assessed over a period of 60 years, with a refurbishment every 15 year.The results show that a low life cycle impact can be achieved for assemblies that are designed to be used again and have a higher initial impact, such as a plywood boarding connected reversibly to a demountable metal frame substructure, as well as for assemblies with no possibilities for direct reuse that have a low initial impact, such as a drywall system with a wooden substructure. Further, regarding the methodological scenarios on marginal supplier identification, the range of possible outcomes is however much larger for the demountable wall assemblies than for the conventional ones.
Highlights
The transition from a linear to a circular economy is essential to reduce the environmental burden of our society by overcoming the divergent interests of economic and environmental prosperity [1]
The first four alternatives (i.e. Wall 1 to 4) resemble the most commonly applied wall assemblies in the Belgian construction sector [13], namely masonry walls and drywall systems. They do not follow any design guideline related to the circular economy, but they will serve as a reference
The fifth alternative consists of prefabricated wooden boxes, while the sixth and seventh alternative rely on a single-profile and an assembled metal frame substructure. These alternative assemblies follow the design guidelines for the circular economy [6]: the substructures are demountable, the boarding is connected in a reversible way and all components resist the wear and tear of repeated disassembly and reuse
Summary
The transition from a linear to a circular economy is essential to reduce the environmental burden of our society by overcoming the divergent interests of economic and environmental prosperity [1]. Despite the efforts in building related research and development, the implementation of circular economy thinking in the construction sector is still in its infancy. Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd innovation debate. They optimise the valorisation of materials at the end of their first functional service life, e.g. by considering existing buildings as material banks [5], or by designing demountable and reusable building elements such as internal walls [6,7,8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
