Abstract
Nowadays, in the construction sector, some methods are being investigated to detect and minimize their environmental impact. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool that allows the evaluation of the environmental burden of a product or process, with a scientific recognition increment; and therefore the aim of this work is to verify the feasibility of the use of LCA in the construction sector. For this purpose, the environmental impacts of the use of conventional reinforced concrete (RC) columns, and Glulam (G) as an alternative material, were compared. The scope of the LCA included the extraction and manufacture of materials and construction of the columns; the software tools used were LCA Manager 1.3 and database Ecoinvent 2.0. The study showed that the most critical stage is the production of materials. RC reports 3.5 times more damage to ecosystem quality, requires a 32% more extraction of natural resources, and produces effects on human health 53% higher than G; while G generates 108 times more damage to land occupation; however, considering environmental measures, this effect can be mitigated, since it is a material 100% renewable. Finally, it was verified that LCA is a feasible option to use in the construction field and, it provides a wide range of results.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.11.2.10291
Highlights
The construction sector transforms the environment with important consequences and impacts on it
The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool that allows the evaluation of the environmental burden of a product or process, with a scientific recognition increment; and the aim of this work is to verify the feasibility of the use of LCA in the construction sector
With regard to natural resources, it is necessary to indicate that both manufac G) are consumers of fossil fuels, for example in the high temperatures for the in the glues manufacturing, this study shows that G generates consumption of fossil fuels that the reinforced concrete (RC)
Summary
The construction sector transforms the environment with important consequences and impacts on it. It is responsible for high-energy consumption, 30-40% of total worldwide energy (Ortiz et al 2009, Erlandsson and Borg 2003, Kellenberger and Althaus 2008, Ramesh et al 2010, Xing et al 2008, Carvalho-Filho 2001). The implementation of reduction strategies (in energy demand, material consumption and waste generation, effluents and emissions generation) may be alternatives to mitigate these problems. In some previous studies (Ortiz et al 2009), there is evidence of its use in the construction sector since the 90s with satisfactory results
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