Life Cycle Assessment of Internal Wall Panels: A Case Study of Sumerbank Kayseri Textile Factory Restoration Process

Abstract

This study presents a case study that aims to select the ideal internal wall panel option causing less environmental impact for the Sumerbank Kayseri Textile Factory restoration process, which is now used as part of Abdullah Gul University’s main campus. Since the university has an environmental agenda, examining the environmental impacts of the materials used for the ongoing restoration process has the potential to contribute to these goals. For this purpose, the three most used interior wall panels in the Turkish building material industry, gypsum, reinforced gypsum, and cement-based panels, were selected within the scope of the case study. The life cycle assessment (LCA) method was used to compare these options, and analyses were conducted using SimaPro software. The data required for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) were obtained based on market analyses and also from the EcoInvent Life Cycle Inventory Database. At the end of the study, damage assessment, weighting, and midpoint and endpoint data of the characterization results provided by the ReCiPe method were compared and interpreted. According to the overall results obtained for the described case conditions, reinforced gypsum panel causes the most adverse environmental impacts, followed by cement and gypsum panels, respectively.