The Carbon Emission Assessment of a Building with Different Prefabrication Rates in the Construction Stage.

Qingye Han,Heng Zhang,Junjie Chang,Guiwen Liu

doi:10.3390/ijerph19042366

Qingye Han, Heng Zhang + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042366

Copy DOI

Abstract

The utilization of prefabricated components is taken as a potential way to reduce carbon emissions from the construction industry, and the prefabrication rate may be a factor that influences the mitigation efficiency. This study develops an assessment method to compare carbon emissions of a building in the construction stage when it is built with multiple different prefabrication rates. Firstly, two carbon sources (building materials and machineries) and three construction sub-phases (production of materials and components, transportation, and on-site construction) are determined to clarify the calculation boundary. Then, a carbon emission measurement model for prefabricated buildings in the construction stage is developed by using a process-based method. A dormitory building in Chongqing, China, is selected to conduct a case study to show the application of the provided model. The result shows that the carbon emission of prefabricated buildings is higher compared to that of traditional cast-in situ buildings. Moreover, the emission of prefabricated buildings decreased slightly with the increase in the prefabrication rate. A detailed discussion is followed to investigate the reason why the carbon emission does not decrease with the utilization of prefabricated units. Based on the discussion, some suggestions are given to improve the carbon emission reduction efficiency of prefabrication techniques.

Highlights

Climate change caused by greenhouse gas is one of the most urgent environmental problems faced by mankind
In this study, the carbon emission activity data are obtained by the following process: The engineering quantities are obtained through Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the design drawing of the case building, and the consumption of materials and machineries is obtained according to the quota
The employment of prefabricated components is taken as a potential way to reduce carbon emissions from the construction industry

Summary

Introduction

It is a necessary revolution for human beings to accelerate the green and sustainable development. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas is one of the most urgent environmental problems faced by mankind. Panel on climate change (IPCC), the temperature increase caused by human activities is about 1.0 ◦ C compared to the pre-industrial era. If the current rise rate continues, the mean temperature will increase by 1.5 ◦ C between 2030 and 2052 [1]. Carbon emissions from the building industry are one of the most important sources of greenhouse gases [2]. Energy consumption and CO2 emission from building construction and operation accounts for 35% of the global energy consumption and 29% of the global total CO2 emissions [3]. China is in the midst of massive construction, and carbon emissions from the construction industry even take up about 50% of the national carbon emissions

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion