Towards sustainable construction through the application of low carbon footprint products

Abstract

The production of cement generates a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions; in addition, the scarcity of natural resources used in the development of building materials and products has propelled many governments, non-government organizations, construction and cement industries, and researchers around the globe to invest their time and energy towards reducing the dependency of the natural materials; one possible way of achieving sustainability is through the utilization of the locally available waste or industrial by-products as a partial or whole replacement for the conventional materials. University of Malaya (UM) has made a meaningful contribution in the development of sustainable building materials and demonstration projects. UM is the first university in Malaysia to build a cement-free house on its campus. Two single-storey houses, namely Low-Cost Model House (LCMH) and Geopolymer Concrete House (GPCH) have been built using environmentally friendly materials within the university campus. Locally available agricultural and industrial waste and by-products such as palm oil fuel ash (POFA), palm oil clinker (POC), manufactured sand (M-sand), and steel slag aggregate (SSA), were used in the development and construction of these houses. Apart from the materials, environmentally friendly methods of construction were also adopted. This article mainly evaluates the system of construction and the application of sustainable building materials used in the LCMH & GPCH along with its advantages in terms of environment, economy and the social aspects. Overall, it can be concluded that adopting green technology and incorporating waste by-products in concrete has numerous advantages. The revision in the concrete mixes by using alternative substitute materials from waste products would pave the way for reducing environmental problems, harmful effects of waste due to improper disposal methods, reliance on non-renewable substances and promotion of sustainable construction. The prime idea of building the LCMH and GPCH in University of Malaya campus is to raise awareness on the utilization of waste and industrial by-product materials; further, the dissemination of the information is to expand the use of these materials and construction practice not only in Malaysia, but also in other countries.