Study of Cost and Embodied Carbon to Select Building Materials and Technologies.

Abstract

Embodied carbon of materials is not currently a driving factor in the choice of structural system and building design in India as of now. However, considering the ambitious goals of sustainability set by India and to keep up with the rapid pace of urbanization, due thought should be given to this parameter of embodied carbon of materials used in structures. Still, no established theory has been proposed for the life cycle carbon assessment of buildings in India. The life cycle of a building has been divided into three stages based on material and energy flow: the materialization stage, incorporating materials preparation and transportation and on-site construction; the operation stage, incorporating daily use, routine maintenance, and engineering renovation; and the disposal stage, incorporating building demolition, waste transportation and recycling and reuse. Carbon emissions related to different construction materials at construction stage, Concrete is the major contributor, followed by Clay bricks with, then steel. Other contributing materials in increasing the carbon emissions are plaster, flooring and POP ceiling. After considering the carbon emissions of alternative materials for walls, it was observed that minimum emissions are generated by CSEB (Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks) followed by fly ash bricks, autoclaved aerated concrete blocks, hollow concrete blocks, solid concrete blocks and clay bricks. CSEB generates only 26.71% of the total carbon emission by clay bricks and fly ash bricks generate 32.73% of carbon emissions as that of clay bricks. Through the exploratory research done in this paper, the importance of embodied carbon, emissions due to conventional building materials and emissions due to alternative building materials and their effect of cost on the structure is highlighted.