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A comparative study on the environmental impact of cast in situ concrete and industrialized building systems: a life cycle assessment approach

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Abstract

The building construction sector is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gases (GHG), especially CO2 emissions, and final energy consumption among all industries. Industrial production of building materials such as steel and cement and the use of traditional construction methods exacerbate these environmental issues. In Iran, most of the buildings are still traditionally built, which consume a lot of energy and emit a lot of pollutants into the air. This research aims to investigate the impact of two distinct construction methods, namely the cast in situ (CIS) concrete system and the industrialized building system (IBS), on GHG emissions and embodied energy consumption within the context of Tehran City. Notably, this study represents the first attempt to explore the relationship between air pollution in Iran's metropolises and construction methods. IBS, which originated in Malaysia, is considered as an alternative method, while CIS represents the conventional approach. To achieve this goal, by means of a scientific approach based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) tool, the life cycle of each of the selected construction methods in the stages of preparation of materials and the main construction process was meticulously modeled in the software called GaBi. The results showed that the IBS method, during the initial phase of material preparation, exhibited embodied energy and global warming potential (GWP) values of 3089.23 MJ and 145.63 kg CO2-eq, respectively. Significantly, these values demonstrated a reduction of 38.2 and 18.43 percent in comparison with those associated with the CIS technique. During the construction phase, the aforesaid parameters of the IBS method were evaluated to be 27.15% and 3.08% lower than those of the CIS method and were determined to be 812.33 MJ and 58.6 kg CO2-eq, respectively. By comparing IBS and CIS methods, it was concluded that the use of the IBS method yields superior outcomes with regard to GWP and embodied energy and the long-term advantages of industrialization can significantly justify its high costs.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

  1. Chronic myeloid leukemia.

  2. Tool for the reduction and assessment of chemical impacts.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the financial support of Kharazmi University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, Civil Engineering Department, Kharazmi University, Tehran, 15719-14911, Iran

    Mohammad Delnavaz, Melika Norouzianpour & Shamim Amiri

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran

    Ali Delnavaz

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  1. Mohammad Delnavaz
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Correspondence to Mohammad Delnavaz.

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Delnavaz, M., Norouzianpour, M., Delnavaz, A. et al. A comparative study on the environmental impact of cast in situ concrete and industrialized building systems: a life cycle assessment approach. Environ Dev Sustain (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03738-4

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