A review of life cycle assessment of buildings using a systematic approach

Dynamic life cycle assessment modelling of a NZEB building

This paper aims to assess greenhouse gases’ (GHG) emissions in the life cycle of wood bio-concretes (WBC) production when recycled wood shavings (WS) are used as a circular economy (CE) strategy. Two WBC were evaluated, one with a higher content of WS (WBC HC) and another with a lower content (WBC-LC). Different WS recycling and transportation scenarios were evaluated. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used, considering a cradle-to-gate scope, comparing two methods for calculation of GHG emissions: IPCC GWP100 and GWPbio. The transport analysis was carried out considering the WBC production in 26 Brazilian cities, according to different locations where waste WS are generated. In order to increase the robustness of the study, a sensitivity analysis was performed for: types of WS allocation, the origin of WS (waste x virgin materials), transportation efficiency, and electricity grid matrix. We verified that the waste WS content increase in WBC resulted in climate change mitigation for all cases and scenarios (when the biogenic carbon is considered). However, this benefit can vary according to WS availability and transport efficiency. Therefore, transportation must deserve special attention for the CE evaluation. When the GWPbio method is used and CO2 capture during the eucalypt growth is accounted for, the GHG emissions of WBC production can be very low (15 kgCO2-eq/m³). We conclude that recycling wood waste to use in WBC can be considered a good CO2 sink and a pathway for the low-carbon and circular construction industry.

Building materials in a circular economy: The case of wood waste as CO2-sink in bio concrete

Addressing temporal considerations in life cycle assessment

Carbon sequestration and storage in the built environment

An operational methodology for applying dynamic Life Cycle Assessment to buildings

Evaluating climate change pathways through a building's lifecycle based on Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment

Many studies have evaluated CO2 emission from batteries. However, the impact of Li-ion battery (LiB) degradation on the CO2 emissions from the material through operation phases has not been sufficiently examined. This study aims to clarify the dominant CO2 emission phase and the impact of the degradation of general industrial LiBs from repetitive cycle applications. We developed a model common to general LiB composition and calculated CO2 emissions by the LCA method using the IDEA database. Our model simplifies the degradation process, including capacity decrease and internal resistance increase. We used it in a sensitivity analysis of the carbon intensity of electricity charged to a LiB. The loss mechanism was determined by experimental data for an electric bus with an industrial LiB. The results illustrate that the carbon intensity of electricity affects CO2 emissions dominance, the operation phase for mix (71.3%), and the material phase for renewables (70.9%), and that battery degradation over six years increases the total amount of CO2 emissions by 11.8% for mix and 3.9% for renewables equivalent. Although there are limitations regarding the assumed conditions, the present results will contribute to building a method for monitoring emissions and to standardizing degradation calculations.

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Estimating the Dominant Life Phase Concerning the Effects of Battery Degradation on CO2 Emissions by Repetitive Cycle Applications: Case Study of an Industrial Battery System Installed in an Electric Bus

Koji Negishi

Papers

An operational methodology for applying dynamic Life Cycle Assessment to buildings

Evaluating climate change pathways through a building's lifecycle based on Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment

Estimating the Dominant Life Phase Concerning the Effects of Battery Degradation on CO2 Emissions by Repetitive Cycle Applications: Case Study of an Industrial Battery System Installed in an Electric Bus